College Football: Florida cornerback commits to Buckeyes

“First and foremost, I would like to thank God for blessing me with the talent and love for a sport that I know without Him would be impossible,” Turner wrote in a message posted to social media.

“A heartfelt thank you to my parents, siblings, coaches, teammates, friends and family for believing in me and for your unwavering support. To all the coaches who reached out to me during this recruiting process showing major love, I thank you!”

He is the 12th player to commit to Ohio State’s 2022 class, which is the best in the Big Ten at this time and in the running for No. 1 in the country.

Turner is the second recruit from Florida to commit to Ohio State head coach Ryan Day’s program for the 2022 class.

Jaheim Singletary, a five-star cornerback from Robert E. Lee High School in Jacksonville, is the other. He committed Jan. 2 and is the No. 2 prospect in Florida and No. 5 cornerback in the country.

Ohio State has not signed a player from the Sunshine State since running back Marcus Crowley of Jacksonville Trinity Christian Academy in 2019.

(2020 signee Lejond Cavazos attended IMG Academy in Bradenton, but OSU lists his hometown as San Antonio, Texas.)

Prior to 2020, Ohio State had signed at least one player from Florida every year since 2004.

The state, which had more natives taken in the 2021 NFL Draft last week than any other state, has produced 64 future Buckeyes since 1988.

After Ohio, it was by far the most common home state for Ohio State recruits during the John Cooper, Jim Tressel and Urban Meyer eras.

Given Ohio State’s presence already in Florida, there was some thought Meyer’s hiring in late 2011 could increase the flow of talent from the state, but that did not happen.

Meyer signed 18 players from Florida in seven years while Tressel signed 24 in 11 and Cooper signed 23 in 13 years.

While Meyer’s annual average of 2.6 Florida natives per year is higher than Tressel’s 2.2, Meyer also signed more players overall per year.

A slightly higher percentage of Tressel’s recruits (10.8) came from Florida than Meyer’s (10.6).

Instead of becoming more Florida-centric, Meyer expanded the number of states Ohio State found recruits (while also signing fewer players from Ohio).

His seven Ohio State recruiting classes drew players from 27 different states, surpassing Tressel (20) and Cooper (22) in fewer years.

So far, Day appears to be following Meyer’s lead. He has already signed players from 19 different states (plus Australia) in three years.