Why Brian Hartline, Ohio State football are 'passionate' about 2024 WR Elijah Moore

Elijah Moore remembers Brian Hartline being transparent to both him and his family. Ohio State is taking only four wide receivers in the 2024 recruiting class.

To Hartline, these four are not just any four receivers. Each is hand-picked by the Ohio State offensive coordinator, filling his room with players who can fit the mold of the ones that came before, starting with five-stars Jeremiah Smith and Mylan Graham in 2024.

According to 2024 recruiting rankings, Moore is not where Smith and Graham stand, entering his senior year as a three-star prospect and the No. 66 receiver in the country per 247Sports’ composite rankings.

But to Moore, Hartline made it clear. The three-star Olney, Maryland, wide receiver is the player Ohio State wants.

“He always shows love and shows what he wants out of me,” Moore said. “I can tell that he’s passionate about me. Every time we talk after the offer, he’s always trying to get me to commit on the spot. ‘What are you waiting for? Come be a Buckeye.’ ”

And after his official visit to Ohio State June 2-4, Moore is seriously considering buying into what Hartline is selling, making only one other official visit to Florida State before he makes a decision in late June or early July.

What brought Elijah Moore onto Ohio State football's radar

Math has always been one of Moore’s favorite subjects in the classroom. And it’s why he feels the wide receiver comes so easily

“It’s all just like math and angles and timing,” he said. He adds this technical approach with creativity while running routes and on releases, breaks and catch-point radius.

It’s an approach that Good Counsel High School coach Andy Stefanelli has seen pay off, calling Moore “one of the best” blocking wide receivers he’s seen in his program and one who is “plenty fast” and “incredibly strong for his 6-foot-4, 190-pound frame.

“We’ve had some great receivers at our school,” said Stefanelli, who coached Buffalo Bills wide receiver Stefon Diggs. “Not to put too much pressure on him, but he ranks right up there with the things he can do.”

It didn’t take long for Ohio State to see that potential.

When Good Counsel traveled to Ohio for a game against Cincinnati Moeller — a game members of the Ohio State coaching staff attended to scout four-star running back and eventual Michigan commit Jordan Marshall — Moore “showed out,” scoring two touchdowns and catching the Buckeyes’ attention.

Weeks later, Moore was officially in contact with Hartline, who had one initial question about the wide receiver as he watched his sophomore and junior film.

“The only thing (Hartline) was concerned about, I guess, was top-end speed," Stefanelli said. "But when he saw (Moore) had a 10-foot broad jump, I think he was like, ‘He’s explosive.’ That tells him everything he needs to know about how explosive a kid is. And he’s going to get faster as he grows and matures a little bit more. And he’s not slow. He’s fast, but he’s going to get faster.”

Ohio State was not the first program that saw Moore’s potential, as he got offers from West Virginia, Maryland and Florida State before he played in his first high school game.

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But Moore said Hartline soon found that the receiver’s “mental makeup” made him a perfect fit for Ohio State, comparing him in size and approach to Marvin Harrison Jr.

“If I have the mental makeup to come to Ohio State and be able to learn and take information and have a good heart, mind, body and soul,” Moore said, “that’s what he can work with and that’s one of the biggest things he cares about.

“I could tell that he was passionate about me being great.”

Why Ohio State 'feels right' for 2024 WR Elijah Moore

Ericka Moore is not worried about the development aspect of her son’s college decision. No matter the program Elijah picks, she said, he will prove and show off his skillset.

Instead, Ericka devotes her attention to helping her son find the best “family” at the college level, something she said she found at Ohio State.

“We just talked about how this place is a place that felt right for Elijah,” she said. “He talked about his interaction with the players and how tight the wide receiver group is and the common mindset of what he can see when he goes there, what he would be able to do if he goes there, the things that he can relate to and the unity of the brotherhood.”

Elijah said he felt that “family-oriented” atmosphere at Ohio State, getting to know each member of the coaching staff and their families throughout the weekend, while seeing what it would be like to be with the Buckeyes long term.

“They made me feel as at home as possible,” he said. “I feel like 100% they did as far as making me feel like I have a home to be at when my parents drop me off and they are not there to take care of me.”

Florida State is Moore’s only other scheduled official visit, a school that offered him before touching the high school football field after playing on former Seminoles All-American Darnell Dockett’s youth team.

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As he nears the end of his recruitment, Moore said those early offers created that mental makeup that Ohio State bought into, knowing he would have to maintain that expectation schools such as Florida State cultivated.

Heading into his senior season with the plan to be officially tied with a program, Moore said he’s ready to show what that school is getting in 2024.

“I’m going to work hard to earn mine,” Moore said. “I’m going to make sure I stand out. I’m not coming to be average. I’m not coming to be regular. I’m coming to be the best.”

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Brian Hartline, Ohio State wants WR Elijah Moore in 2024 class