Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day has landed one of the 2029 class's top receiver prospects in Austin Miller. But while the Buckeyes celebrate the commitment, Miller's father made it clear that it comes with one important condition.

“We're not here to play around. Ohio State is where he wants to go. Ohio State is where he wants to be. As long as things stay considerably the same, that's where he's going to end up," said Austin's father, Keith Miller, the head coach at Bellflower High School, on the Buckeye Boyz podcast.

Austin Miller committed to Ohio State in June this year, choosing the Buckeyes over more than 20 programs, including Oregon, Michigan, USC, Florida State, and Washington.

"Now, if things change, then things could change, but we'll cross that bridge if we ever get there. Hopefully, we don't,” said Keith Miller on the Buckeye Boyz podcast (YouTube @buckeyeboyzzz).

Keith Miller made it clear that while Ohio State currently leads the race, the Buckeyes will still need to maintain that position over the next several years if they want Austin to remain committed.

He is the first commitment in Ohio’s 2029 class, and the first receiver landed by new position coach Cortez Hankton.

The 6-foot-5, 200-pound WR still has three more years of high school left before he can step foot on the Ohio State campus, and that's where things get interesting.

Miller has offers from nearly every major program, as his numbers are simply too impressive to ignore.

As a freshman at Bellflower High, he has 35 receptions for 609 yards and eight touchdowns. Additionally, he has 883 rushing yards and 13 rushing touchdowns.

On the defensive side, he has added 36 tackles, four sacks, and a fumble-return touchdown. In him, teams are getting a two-way playmaker.

This is why it should be challenging for Ryan Day to keep Miller committed, as every other team is ready to offer an arm and a leg for him.

Day enters the competition as the reigning 2024 national champion, but he is also facing scrutiny after Ohio State's postseason losses to Indiana and Miami this past year.

On top of that, Day has been battered by analysts for failing to recruit a four-star standout whom they lost to Michigan.

HC Ryan Day faces more recruiting battles despite Miller's commitment

Ohio State was having a recruitment showdown with Michigan for four-star cornerback Monsanna Torbert; however, on the recruiting trail, Ryan Day and the Buckeyes got a serious thrashing as Torbert committed to Michigan.

Before the commitment was finalized, Rivals' Steve Wiltfong explained that although nothing was set in stone, Michigan had checked every box.

“Michigan is doing all the right things behind the scenes, from a great official visit the weekend of June 19 to the NIL conversations had since," Rivals’ Steve Wiltfong said recently. "However, it’s not a done deal, and Ohio State remains very much in the picture and the Buckeyes are having their own talks with the Torbert camp down the stretch.”

Just as Ohio State is in contact with Torbert to reconsider his decision, many other schools could be reaching out to Miller for the same reason.

Keith Miller's comments make it clear that Ohio State has won an early commitment, not the final recruiting battle, leaving Ryan Day and the Buckeyes with several years to ensure Austin Miller's pledge remains intact.

What are your thoughts on Keith Miller's comments? Let us know in the comments.

Read more on the Michigan Football Community

Written by

Suryakant Das

Edited by

Rudra Dubey