Ohio State landed another top in-state target on Wednesday when four-star safety Malik Hartford gave his verbal commitment to the Buckeyes.
Landing the top players in Ohio has always been a priority for Ryan Day and Ohio State, and Hartford’s commitment is another feather in that cap for the Buckeyes. Even more specifically, Hartford is another recruiting win for Ohio State from a strong high school football program at Lakota West. Hartford becomes the third Lakota West player to commit to the Buckeyes in a two-year span, as 2022 signees Jyaire Brown and Tegra Tshabola were high school teammates of Hartford’s at Lakota West last season.
With Brown being a fellow defensive back, Hartford said he’s learned a lot about football from his former teammate.
“Jyaire is a great player,” Hartford said. “He’s got quick feet and most of all he’s a great mentor. He’s someone I look up to and someone who teaches me a lot of what I know.”
Hartford has remained in touch with both Brown and Tshabola even now that Brown has enrolled at Ohio State and Tshabola prepares to enroll at Ohio State this summer, but the conversation wasn’t necessarily always steering him toward joining them at Ohio State.
“A little bit,” Hartford said when asked if Brown and Tshabola recruited him to Ohio State. “But it’s not really the main focus, I enjoy them both as people. That’s how our relationships are.”
Nevertheless, Hartford will join his former high school teammates in Columbus after one more season with the Firebirds.
On The Field
The first thing that sticks out about Malik Hartford’s on-field attributes is evident: the guy is tough as nails, plain and simple.
Hartford told Eleven Warriors last month that he had played through a torn labrum during his junior season at Lakota West. He had surgery on his shoulder after the season and is still focused on his recovery at the moment, but he chose to play through the pain during the season because he didn’t want to let his team down.
“It was difficult,” Hartford said of playing through the injury. “But to win state, you have to make certain sacrifices. That’s what I tried to do.”
From now until Lakota West starts preseason camp, Hartford will focus on getting fully healthy.
“Just working on my shoulder strength,” Hartford said when asked what he’s working on before his senior season begins. “In order for me to hit as hard as I want to, I have to increase my shoulder and my upper body strength.”
When Hartford is fully healthy, he is capable of being a game-changing player in the secondary. Despite the injury, Hartford registered 58 tackles, two interceptions and a sack for Lakota West last season. The 6-foot-3, 175-pound prospect was also a dynamic special teams player, blocking six kicks in 2021 and excelling in kickoff coverage.
OSU defensive coordinator Jim Knowles often likes to deploy a three-safety look, which will not be a hard transition for Hartford, who also plays in a three-safety defense at Lakota West. Hartford lines up primarily in the deep middle of the field at Lakota West, but also occasionally rushes off the edge or lines up in the box.
He has the potential to be a ballhawking safety at the next level, and his experience on special teams should help him get on the field early in his collegiate career.
In the Class
According to 247Sports’ composite rankings, Hartford is the 146th-best player and the 11th-rated safety in the 2023 class. He is also the fourth-highest-rated player in Ohio.
Hartford becomes the sixth commit for the Buckeyes in the 2023 cycle. He’s the fourth 2023 commit from Ohio, joining offensive linemen Luke Montgomery and Joshua Padilla and defensive tackle Will Smith Jr.
He becomes the fifth four-star recruit in Ohio State’s 2023 recruiting class, which is now ranked sixth nationally. To this point, Hartford is the fourth highest-rated commit in OSU’s 2023 class.
Ohio State would like to take three safeties in the 2023 class, and now has two with Hartford and Cedrick Hawkins in the fold. The Buckeyes’ likely top preference for the other available safety spot is five-star Georgia product Caleb Downs, though OSU is also heavily pursing four-star safeties Joenel Aguero and Daemon Fagan.
Following his commitment ceremony on Wednesday, Hartford said he plans to help Ohio State recruit Downs and Aguero.
