Ohio State's run on defensive backs continues.
Three days after landing defensive back Kye Stokes out of Florida, the Buckeyes secured a commitment from three-star cornerback Ryan Turner to continue building out its 2022 secondary.
Committed! Lets Get To Work!! pic.twitter.com/AFN4RNmG9X
— Ryan Turner (@RyanTurner_20) May 5, 2021
The fellow Floridian chose to play college football in Columbus over offers from Clemson, Penn State, Boston College, Georgia, Florida, LSU, Miami and others. He comes the 12th pledge in Ohio State's 2022 recruiting class, and it's an instance of Ryan Day's coaching staff outmuscling the program Dabo Swinney built for a prospect they both desired.
The Turner File
- Class: 2022
- Size: 6-foot/180 lbs
- Pos: CB
- School: Chaminade-Madonna (Hollywood, Florida)
- Composite Rating: ★★★
- Composite Rank: 380
Turner, who attends Chaminade-Madonna Prep and hails from Hollywood, Florida, is currently rated as the No. 380 overall recruit and 34th-best cornerback in the class by the 247Sports composite. Quite clearly, Kerry Coombs and Matt Barnes are more concerned about their evaluations rather than the rankings, as evidenced by them accepting commitments from back-to-back three-star recruits.
They even told Turner as much.
“They value me high,” Turner told Eleven Warriors in March. “Coach Barnes, the first meeting I had with him, he was saying he doesn’t look at rankings. That was when I was a low three-star. He said he doesn’t usually look at rankings, but it got sent to him and he was like, ‘no way this kid is a three-star.’ They value me a lot. They don’t really care about the rankings. They offered me when I was a low three-star. They know talent when they see it.”
For a bit, Turner has been slated to take an official visit to Ohio State on June 18, though he didn't need to make the trip to lock in his decision. Previously, he had taken a self-guided tour of the campus in late March that helped him gain an understanding of the area despite being unable to meet with the coaches in person.
Turner originally received a scholarship offer from the Buckeyes on Feb. 2. Even back then, the opportunity to attend Ohio State made him "really happy" because he likes how they are a "winning school" and "they are known for putting their defensive backs into the NFL." In Turner's mind, he'll be the next to win in Columbus and go pro after a stint in college.
| NAME | POSITION | OVERALL RANKING | POSITION RANKING | DATE OF COMMITMENT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JYAIRE BROWN | CB | 115 | 13 | APRIL 22, 2020 |
| TEGRA TSHABOLA | OT | 183 | 20 | APRIL 23, 2020 |
| C.J. HICKS | OLB | 17 | 2 | MAY 1, 2020 |
| GABE POWERS | OLB | 43 | 3 | AUGUST 1, 2020 |
| BENNETT CHRISTIAN | TE | 347 | 13 | SEPTEMBER 1, 2020 |
| BENJI GOSNELL | TE | 320 | 13 | NOVEMBER 4, 2020 |
| QUINN EWERS | QB | 1 | 1 | NOVEMBER 19, 2020 |
| CALEB BURTON | WR | 35 | 4 | NOVEMBER 23, 2020 |
| JAHEIM SINGLETARY | CB | 13 | 5 | JANUARY 2, 2021 |
| KYION GRAYES | WR | 146 | 19 | FEBRUARY 28, 2021 |
| KYE STOKES | ATH | N/A | 56 (ATH) | MAY 2, 2021 |
| RYAN TURNER | CB | 380 | 34 | MAY 5, 2021 |
The Buckeyes now have pledges from Turner, Stokes, five-star cornerback Jaheim Singletary and four-star cornerback Jyaire Brown to restock their defensive backfield. Three of them – Turner, Stokes and Singletary – are from Florida.
