Tag: Kayin Lee

Another 5-star defensive end spurns Ohio State, picks Georgia

It hasn’t been an easy early signing period for Buckeye Nation #GoBucks

This was not how the Buckeyes wanted to finish the early signing period.

Yes, they signed defensive end [autotag]Joshua Mickens[/autotag], but they watched five-star California defensive end [autotag]Matayo Uiagalelei[/autotag] pick [autotag]Oregon[/autotag]. About an hour later, they learned [autotag]Kayin Lee[/autotag] flipped from the Buckeyes to [autotag]Auburn[/autotag].

There was still another big fish left for [autotag]Ohio State[/autotag], Florida defensive end [autotag]Damon Wilson[/autotag]. Unfortunately, Wilson selected the Buckeyes’ [autotag]College Football Playoff[/autotag] opponent, Georgia.

This day has clearly been rough on Ohio State for numerous reasons. At one point, this class was a no-doubt top five group, but after a very poor closing, it’s barely hanging on to top 10 status.

After this disastrous finish, [autotag]Ryan Day[/autotag] has to go back to the drawing board and figure out how to stop this from happening in the future. On the bright side, there are still plenty of talented signees in the class that should have very successful Ohio State careers.

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Auburn flips four-star CB Kayin Lee

He is Auburn’s second flip of the day.

[autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] has flipped yet another prospect.

The latest is four-star cornerback [autotag]Kayin Lee[/autotag] who was previously committed to Ohio State before flipping to Auburn on Wednesday. Auburn missed out on Lee when he committed to Ohio State in June but [autotag]Zac Etheridge[/autotag] kept working on the Peach State product and it paid off Wednesday.

Lee ranks as the No. 21 corner and No. 206 overall player in the 247Sports Composite ranking. He is Auburn’s fourth highest-ranked commit.

The Ellenwood, Georgia native is Auburn’s 19th commit and their seventh flip. Auburn’s class now ranks 20th in the 247Sports’ rankings after landing Lee and flipping Kaldrik Faulk from FSU to start the early signing period.

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Breaking: Ohio State loses 2023 cornerback as he flips to Auburn

Not the best day for the Buckeyes #GoBucks

The Buckeyes program took another hit as this early signing period has been very rough on [autotag]Ryan Day[/autotag] and his coaching staff.

They added one player on Wednesday, Indiana defensive end [autotag]Joshua Mickens[/autotag], but missed on five-star DE [autotag]Matayo Uiagalelei[/autotag].

Now, Georgia cornerback commit [autotag]Kayin Lee[/autotag] has flipped his commitment to [autotag]Auburn[/autotag] and will sign with the Tigers. This one shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. Lee was wearing Auburn gear during his state championship game, but this is still a big blow to the [autotag]Ohio State[/autotag] 2023 recruiting class.

Anytime you lose a commitment in a signing period it’s difficult, but when it’s a position of need and one that has seen so much turnover during the last few years, it’s stings even more.

The timing of this is unfortunate and puts the Buckeyes in a difficult position. Expect Day to hit the portal hard and look to who hasn’t signed in this early period to finish this class on the first Wednesday of February.

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Where each 2023 Ohio State football recruit landed on 247Sports updated rankings

It’s no surprise that this class is ranked as one of the best in the country. #GoBucks

When you assemble one of the top-rated recruiting classes in the country, you are bound to have plenty of players who are among the highest-rated in the nation. That is exactly the case for Ryan Day and his Ohio State Buckeyes football program.

The evidence is here, as 247Sports has updated their Top 247 recruits and it is littered with Buckeye commitments. In total there were twelve future OSU stars that made the list with room to add a few more before the early signing period and the traditional signing day in February. Find out below where each of those 12 verbal commits landed in the updated rankings.

(Note: This list has now been updated from 12 to 13 players with the verbal commitment from quarterback [autotag]Lincoln Kienholz[/autotag] on Wednesday, December 14th.)

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Auburn, Hugh Freeze working to flip Ohio State pledge

Auburn Football has had success flipping commitments so far, and they are nowhere close to being finished.

[autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] and his staff at Auburn football succeeded in flipping two Power Five commits last weekend, and it appears they are not finished.

Auburn has reportedly joined the sweepstakes for four-star cornerback [autotag]Kayin Lee[/autotag]. Lee, who is the No. 16 player for the 2023 class from the state of Georgia, is committed to Ohio State.

Lee has been on Auburn’s radar since his 10th-grade year, but the intensity has risen since the hiring of Hugh Freeze. Lee had not visited the Plains since receiving an offer from Auburn in August of 2020, but he took an official visit to campus on Dec. 2.

He told Chad Simmons of On3 that despite his commitment to the Buckeyes, Auburn still has a chance to earn his commitment.

“That visit really opened my eyes,” Lee told Simmons following his recent visit to Auburn (subscription required). “I have a good relationship with coach [autotag]Zac Etheridge[/autotag]. That is big for me. I see a good chance to play early there and the people take care of each other there.”

Lee’s season ended in heartbreaking fashion as his team, Cedar Grove, lost to Sandy Creek in the GHSA AAA finals at Center Parc Stadium in Atlanta last Saturday. Before the game, he was seen wearing Auburn gloves and bands around his ankles.

The early signing period begins Wednesday, Dec. 21. Kayin Lee will be a prospect to keep a close eye on over the next week.

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Two Ohio State recruits reaffirm their commitment to the Buckeyes

After some speculation of a flip, Ohio State gets some good news! #GoBucks

In the new world of college football, a verbal pledge doesn’t necessarily mean a whole lot. With NIL money aplenty and sometimes just straight bags of cash, recruits can be swayed to renege on their word for what might seem like greener pastures.

Ohio State fans are understandably a bit gun-shy when it comes to early commitments. The Buckeyes have been left at the alter more than their fair share in recent years and even recent weeks.

Names like Ty Lockwood, Dijon Johnson, Brock Glenn, and Mark Fletcher had all pledged to OSU only to back out and commit elsewhere. The latter two leaving Ryan Day without a quarterback or running back in the 2023 recruiting class.

No hard feelings. Fans just need to learn not to get too attached until pen meets paper on signing day. Of course, now the transfer portal threatens to woo our favorite athletes away even after signing … but that’s for a different discussion.

Buckeye Nation was given a little scare earlier this week when Cincinnati Winton Woods product, Jermaine Mathews tweeted that an “Important announcement was coming later”. Immediately Buckeye fans went into a downward spiral speculating that Mathews was going to flip to the Miami Hurricanes who had been working hard on the defensive back and were rumored to be offering stacks of cash for his services.

However, a few hours later, Mathews sent the following tweet and put OSU fans at ease that he would be heading to Columbus early.

Shortly after Mathews’ announcement, Kayin Lee, another highly touted cornerback, allowed Buckeye fans to breathe when he too reaffirmed his pledge to Ohio State. The Georgia native also plans to graduate from high school early and enroll at OSU in January.

After some transfers and missing out on a few corners in the past couple of recruiting cycles it seems that cornerback is a must for the 2023 class. With Mathews and Lee as well as Calvin Simpson-Hunt, it seems like the Buckeyes have a nice trio coming in.

So for now, fans can breathe a sigh of relief… at least until the next cryptic tweet gets posted.

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ESPN names this 2023 Ohio State verbal as their key commit

Who do you believe is the most important commit in the ‘23 class for Ohio State? #GoBucks

With the early signing period just around the corner and the fact that many players opt to end their recruiting at this time, it is time to look at who will be linchpins for every class. ESPN’s Tom VanHaaren looked at the top 25 classes and selected one recruit from each as their key verbal (subscription may be required).

For Ohio State, it was defense end [autotag]Jason Moore[/autotag], ESPN’s 53rd overall ranked player. VanHaaren views Moore as “a player who has room to refine his game, can be important in the pass rush.” He also mentions the possibility of adding [autotag]Keon Keeley[/autotag] (don’t expect it) and [autotag]Damon Wilson[/autotag] to the defensive line haul. He fails to mention [autotag]Matayo Uiagalelei[/autotag], who I believe is much more likely to join the class than Keeley.

VanHaaren is correct about depth at the position, as the Buckeyes have three seniors ([autotag]Zach Harrison[/autotag], [autotag]Javontae Jean-Baptiste[/autotag], and [autotag]Tyler Friday[/autotag]) as the position. [autotag]Ryan Day[/autotag] will have to find some younger players to step up next year to play opposite [autotag]J.T. Tuimoloau[/autotag].

The improvements on the defense do warrant a defender to be selected, but in my eyes it’s a member of the secondary that needs to be highlighted. The defensive back commits of [autotag]Calvin Simpson-Hunt[/autotag], [autotag]Malik Hartford[/autotag], [autotag]Kayin Lee[/autotag], [autotag]Jayden Bonsu[/autotag], [autotag]Cedrick Hawkins[/autotag] or [autotag]Jermaine Matthews[/autotag] would be on the list, but they are ranked lower than Moore.

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Ohio State football recruiting class of 2023 high school performance tracker

Ohio State football recruiting class of 2023 high school performance tracker #GoBucks

As we eagerly await the kickoff of the contest between the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Iowa Hawkeyes, we can pass the time by monitoring some of the top high school prospects that have committed to the Buckeyes in the class of 2023. As it stands, Ohio State currently has the fourth-ranked class in the nation according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings, but the hope is they will rise up these rankings.

This class appears to be offense-heavy with a few stud receivers and some intriguing offensive linemen, but the Buckeyes need to add some more defensive help. I wanted to provide a brief recap of some of the top recruits in the Ohio State class and how they have performed so far during their high school season.

Boom! Ohio State gets commitment from four-star cornerback

In case you missed it, Ohio State got a verbal pledge from former Georgia commit. #GoBucks

Ohio State has been cleaning house on the offensive side of the recruiting world in the past week, but now the Buckeyes are getting some good news on the defensive side. Four-star cornerback, Kayin Lee gave a verbal pledge to wear the scarlet and gray in 2023.

Lee hails from the state of Georgia and was at one time committed to play for the home-state Bulldogs. Upon further evaluation, Lee decided to back away from UGA and re-open his recruitment. And that’s when Ohio State made it a priority to land the No. 18 rated cornerback.

Even though Kerry Coombs was the first to reach out to Lee before his dismissal, it didn’t take long for new cornerback coach, Tim Walton to make a connection. The Georgia native liked what he saw and will be heading to Columbus.

Lee’s commitment vaults Ohio State to the head of 247Sports recruiting rankings passing Notre Dame for the top spot. Lee becomes the second cornerback to commit to the Buckeyes joining Dijon Johnson, the No. 11 ranked corner in the nation.

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This former Georgia CB commit visiting Florida on Friday

Can Florida reel in former Georgia commit Kayin Lee?

After a wild coaching carousel in college football this offseason, many recruits elected to reopen their recruitments after a flurry of changes. Four-star cornerback Kayin Lee is one of those prospects who de-committed from a school — in his case, the Georgia Bulldogs — announcing his decision on Feb. 22.

After he backed off his pledge, a plethora of schools have hit him up, including Florida. He told 247Sports that he’ll be visiting the Gators and coach Billy Napier this Friday.

Lee is considered the 18th best defensive back at his position and ranked the 155th overall player in the country, according to the 247Sports composite rankings. He hails from Ellenwood, Georgia, and played for Cedar Grove where he collected seven interceptions with two of them coming in the state championship game.

He has earned 29 offers so far, including ones from Georgia, Auburn, Arkansas, Florida State, LSU, Miami, Notre Dame and Ohio State.

Besides his visit to the Gators, he wants to see Ole Miss, Razorbacks, Buckeyes, Hurricanes, Oregon and Clemson over the course of spring and summer.

Lee also said Ohio State has recruited him the hardest but doesn’t plan to make another decision until the early signing period in December.

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