Signed: Jyaire Brown, the First Commitment of Ohio State’s Recruiting Class of 2022, Officially Becomes a Buckeye

Nearly 20 months after becoming the first player in his class to commit to the Buckeyes on April 22, 2020, four-star cornerback Jyaire Brown also became the first player in the class of 2022 to sign with the Buckeyes on Wednesday, the first day of the early signing period.

Welcome to the Brotherhood, @kye_stokes

From fellow member of the Silver Bullets - @petewerner23 #BOOM22 pic.twitter.com/xpmuZ30oKL

— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) December 15, 2021

Brown probably would have signed with the Buckeyes much sooner if he could have, considering how quickly he jumped at the opportunity to commit to Ohio State. Brown committed to Ohio State just five days after receiving his offer from the Buckeyes, telling Eleven Warriors at the time that receiving an offer from Ohio State “means everything to me and my family.”

As a New Orleans resident at the time, Brown became the third player from Louisiana to ever commit to the Buckeyes. That said, Brown was born in Cincinnati and moved back there shortly after his commitment to Ohio State. He spent the last two years playing at Lakota West High School along with Tegra Tshabola, who became the second member of Ohio State’s recruiting class of 2022 when he committed to the Buckeyes just one day after Brown.

While Brown didn’t shut down his recruitment entirely upon committing to the Buckeyes, leading to some questions about whether his initial commitment would stick, he ultimately doubled down on his commitment and stopped listening to other schools once he finally got the chance to visit Ohio State this summer following a year-long recruiting dead period.

Like the great players at his position often do, Brown plays the game with outward confidence. Although he’s listed at only 180 pounds, he isn’t afraid to play with physicality and can often be heard talking trash to his opponents after a successful rep in coverage. He has quick feet and moves fluidly and has the frame to bulk up once he gets into Ohio State’s strength and conditioning program.

A first-team All-Ohio performer in both of his two seasons at Lakota West, Brown didn’t have many passes thrown his way but still had five interceptions in his senior season with the Firebirds, in which he also had 26 catches for 416 yards and four touchdowns and returned 16 punts for 192 yards and another two touchdowns as he helped lead his team to the regional finals of the Ohio high school playoffs.

As the 155th-ranked overall prospect in the recruiting class of 2022, Brown won’t necessarily be expected to play a substantial role in Ohio State’s secondary as a freshman. That said, he’s ranked 41 spots higher than Denzel Burke was in the class of 2021, and Burke immediately became Ohio State’s No. 1 cornerback this season. The cornerback depth chart behind Burke could be wide open if Sevyn Banks and Cameron Brown both leave for the NFL after this season, which would open the door for Brown to compete for playing time right away as a midyear enrollee this spring.

While it’s more common for cornerbacks to need a year or two to develop before they’re truly ready to play a major role at the collegiate level, Brown will come in confident he can make an early impact, just as Burke did a year ago. And by committing to Ohio State before anyone else in his class, Brown made it clear just how much he believes the Buckeyes can develop him into their next NFL cornerback prospect.