Meet the 6-foot-5 Ohio 2026 quarterback who Penn State wants to sneak away from Ohio State: Buckeyes recruiting

Published Jul. 24, 2023, 12:36 p.m.
By Matt Lofgren | special to cleveland.com
ASHLAND, Ohio — At 6-foot-5 and 215-pounds, Ashland quarterback Nathan Bernhard is built differently from other high school players entering their sophomore season.
Bernhard appeared in five games as a freshman before a fractured fibula cut his season short, but in his limited run as a starter on varsity, he made a big impression. By the end of his freshman year, he threw for 1,267 yards and 8 touchdowns to gain the interest of some of the biggest schools in the country.
Even for Bernhard, what happened next surprised him as offers from Penn State and Iowa State came in the months following. Along with the offers, more and more schools started showing interest in his talents including the school he grew up supporting: Ohio State.
“My recruiting started slow and I really didn’t expect it to jump to Penn State and Ohio State as quickly as it did,” Bernhard said. “I expected to have to go to some MAC schools or some small schools because usually you pick up offers there first and then you get to the bigger schools.
“I was kind of surprised, but once they reached out, it opened the door to the rest of the power five schools who reached out.”
Bernhard said he has spoken with Allar during his visits to State College and came away impressed at the atmosphere inside the Penn State program.
“I would say the top thing they have is a great culture,” Bernhard said. “Coach Franklin does a great job of establishing that culture that they care about guys becoming better men and doing well in school. They have a good academic standard there for football players.”
But growing up a Buckeyes fan while attending games as a kid has Bernhard aiming to be the fourth quarterback offered by Ohio State in the 2026 class.
After stepping on campus twice this offseason with a visit to the spring game and a camp in June, Bernhard is now looking to get back to Columbus on Friday for SummerFest at the Shoe if his body will allow him. With the high school football season less than a month away, Bernhard has a full practice schedule on his plate.
“I’m still not sure because we had four camp days this week and my arm was kind of tired that last day, so I’ll see how I feel going into next week and how I feel going through next week because I’ll have an acclimation period,” Bernhard said. “I don’t want to go out there and mess up my arm, but I’ll have to see how that goes.”
Still looking to build his relationships with the Ohio State coaching staff as recruiting rules limit how much contact he can have, his main point of contact who invited him to the recruiting event has been Ed Terwilliger, who is the Buckeyes director of high school relations.
He has had chats with quarterbacks coach Corey Dennis while on campus.
“I’ve talked to them here and there, mainly I’ve talked to (Ed) Terwilliger, I’ve talked to Corey a couple times when I visited,” Bernhard said. “That’s about it and talked to coach (Ryan) Day when I was down there.”
Whether SummerFest at the Shoe is in his future is still up in the air. But what isn’t is Bernhard’s focus and preparation for a full season as a sophomore starting on Aug. 18 when Ashland opens the year hosting Caledonia River Valley.
“It’s best part of it all, the high school season, (is) playing with your guys and everything and really what you do on the field is the most important thing,” Bernhard said. “The camps, those are important showing well there, but how you play on the field and on Friday night lights, that shows who you are as a player.
“It’s definitely fun being around the guys again leading up to the season.”
Aaron Scott race tightens
The top player in Ohio has been adding fire to the flame with his announcement date set for Sunday.
Aaron Scott has long been on both Ohio State and Michigan’s radar with his final decision coming down to the Buckeyes, Wolverines or Oregon. While Scott has been predicted to Ohio State by several websites, he talked to on3 recruiting Thursday to give Michigan fans some faith the four-star cornerback may end up in Ann Arbor.
Scott is the No. 3-ranked cornerback in the 2024 class and the No. 34-ranked player overall.
He has maintained a close relationship with fellow cornerback and Ohio State commit Bryce West and were together this past week at a 7-on-7 at Mansfield.