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Blake Baumgartner, ESPN Staff Writer
Four-star cornerback Aaron Scott committed to Ohio State on Sunday.
Scott (No. 49 overall in the 2024 ESPN 300) becomes the sixth top-50 prospect for Ohio State’s class, which ESPN has ranked third — just ahead of Michigan.
“I feel like whoever I see myself playing for and how the coaches interact with me the most, that’s where I feel like my decision will be,” Scott told ESPN in April.
With an eye keenly focused on who will develop him the best and help him eventually get to the NFL, the Springfield, Ohio, native decided to stay home and turned down offers from Michigan and Oregon to join the Buckeyes. He took official visits to all three schools last month.
He told ESPN that his father grew up an avid fan of the Buckeyes, so the program had a built-in advantage because it was all he knew growing up.
Last season, the 6-foot-1, 180-pound Scott recorded 21 tackles with three tackles for loss while intercepting five passes (returning two for TDs) for Springfield High School (Ohio).
“I feel like I’m a man-to-man, press corner,” he said. “Not really off-man.”
Bryce West Jr. (No. 29 overall, No. 4 CB) and Scott would give Ohio State a pair of ESPN 300 cornerbacks for a second straight year after the program signed Jermaine Mathews (No. 43 overall, No. 5 CB) and Calvin Simpson-Hunt (No. 149 overall, No. 16 CB) in 2023.
“Seeing who’s around me, who I’m going to surround myself around [was a priority throughout the process],” Scott said. “[I want to be with] players that can have a chance to win a natty.”
Redshirt sophomore Denzel Burke is the team’s leading returning corner with 34 tackles (24 solo) with five pass breakups. Cornerbacks coach Tim Walton’s unit features no upperclassmen coming into this season.
Ohio State’s pass defense (184 YPG) finished fifth in the Big Ten last season under defensive coordinator Jim Knowles. But former Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett threw for 398 yards in Georgia’s 42-41 Peach Bowl victory.