It’s no secret the secondary at Ohio State has fallen off in recent years. There’s help on the way, but the recruiting, selection and development needs to get back to the level it was a few years ago. So far, that’s happening to some regard, but OSU wants to continue to stack defensive backs to have a full cupboard.
On Thursday, the Buckeyes missed on one of those players. Four-star safety Brandon Jacob announced his decision to commit to Maryland over Ohio State, UCF, Miami (Ohio) and Texas A&M. It wasn’t looking like the Buckeyes were the lean anyhow, but it would have been nice to continue replenishing the talent pool on the back end.
Out of Orlando, Florida, Jacob is ranked the 13th safety and 164th prospect overall in the country on the 247Sports composite. He should get an immediate look for playing time with the Terps, but he will not be going against the best receiving corps in the nation every day in practice.
But, hey, there’s more than one way to make a name for yourself and make it to the next level.
Breaking: 4-☆ Safety Brandon Jacob has committed to @TerpsFootball.
Jacob chose Maryland over finalists UCF, Miami (FL), Texas A&M and Ohio State. He becomes the Terps' highest-ranked recruit in the '24 class and the highest ranked commit since Jaishawn Barham in the Class of… pic.twitter.com/kGbtbSzhml
— Cʜᴜᴄᴋ ᴅᴏᴜɢʟᴀs ✪ (@ChuckDouglas_) July 20, 2023
Ohio State is counting the days until the state’s top overall recruit, defensive back Aaron Scott, plans to announce. That decision is scheduled for July 30. If OSU can land him, it’ll make everyone feel a lot better about the group it is building in the defensive backfield.
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