Ohio State's 2022 recruiting class has fallen by one.
2022 four-star cornerback commit Terrance Brooks, who was the top-ranked cornerback in the Buckeyes’ class of 2022, announced he will be flipping from Ohio State to Texas on Wednesday, signing with the Longhorns. Brooks is the second highly touted cornerback to decommit from Ohio State in the 2022 cycle, joining five-star talent Jaheim Singletary, now a Georgia commit.
"I feel like it would be special for me to be at home," Brooks said at his signing ceremony.
Ohio State, which had the nation’s fourth-ranked class before Brooks’ decommitment, is now down to 18 commits for the 2022 class.
Texas circled on the Little Elm, Texas resident last week, taking an in-home visit to Brooks' residence, where head coach Steve Sarkisian himself paid Brooks a visit. OSU's defensive coordinator for the 2021 season, Kerry Coombs, paid Brooks a visit as recently as late November, but the effort to keep Brooks in the fold was in vain, as Brooks will now become a Longhorn.
Considering Coombs was Brooks' top recruiter, the change in leadership on the defensive side of the ball with the hiring of Oklahoma State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles probably made the decision to flip to Texas easier. It remains uncertain whether Coombs will remain on Ohio State’s staff in 2022.
It also did not help that one of his biggest connections to OSU was Ryan Watts, who attended the same high school as Brooks and also could be headed back to his home state after entering the transfer portal last week.
The Buckeyes are now down to two cornerbacks in the 2022 class: Jyaire Brown and Ryan Turner. Ohio State is also set to sign two safeties, Kye Stokes and Sonny Styles. This late into the recruiting cycle, it’s unclear if OSU will look to add another cornerback from the 2022 class or from the transfer portal, considering the Buckeyes already passed on trying to bring in former LSU cornerback Eli Ricks. It seems Mark Pantoni is already taking a look, though.
Spending signing day watching film of players in the transfer portal
— Mark Pantoni (@markpantoni) December 15, 2021
Welcome to college football 2021
Brooks had not taken a visit to Ohio State since the summer. The 5-foot-11, 190-pound cornerback, ranked as the No. 59 overall prospect in 247Sports' composite rankings, first received a scholarship offer from Coombs and Ohio State on June 14, then set up a short-notice official visit to take place a week later. On June 30, Brooks suddenly ended his recruitment by committing to the Buckeyes.
Brooks had a chance to be a key member of Ohio State’s secondary, possibly as soon as next season alongside Denzel Burke, but the Buckeyes will now have to move forward without him.
