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Ohio State may still be in the hunt for 5-star CB already committed to LSU
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Elias Ricks may have verbally committed to LSU seven months ago, but until he signs on the dotted line, he’s not locked down to anyone. That may be good news for Ohio State.
Ricks, a five-star cornerback and the No. 16 player in the 2020 recruiting class, verbally committed to LSU on Christmas Day 2018. And while he hasn’t talked about interest in leaving the Bayou Bengals for any other program, there’s still a chance that Ohio State could be in the running to flip the elite cornerback.
In a recent interview with 247Sports, Ricks said that he was really interested in Ohio State, but that Urban Meyer’s decision to retire had him rethink his options. Had Meyer stayed, there’s a good chance he would’ve committed to the Buckeyes.
The five-star corner still has a visit to Columbus scheduled, though, and it sounds like he’s still very interested in the program.
“Ohio State was my No. 2 choice behind LSU and honestly if Urban Meyer never left, I probably would have committed there,” Ricks told 247Sports. “It was really close and they’re still recruiting me really hard. I hear from [Ohio State defensive coordinator Jeff] Hafley almost every day so I’m looking forward to getting out there.”
Ricks will take his visit to Columbus on Nov. 22, the weekend Ohio State hosts Penn State in what has become one of the best matchups in the B1G East.
Currently, Ohio State’s recruiting class sits atop the B1G and is No. 4 nationally. The Buckeyes already have two five-star commitments from wide receiver Julian Fleming and offensive tackle Paris Johnson Jr. Ricks would be a significant addition for Ryan Day and company, and would have OSU challenging for one of the top two spots in the recruiting rankings.
According to 247Sports Composite rankings, Ricks is the No. 2 cornerback in the 2020 class and the No. 3 player out of California.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB