Seemingly lost among all of the excitement surrounding Ohio State’s 2020 recruiting class — with three commitments in a matter of just five days — St. Thomas Aquinas four-star cornerback Jordan Battle became the 13th member of Dynasty ‘19 when he pledged his services to the Buckeyes on Friday afternoon.
Battle’s decision came less than a week after his long-anticipated official visit and coincided with his mother’s birthday.
Ohio State has long been considered the favorite to land the 6-foot-1 and 187-pound Battle, though last weekend’s trip to Columbus was his first. He developed an especially strong bond with head coach Urban Meyer from afar, while defensive coordinator Greg Schiano, cornerbacks coach Taver Johnson and wide receivers coach/area recruiter Zach Smith only added to that relationship by dropping by his school on numerous occasions during the Spring Evaluation Period.
“I liked Ohio State all the way, I just didn’t want to bring it out there like that,” Battle told Eleven Warriors and other reporters gathered at Nike Football's The Opening Finals on Monday afternoon. “Coach Meyer contacted my mom and my dad a lot — even before he contacted me. I could feel that he wanted what was best for me.”
Battle was supposed to visit campus on several different occasions this spring, any one of which could have resulted in his commitment. His first trip was nixed because of a 7-on-7 tournament in Los Angeles, though, while the staff asked him to delay his planned Spring Game visit since he was aiming for a summer decision.
That gamble ultimately paid off, but it also gave hometown school Miami a chance to change Battle’s mind. Three of his teammates — four-star linebackers Anthony Solomon and Avery Huff and three-star defensive end Jason Munoz — are committed to the Hurricanes and were in his ear the entire time about taking an official visit to Coral Gables.
“It allowed Miami to make a push, but obviously Ohio State beat them,” Battle said, also thanking the Hurricanes’ coaching staff for recruiting him.
Nobody recruited Battle harder than Johnson, who replaced the departed Kerry Coombs in mid-February and offered him a scholarship just 10 days later. The two spent most of Battle’s official visit together, which sealed the deal in his recruitment.
“Coach Johnson took me around everywhere. He was like a father figure to me while I was up there and I met his family,” Battle said, noting that he got to see everything campus and the city of Columbus had to offer that weekend. “I like the Shoe, it’s a nice stadium. I also liked the grove behind the stadium where they plant the trees [for All-Americans].”
“He was like a father figure to me while I was up there.”– battle on Taver johnson
Events like The Opening Finals give the nation's top-rated prospects a chance to hang out with and recruit players from all over the country who they might not get to know otherwise. And though we only see the on-field aspect, there’s plenty going on behind the scenes at the team hotel and during various group activities throughout the week.
Battle is still new to being on this side of the recruiting game, but set his sights on a few players this week like Texas four-star wide receiver Elijah Higgins. He’s also been talking up the program to a few of his St. Thomas Aquinas teammates, including four-star linebacker Derek Wingo and four-star wide receiver Marcus Rosemy.
Though both Higgins and Wingo have already been to campus, Battle’s main message for Rosemy is just to get up to Columbus and see what the program has to offer for himself.
“First of all, the campus is beautiful,” he said. “There’s a great business school, if that’s your thing.”
Battle plans to visit again for a game this fall, but doesn’t expect he’ll see any other schools between now and when he puts pen to paper during the Early Signing Period in December.
“I’m completely shut down,” Battle said. “To be honestly, I don’t think anything can change that with the way Ohio State actively recruits me. I’m locked down.”
During Monday evening’s 7-on-7 tournament, Battle intercepted an errant pass and returned it for a touchdown. The stadium’s public address announcer accidentally called him a Michigan commit, to which his parents in the stands quickly and loudly responded with “THE Ohio State commit.”
Sounds like they’re all in, as well.
