Better Know a Buckeye: Miles Lockhart’s Skill Set and Instincts Make Him A Natural Fit at Slot Cornerback for Ohio State’s Secondary

For many programs across the country, Miles Lockhart (No. 34 cornerback, No. 399 overall) would have been the crown jewel at cornerback in the 2024 class. For Ohio State, Lockhart’s ranking paled in comparison to his classmates at the position, Aaron Scott Jr. and Bryce West. But Lockhart could prove to be a hidden gem for the Buckeyes, particularly at the slot cornerback position that Lockhart was recruited to play in Tim Walton’s secondary.

How He Became a Buckeye

Walton fell in love with Lockhart's game even before the Arizona product visited Ohio State. When the cornerback visited Columbus in June 2022 and received an offer from Ohio State, he fell in love with the Buckeyes.

“It’s the top one to be completely honest,” Lockhart told Eleven Warriors after receiving his offer. “It’s hard to compete with Ohio State, I’ve said that multiple times. There’s a brotherhood there and a winning tradition.”

The Buckeyes won Lockhart over for good on his official visit to Ohio State a year later.

“It was a 10 out of 10 visit. Actually, 11 out of 10,” Lockhart said of his trip a year ago. “I feel like it went great, they covered everything I wanted to. Obviously, I had been there a few times before so they had mostly shown me everything, but the weekend was a really great time.”

While he made other visits, nothing compared to Ohio State. Following his official visit to Columbus in June 2023, he canceled his two remaining official visits elsewhere.

"Every school I go to, I just try to compare like, what they have and what they can offer," Lockhart told Eleven Warriors in February of comparing OSU to other schools. "They just can compete with anybody, obviously they compete for national championships every year, they can give me the education I need. If I go on to the NFL, they'll give me the chance to develop me. It's just a great atmosphere to be in and a great place to be. They offer you a lot of opportunities."

Lockhart committed to Ohio State during that official visit, choosing OSU over schools such as Oregon, Texas A&M, Washington, Wisconsin and Colorado.

“Ohio State offers more than any other school could offer me," Lockhart told Eleven Warriors of his commitment. "Playing for a national championship every year and getting a good education, they’re very family oriented and I love all the coaches. They have the whole package.” 

High School Years

Becoming a starter to begin his sophomore campaign, Lockhart finished with 36 tackles (two for loss) and two interceptions during his first season manning the cornerback position in high school.

As a junior at Basha High School, Lockhart recorded 69 total tackles (2.5 tackles for loss), four interceptions and 19 pass deflections. He led his team to a 12-1 record and capped off the season by winning a state championship.

As a senior, Lockhart racked up 41 tackles (two for loss) with a sack and seven pass deflections.

Miles Lockhart seals the deal for Basha on this 4th down pass attempt. Final score Basha 35 Saguaro 31. @bashagridiron @saguarofootball pic.twitter.com/ottPaQ00ch

— Ben Stapley (@AZpreps365Ben) September 9, 2023

Throughout his time in high school, Lockhart showed impressive athleticism and coverage skills while also proving his physicality by being a strong tackler, which Ohio State wants in a slot cornerback.

Lockhart also ran track in high school, posting an 11.3-second 100-yard dash and 22.9 200 as a junior.

Immediate Impact

An early enrollee, Lockhart is quite ambitious regarding his goals early on as a Buckeye.

“I definitely want to get my black stripe off first in my position group,” Lockhart said. “I want to stay on top of academics and fight for my spot, really. I just want to compete every day.”

While Lockhart is willing to play anywhere in the defensive backfield, his frame will make him an ideal slot cornerback, which is what Ohio State coaches have already told him.

"I would say (coach Walton) mostly talks about me in the slot," Lockhart said. "But I can play outside. I think (it’s mostly at slot) because I’m not a 6-foot-1, 6-2 guy, more like 5-11. So that’s probably why I’ve been in the slot."

Given that Jordan Hancock will be manning the slot/nickel cornerback starting job in 2024, Lockhart's first season in Columbus will likely be a redshirt year as he develops his body and adjusts to the speed of the college game.

“I'm just gonna sit behind him and just watch him do his thing and learn as much as I can behind him,” Lockhart told Eleven Warriors in regards to Hancock returning. “Just soak up everything I can from him, (secondary coach Tim Walton), everybody else.”

He won't likely receive significant playing time on defense as a freshman, but he could fill out the three-deep in the slot, behind Hancock and Lorenzo Styles Jr. Jermaine Mathews Jr. might be more likely to see play significant snaps in the slot this year than Lockhart, though.

Long-Term Impact

Hancock is entering his senior year at Ohio State, so the Buckeyes will have a new slot cornerback a year from now. While Styles will likely be the frontrunner to take over the starting job next season, Lockhart can put himself in the mix for playing time with a good first year of development.

That said, Lockhart will face plenty of competition to get on the field throughout his Ohio State career. In addition to Mathews, Calvin Simpson-Hunt, Scott and West all set to vie for starting jobs next year, Ohio State is set to bring in at least two five-star cornerbacks in the 2025 class with Devin Sanchez and Na’eem Offord both committed to the Buckeyes.

Lockhart isn’t one to back away from competition, though.

“I'm gonna give them my all from start to finish,” Lockhart said. “They’re getting a competitor, for sure, and just a good person overall. Not just a football player, but somebody that's going to help the community and do everything that he can to help the team.”

Lockhart says his biggest goal for his Ohio State career is to help the Buckeyes get back to beating Michigan.

“That's the biggest thing for us, really. I mean, we can't lose to team up north, that’s the biggest game,” Lockhart said. “No other game matters, really. We can go undefeated and losing that game, it just feels like a failure to the season. So yeah, the team up north is the biggest game, we have to win that. And that's how you get to the Big Ten championship, that's how you get to the playoff. So that's something that we're taking very seriously. And that's not a game that we're gonna lose. We gotta get the Gold Pants every time.

“Guys always say that like, the guys that didn't grow up in Ohio don't understand the rivalry, but that's not something that I take lightly at all. I don't like that at school at all. We don't talk about that school, I don’t wear that color anymore. Like, that's part of me now. So all of our commits I feel like that are not from Ohio take it just as serious. Like, we talk about it all the time. That's not a school that we're going to lose to if it’s up to us.”

Player Comparison: Jordan Hancock

Hancock played sparingly in his first two seasons at OSU but quickly made a name for himself in his third season, becoming a dominant lockdown nickel cornerback in 2023. So much so that Knowles made the transition from using a three-safety defense to using a cornerback in the slot rather than a safety. If Hancock has another good season in 2024, he could prove to be one of the best slot cornerbacks in the country and solidify himself as an early-to-mid round 2025 NFL draft pick.

While Lockhart is four inches shorter than Hancock (6-foot-1, 193 pounds), he brings a similar skill set to the position that makes him a good fit to be Hancock‘s eventual successor as Ohio State’s slot cornerback.