Todd Dodge did not have much time to acclimate to his new job on January 29th.

On his first Monday as the head football coach and athletic director at Lovejoy High School in Lucas, Texas, Dodge hosted Ohio State coach Ryan Day, Southern California coach Lincoln Riley and Florida State coach Mike Norvell, each of which came to the school to look at 2025 four-star wide receiver Daylan McCutcheon.

Dodge said Day was actually the person who introduced him to McCutcheon for the first time.

“It’s 10 o’clock in the morning on my first day here,” Dodge recalled. “And so I asked coach Day, ‘Who (does) he remind you of, coach?’ And he said, ‘Coach, he reminds me of the guy about four years ago that you told me was the best wide receiver you’d seen in the state of Texas in 20 years.’ And that was Garrett Wilson.”

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McCutcheon disagrees with Day, instead picking former Texas five-star and Ohio State wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba as the receiver he likes to emulate. But regardless of the comparison, the Buckeyes see McCutcheon as someone who fits the bill as an Ohio State wide receiver.

“I’m not the fastest,” McCutcheon said. “But I know, when I get off the block, that I’m exploding off the ball and being able to route people up and be able to catch the ball at the highest point.”

McCutcheon was able to show that skill for Lovejoy as a junior by bringing in 1,430 receiving yards and 20 touchdowns on 94 catches, growing into a top-100 prospect and the 12th-best receiver in the country, per 247Sports’ composite rankings.

Dodge has seen that skill from McCutcheon in spurts during Lovejoy’s spring practice as a slot receiver who knew the ins and outs of all four receiver positions two practices in, one who caught four touchdown passes in the school’s first spring scrimmage.

“He said, ‘I do like the four touchdown catches you schemed to where I was wide open,’” Dodge said. “I said, ‘Well, it takes good players to get those kind of things.’ ”

Where Ohio State football stands for 2025 WR Daylan McCutcheon

McCutcheon caught Ohio State’s attention at the end of his junior season, receiving an offer from the Buckeyes in October after attending the Buckeyes’ home win against Penn State.

Through conversations with co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach Brian Hartline, McCutcheon said Ohio State was a program he gravitated toward.

“The major thing with Ohio State is the way they run practice and how they’re competitive with each and every player, not just based on offense vs. defense, but offense vs. offense, really,” McCutcheon said. “Going against one another, they get each and every player better.”

McCutcheon has Ohio State as a finalist in his recruitment and held his official visit in Columbus May 31-June 2. During the visit, McCutcheon said he learned what he could do in the Buckeyes’ offense as a slot receiver with the ability to move outside while using his knowledge of every route to be an all-around weapon.

McCutcheon said his host Bryson Rodgers made a significant effect on him. Rodgers, McCutcheon said, encouraged him to stay focused through the recruiting process and to find coaches and programs that value you most outside of football.

Ohio State one of a handful of official visits McCutcheon has along with Florida State, USC and Texas. McCutcheon, reportedly, has already taken an official visit to SMU. But the Buckeyes, he said, are very much in contention before either a July or August decision planned.

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“They are still at the top of my list with others I’m taking OVs with.” McCutcheon said. “I mean, it just has a good impact on me when I think about it.”

McCutcheon was one of three wide receivers on an Ohio State official visit May 31-June 2 along with Texas five-star Dakorien Moore and Florida four-star Vernell Brown III.

No matter the decision and no matter how long Dodge has been at Lovejoy, he already knows what McCutcheon’s future school is going to get.

"It’s really nice when you have a kid on your team who has 30-plus Division 1 offers and is probably in your top-three hardest workers on your team,” Dodge said. “He’s just a flat out worker bee.”

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State football recruiting targets 2025 WR Daylan McCutcheon