Ohio State is ranked just outside the top five in the 2027 recruiting class. To improve their ranking, the program is making moves, and several high school prospects are set to visit Columbus this spring. At the same time, the Buckeyes are adding talent to the recruiting department after a key member left the program.

According to Lettermen Row, Ohio State is adding former SMU recruiting graduate assistant Kylie Green to its staff. Green was hired to replace former assistant director of recruiting strategy Nick Murphy, who left the program earlier this month.

The role became vacant after Murphy exited the program in search of new opportunities outside the college football world. Before joining the Buckeyes, Green was a key part of the SMU Mustangs’ recruiting department, where she helped the program’s 2026 recruiting class rank as the nation’s top 25.

However, she is still in the early years of her career. And since she does not exactly have Murphy’s experience, Green would work with the assistant director of on-campus recruitment and special events, Zoe Jackson.

Green was a former college softball player at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and Computer Science. She then got her Master’s degree in Data Science and Applied Statistics from SMU. Before these, she graduated from Frisco High School.

She would be a part of the recruiting department, led by general manager Mark Pantoni. The department also has Cole Spencer, the Buckeyes’ executive director of player personnel, and Parker Wereb, the assistant director of player personnel. Dallas Dudley and Ryan Mayhew are both recruiting assistants in the department.

With his exit, Murphy has left huge shoes to fill, as his role in the department has been lauded by both players and staff.

“Coach [Nick] Murphy and coach [Tony] Johnson were on my recruiting trail when I only had a couple offers, and they never stopped ever since then; they’d watch my film and coach me up!” said Ohio State running back Favor Akih, who signed with the Buckeyes in their 2026 recruiting class. “Having a great support system at Ohio State, knowing I’d be taken care of, is a main focus of my signing.”

The Buckeyes had 14 draft picks in the 2026 NFL Draft, the most of any college football team. Having four of those players in the top 11 picks of the first round shows how impressive the program has been in recruiting and developing talent during Murphy’s tenure.

Nick Murphy’s background

Nick Murphy had been with the Buckeyes since 2022, during which he led the program to the top 10 recruiting rankings each year. With him, the Buckeyes landed in the top five in three consecutive recruiting classes.

Murphy began his college football career in 2018 as an assistant at Central Florida after earning a Bachelor’s degree from Coastal Carolina in 2016 and a Master’s degree two years later. Following his stint as the defensive assistant in Charlotte in 2019, he moved on to Minnesota, where he was the director of on-campus recruiting in 2020. He took up the role in Columbus after another brief stay in Charlotte, where he worked as the director of player personnel.

He left the program with an announcement on social media. “Blessed to have been a Buckeye,” he wrote on X. “Excited for the new chapter!” There has been no news regarding his next destination, but it has been reported that he will be moving outside of college football.