WESTERVILLE, Ohio — Lamont Wade walked around the football field at Westerville North High School on Saturday morning stoic in the face with a stare that could pierce through even the sturdiest of walls.
Surrounded by some of the top talent in the Midwest at a regional camp for Nike’s The Opening, Wade was not necessarily here to meet new people and make new friends. He has been there and done that throughout the entire recruiting process.
This was about business.
“Every time I step out on the field and compete, I want to show I’m the best cornerback in the country,” Wade says.
That should be the mindset of every cornerback; it’s the nature of the position. And it’s that psyche — plus his exceptional skill level — that makes Wade one of the most sought-after corners in the 2017 class.
Rated a four-star prospect, the nation’s 72nd-ranked overall player and seventh-rated corner, according to 247Sports’ composite rankings, Wade has over 20 scholarship offers. He says the plan is to release a top-10 schools “in a couple of weeks.”
Ohio State, Pittsburgh and Penn State appear to be the three front-runners for the Clairton, Pennsylvania native, but Wade also has heavy interest from Tennessee, North Carolina, Alabama and many others.
“It’s been kind of smooth for me because I have a bunch of offers, but not every single one of those schools are actively recruiting me,” Wade said of his recruiting process. “It’s going pretty smooth and it’s not too hectic and everything is going great right now."
The Buckeyes were once considered the longtime favorites to land Wade, but over recent weeks there has been a bit of discussion that Ohio State’s tight numbers for 2017 and the fact there may not be a spot for Wade to enroll early — there’s a spot for him in the class, no doubt, as he has been at the top of the Buckeyes’ list for a while now — has complicated the recruitment a little bit.
Still, Wade has been to Columbus more times than he can count and he remains close with Ohio State’s coaching staff.
“Ohio State is definitely right in the mix,” he said. “I always talk to their coaches. Coach Coombs, coach Fickell, coach Schiano. Those dudes are real good dudes.”
The Buckeyes already have two corners committed in 2017 in five-star Shaun Wade and four-star Marcus Williamson. And even though there’s certainly a lot of uncertainty surrounding Shaun Wade and his commitment actually sticking, Ohio State would take Lamont Wade either way. He’s that good.
Despite what was a pretty solid showing by all accounts, Wade did not earn an invitation to The Opening after Saturday’s regional camp in Columbus. He will almost surely get one down the road — several prospects earn “at large” bids after all of the regional camps are completed — but it was somewhat of a surprise Wade [and a few others] did not earn invitations.
“I’m not a combine dude,” he said. “I’d rather get up in your face and D you up.”
And while he may not be any closer to picking a school, he knows what he wants whenever that day finally comes and he decides to make his commitment.
“I don’t want to go into a program and automatically they’re saying I’m just starting,” Wade said. “I expect to go in, getting put into the rotation and then earning my spot. I want me being comfortable with the players, the recruits coming in in my class, liking the environment around campus and things like that.”
Whatever school winds up winning the Lamont Wade sweepstakes is getting an elite talent. But perhaps more importantly, it’s also getting a player who has the right mentality needed to play one of the most difficult positions in football.
“I’ve just gotten so much better [the last year],” Wade said. “I’ve improved my techniques, I’ve improved my cover skills and my footwork. I’ve just become a better all-around, smarter player.”
