How Terrance Brooks’ Commitment Impacts Ohio State’s 2022 Recruiting Class

A look at what Brooks will bring to the Buckeyes both on and off the field.

Author:
Andrew Lind
Jun 30, 2021 5:40 PM EDT

Ohio State just landed a commitment from one of the top cornerbacks in the country when Little Elm, Texas, four-star Terrance Brooks pledged his services to the Buckeyes on Wednesday afternoon.

The 5-foot-11 and 190-pound Brooks has everything you want in a cornerback, including an athletic build and an enormous 80-inch wingspan that allows him to excel in man-to-man coverage. He also has elite speed, as evidenced by times of 11.25 and 23.27 seconds in the 100- and 200-meter dash during his junior season at Plano (Texas) John Paul II.

Brooks transferred this offseason to Little Elm, the same high school that produced redshirt freshman cornerback Ryan Watts, after his father was hired to be the Lobos’ new defensive backs coach. His father is notably former Texas A&M and San Francisco 49ers safety Chet Brooks, who won Super Bowl XXIV and XXV before suffering a career-ending injury after just three seasons in the NFL.

Brooks is aggressive, physical and extremely versatile, which is why he projects as someone who can play outside, in the slot or even as a deep safety if the need arises. He’s simply able to produce no matter where he lines up, as he’s been involved in stopping the run while also intercepting six passes passes – including two that he returned for touchdowns – over the last two seasons.

As for how he fits into Ohio State’s 2022 recruiting class, it appears that Brooks is the final piece of the Buckeyes’ cornerback haul. However, there’s no denying the staff will need to do all it can to hold onto a pledge from Jacksonville Robert E. Lee five-star Jaheim Singletary, who is being heavily recruited by Georgia and Miami (Fla.).

The same goes for West Chester (Ohio) Lakota West four-star Jyaire Brown and Hollywood (Fla.) Chaminade-Madonna three-star Ryan Turner, who have been undoubtedly hearing from other schools, as well. It’s also probably safe to assume that Alabama and Texas won’t give up on their pursuit of Brooks, either.

The key for Ohio State is to make it very clear to each player how they fit into the secondary of the future, as well as the expected turnover at the position over the next few years, with returning senior Marcus Williamson exhausting his eligibility and juniors Sevyn Banks and Cameron Brown potentially off to the NFL after the upcoming season.

Brooks is the third player from the state of Texas to commit to Ohio State this cycle, joining Southlake Carroll five-star quarterback Quinn Ewers and Austin Lake Travis five-star wide receiver Caleb Burton. The Buckeyes would like to add a couple more in Duncanville five-star defensive end Omari Abor and Humble Atascocita four-star offensive tackle Kam Dewberry, too, but there’s seemingly a long way to go in their respective recruitments.

All that said, defensive coordinator Kerry Coombs and secondary coach Matt Barnes can shift their focus on rounding out the secondary with pledges from Las Vegas Bishop Gorman four-star Zion Branch and Altoona (Iowa) Southeast Polk four-star Xavier Nwankpa, hoping to finish the class with a total of seven defensive backs.

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