Ohio State football: Former corner commit flips to Bama

Ohio State lost a recruit in the class of 2021 a week ago and now that player has committed to Alabama.

Ohio State had a commitment from 247 Sports 3-star cornerback Devota Smith awhile back. He is from Cincinnati which is right up Kerry Coombs’ recruiting wheelhouse. Unfortunately, he ended up de-committing and now has chosen to play in the SEC.

Smith announced yesterday that he plans to sign with Alabama instead. That leaves the Buckeyes with just one solid cornerback for this class, although Denzel Burke will likely move to the secondary as well. That doesn’t leave a ton of depth for the future.

This isn’t a big loss for the Buckeyes though. Smith clearly had a change of heart and went where he thinks is best for him long-term. Ohio State has a proven track record of developing cornerbacks and will do so with their current crop of corners, as well as Burke and Jakailin Johnson.

Johnson is a four-star kid out of St. Louis who will help add to the cornerback depth next season. He’s the 6th best corner in the country compared to Smith being ranked as the 30th. Add the coaching of Coombs on top of that, and the Buckeyes won’t be too sad to lose out on Smith.

Ohio State has another chance to land a top corner this evening. Tony Grimes will be making his decision at 5 pm. While I expect him to choose North Carolina, it’s not over until it’s over. The track record at Ohio State makes it hard for a kid to say no to Columbus.

We will keep you up to date on Grimes’ decision this evening, as well as other recruiting developments.