Ohio State Football: Are recent de-commitments a cause for concern?

The Ohio State football program has lost two recruits in the last week. Should we be worried as Buckeye fans?

Within the last week, the Buckeyes have lost two commitments to their once top-rated 2021 recruiting class. While the trolls on the internet message boards are gleefully celebrating what they see as the demise of the Ohio State football program, is losing these two commits a sign of a larger problem?

The answer is a very resounding NO. Decommits happen and they happen to all programs. This is nothing uncommon. We’re dealing with teenagers here. They tend to change their mind. Let’s look at the two former Ohio State teenaged commits who changed their mind.

Benji Gosnell was the first to de-commit when he did so on July 27th. The North Carolina native is the nation’s number thirteen tight end and one of two who was committed to the Buckeyes in this class. Ohio State will lose only Jeremy Ruckert after this season.

If Gosnell had signed with the team, he’d have been one of six scholarship tight ends in 2022. Let’s take this one step further. Because this is a young position group overall, he’d still be one of six scholarship tight ends in 2023, and that doesn’t include any being added as a part of that year’s recruiting class.

When you see how crowded things are going to be at this position, you start to see how this could play into his thinking. Here is another thing to keep in mind. He has a brother who plays for the University of North Carolina. My guess is that is where he’ll end up.

On Sunday, five-star cornerback Jaheim Singletary from Jacksonville de-committed from the Buckeyes as well. This came as no real surprise to those who follow recruiting. He took official visits to Georgia and Ohio State in late June, but he’s taken numerous unofficial visits to Miami.

Although he committed to Ohio State in January, as time wore on, many felt it was a longshot for them to hang on to the country’s number five corner and fifteenth-ranked overall player. Singletary has talked often about how much he likes Miami and his relationship with Hurricanes’ assistant coach Travaris Robinson.

While talking about Ohio State after his de-commitment, he said, “The vibe at Ohio State just didn’t match me.” He continued by saying he knew before he left Columbus he was going to de-commit.

While many other players have been impressed with and commented on the family atmosphere presented by the Ohio State staff, and the way they were looked in the eye and told they will have to work to earn playing time, that message obviously did not resonate with Singletary.

This does not mean there is anything wrong with the Ohio State football program. It also does not mean Singletary is wrong to think the way he does. It is his life and he can choose the program where he feels most comfortable. The Buckeyes are obviously not a good fit for him. On the other hand, I’m not convinced he is a good fit for the Buckeyes. These things happen. Not a big deal.

When you really begin to dive into these two de-commitments, the picture becomes more clear. There is not a recruiting problem in the Ohio State football program. As I said earlier, every school loses commitments. Alabama lost a five-star player from their own state. It happens. As fans, we may not like it, but we deal with it and move on.