SI All-American Candidate Jaheim Singletary Commits to Ohio State
One day after the Ohio State Buckeyes won a huge game on the field against Clemson, they've won a major recruiting battle against some of the best schools in the nation.
Jaheim Singletary, the No. 2 ranked high school junior in the state of Florida and the Class of 2022 No. 10 ranked prospect in the entire country, has chosen to come to Columbus and be a Buckeye.
Singletary opted for Ohio State instead of Clemson, Florida and Georgia.
A Jacksonville, Florida native, Singletary is a lifelong Gators fan, which makes this a great recruiting get for the Buckeyes.
Here's what SI All-American Director of Scouting John Garcia had to say about Singletary's ability.
"Singletary is one of these big body DB’s who can actually play corner," Garcia said. "That sounds simple, but not a lot of legit 6-foot-2 prospects can turn, run and locate the football like he can. Ironically enough, the last one from Jacksonville you could say that about was current Buckeye consensus All-American Shaun Wade. There are some similarities there.
"Jahiem is longer and more explosive than Wade was as a high school junior, but Jaheim also played better competition comparatively. He’s a legit, elite SI All-American candidate with true corner skills. At his size, no more than three or four kids in the 2021 cycle were under consideration with that skillset. Singletary has experience playing inside as well. Historically, OSU likes to start these guys inside - Jeff Okudah, Shaun Wade and others did that. Singletary slides right in as that next man up.
"He needs to add weight (he's a little thin, but just a junior in high school) and he missed some time with an injury. He's still a little raw technically, but the traits are there. I can’t emphasize enough that he can play corner at that size … he can play elsewhere if need be, but he's got cornerback skills first and foremost. This is a huge grab for the Buckeyes."
Singletary was pretty confident he wanted to become a Buckeye, but like most recruits around the country during the pandemic, his chances to visit campuses have been limited. He was able to make a multi-day trip to Columbus in mid-December, his first ever trip to see campus, and he fell in love with it. He's drawn to Ohio State largely because of the tradition of the program and he's close with Shaun Wade.
Singletary told 247Sports that he's mentally been committed to Ohio State for about a month. Singletary was recruited by running backs coach Tony Alford primarily, with Kerry Coombs and Ryan Day playing a significant role in the process. Here's what Singletary told Steve Wiltfong.
“Coach Alford that’s my main guy,” Singletary said. “He’s so human and he just keeps it real. He’s the guy that’s going to stay on top of your and mold you to be a great young man. Coach Coombs he’s fun, that’s my guy. He’s fired up. He has that energy. Coach Coombs is the energy guy. Coach Day that’s the top guy. I love Coach Day. Me and Coach Day talk every day through text and he’s calling to make sure I’m ok and everything else is going good.
“When they offered me, they just did more than everyone else. They took that extra step even with personal issues they went the extra mile for me. That touched me. They were going extra on stuff like major stuff, not simple stuff, like breaking down what my transcript of getting me there, no other college broke down school with me and what I’m doing and what I can do to get on campus early. Calling me daily and making sure family is ok, that I got my head on straight. They were never pressing me about coming to Ohio State. It was we need you and take my time and that hit me. I liked that too.”
Singletary is the second cornerback (joining Jyaire Brown) and the tenth overall member to verbally commit to Ohio State's Class of 2022, but he's the second highest rated prospect behind only quarterback Quinn Ewers.
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