'2022-2023 DB - Jyaire Brown (Transfer to LSU)

In April, Jyaire Brown (@jyairebrown13) asked Kerry Coombs if he would accept his commitment. Coombs’ response?

“Hell yeah.”

Some background on Brown’s decision, what he brings to the table and what life’s been like since his commitment:https://t.co/z4FHNVRvbZ

— Zack Carpenter (@Zack_Carp) June 25, 2020

BACKGROUND ON BROWN'S COMMITMENT
From when he was in elementary school up until today, rising junior Jyaire Brown had always rooted for Ohio State, watching the Buckeye games on TV in his father and stepmother’s home in New Orleans.

He was always a big backer of Urban Meyer, and he says he’s a huge fan of Marshon Lattimore – a fellow cornerback with similar size coming out of high school (6-foot, 175 pounds) compared to Brown (6-foot, 165 pounds) and, like Brown, a native of Ohio who had moved to New Orleans. Then he rooted for Jeff Okudah and now, Justin Fields.

When Brown moved away from his Cincinnati home at 4 years old, he was moving away with his dad and stepmom, but all of his immediate family remained in Ohio, as did his grandmother, aunts, uncles and cousins. So Brown made a promise to himself as he grew into a prominent player in Louisiana.

“Playing football over the years, I’ve always said I was gonna get back home so I can get a chance to play in front of my family because they never got a chance to see me play,” Brown told Eleven Warriors. “Ohio State’s always been my dream school, so when I got (the offer), I knew. And me and Coach Coombs developed our relationship, and it was just curtains from there.”

When Brown was offered by Ohio State on April 17, the four-star Warren Easton High School cornerback could barely contain his excitement, telling us that the “unreal” offer “means everything to me and my family” and that it was more impactful than any of his other offers. Bigger than Alabama, Georgia, Oklahoma and even LSU.

He even started talking as if he had already committed to the Buckeyes, letting slip that he “can’t wait to play under Coach Coombs.”

In his heart, he already knew where he was going to play his college ball the moment he got the offer. But still, he got some pushback from his older brother, Lonnell Brown Jr., a former standout slot/nickel cornerback at Indiana State and team MVP under Tom Bolden at Colerain High School. Lonnell wasn’t upset with the decision to commit so early. He had just been hoping his little brother would take some more time and be patient with the process.

But Brown didn’t want to wait any longer, and after talking extensively with their father, Lonnell Sr., he knew he had to pull the trigger on making his “dream school” a reality.

“I just had it in my head that it was my decision, and I talked to my dad and he supported it. That’s all I needed,” Brown said.

He woke up on April 22, just five days after getting that offer, not knowing that he was going to be the day he committed, but he couldn’t hold off any longer, becoming the Buckeyes' first commitment in the 2022 class.

“I had a virtual tour with basically the whole staff about facilities, academics, basically everything about the school,” Brown says of that day. “It was with almost the whole coaching staff – Coach (Ryan) Day and everybody. After I got off the visit, I FaceTimed with Coach Coombs. We were just talking regular, and my dad was like, ‘You wanna do it? You wanna commit?’ I was just like, ‘Yeah.’

“I asked Coach Coombs, ‘Are y’all taking commitments right now?’ And he said, ‘Hell yeah.’ I just said, ‘Well I wanna commit,’ and he got all excited. I talked to his wife and stuff. It was really cool.”

BRINGING VERSATILITY
Less than 12 hours before Brown’s commitment, Kerry Coombs detailed in a teleconference what he and the Buckeyes target in a defensive back recruit. The key word when it came to on-field traits was versatility.

“We’re looking for guys that can play at multiple spots,” Coombs said. “I think that’s really important because that gives you a lot of opportunities to play more guys and play them in different situations.”

Therein lies perhaps the main reason Brown’s commitment was accepted. Ranked in the top 125 overall in the 2022 class and in the top 20 at his position, Brown brings physicality on the outside and lateral quickness on the inside.

“I think it’s my ability of being very versatile,” Brown said when asked why Coombs was so ecstatic about his commitment. “I can play in the slot as a nickel corner, and I also can play as an outside corner. I have the footwork to be in the slot to cover the smaller, quicker receivers, and that helps me when I go to the outside and cover the taller and, not slower, but not as speedy receivers.”

MOVING TO OHIO; LIFE SINCE COMMITTING
We will get into this more on Saturday, but Brown recently transferred from Warren Easton to Lakota West High School, so his return home is taking place two years sooner than originally planned.

First, though, he has to actually make the move. He spent about a month-and-a-half back in Cincinnati in May and June, but he is now back in New Orleans preparing for a move. Some relaxation and fun is the first step, with a going-away pool party planned for Friday before he makes the move to Cincinnati beginning Sunday.

He will be moving in with his brother first, as his father and stepmother put together final plans on moving into a new place, with one possibility being a neighborhood about five minutes from Lakota West. Close enough that he could backpedal to school each day.

Despite a busy and sometimes hectic move, Brown says life has been “comfortable” and “smooth” since he made his commitment.

“I’ve just been continuing working and doing what I needed to do to get me there. Just working every day,” Brown said.

As far as recruiting goes, he says, “it’s slowing down a little bit, but it’s still there,” as he talks “from time to time” with schools such as Tennessee, Mississippi State, Texas, Penn State and TCU.

When it comes to his recruitment, he says he wants to keep options open just in case something funky happens down the road.

“My mindset’s that I’m gonna keep listening to what they have to say and keep being open-minded because with me having two years left of high school, anything can happen so I just listen to what they have to say,” Brown said. “But Ohio State, I’m all in with them. At the end of the day, I’m still gonna be a Buckeye.”

Mark Pantoni, the Buckeyes’ director of player personnel, has said that one of Ohio State’s top one or two objectives in recruiting is to recruit their committed players as if they are still uncommitted. Brown says he’s felt that approach since April.

“I talk to them almost every other day,” Brown said. “They definitely are still busy recruiting me.”

The fans have been, too.

“I get nothing but love from Ohio State fans,” Brown said. “They’re one of the best fan bases in the nation.”

 

Our #15 Overall DB in the Class of 2022 is Jyaire Brown of Lakota West High School in Ohio!https://t.co/pRoYnYXbTw pic.twitter.com/tb1GtG2Xmh

— Tom Lemming (@LemmingReport) June 29, 2020

 

Future Ohio State teammates Jyaire Brown and Tegra Tshabola believe they “can accomplish anything together” after working behind the scenes to team up at Lakota West. https://t.co/2o5N41NEQ9

— Eleven Warriors (@11W) July 1, 2020

 

Ohio State 2022 cornerback commit Jyaire Brown (@jyairebrown13) running the 40. Spoke with him earlier and this was one of his main focuses coming into today. pic.twitter.com/mgqOx9PSCS

— Zack Carpenter (@Zack_Carp) July 11, 2020

 

Future #ohiostate cornerback @jyairebrown13 pic.twitter.com/9UUZN0AwFv

— Bill Kurelic (@Bill_Kurelic) July 11, 2020

 

#OhioState cornerback commit @jyairebrown13 pic.twitter.com/BPRvii9iAm

— Bill Kurelic (@Bill_Kurelic) July 11, 2020

 

I been in the ring with satan, had to rumble hours #godsent pic.twitter.com/LcqAlvdcSp

— Jyaire Brown (@jyairebrown13) July 12, 2020

 

Observations from Saturday’s @TheUCReport camp:

-C.J. Hicks was the most impressive, looks like a possible five-star

-Hicks & Shawn Murphy, the country’s No. 1 ILB, continue to bond

-Jyaire Brown “by far” the best DB

-Tegra Tshabola imposes, impresseshttps://t.co/u0BpFSwSdl

— Zack Carpenter (@Zack_Carp) July 12, 2020

BROWN “BY FAR” THE BEST DEFENSIVE BACK AT THE CAMP
Another of the camp’s top performers was another Ohio State commit in cornerback Jyaire Brown, the 6-foot, 165-pound corner from New Orleans who moved back to his hometown of Cincinnati just two weeks ago after his transfer to Lakota West High School.

There were some times when Brown seemed to go through the motions in finishing out drills and not going all out, and that’s when one of the camp’s coaches lit into him for it. About 15-20 minutes later, that same coach told Eleven Warriors that Brown was “by far” the best defensive back prospect there.

Why?

Aside from the quick hips, an upper-body frame that could easily add plenty of muscle to it, the footwork – in which Brown seemed to glide at times – and the versatility that the coach raved about, it was the level-headedness that impressed him the most.

“He’s so calm when he takes criticisms,” the coach said.

When Brown was chastised, he was right back into the drill with good body language and no complaints.

“Ohio State’s gonna love that kid,” the coach said.

Don’t be surprised if Brown winds up as a fan favorite in Columbus for his personality, either. He’s definitely a happy-go-lucky type of guy who was all smiles throughout the day, even though he plays with that chip-on-his-shoulder attitude when on the field.

Brown told Eleven Warriors that one of his biggest goals during the day was “just getting in and out on my breaks real fast. Instead of being slow, just one-two real fast out of my breaks on every drill.”

Brown was a bit shorter than I had expected him to be, and as of now it appears he is on a trajectory to be a nickel corner. He will have to grow a bit in order for him to become that physical presence the Buckeyes like to have on the outside, and he has two years to do so.

But that versatility we mentioned is one of the key reasons Kerry Coombs and Co. accepted Brown’s commitment so early in the process. Slot corner served a monumental importance for the Buckeyes’ defense in 2019 when Shaun Wade became a star in the role, and perhaps Brown will go down that same path one day.

Surprisingly, Brown says he did not receive an invitation to the Future 50 or the Under Armour All-America Game.

 

Jyaire Brown, another OSU commit, moved up seven spots to No. 115 overall, listed as the No. 4 player in Ohio and the No. 15 CB in the country.

While Buckeye Nation continues to await the commitment of Jordan Hancock, the latest update to the Top247 for 2022 saw a number of Ohio State commits and targets get a boost to their overall ratings. https://t.co/dsDdnorT4m

— Land-Grant Holy Land (@Landgrant33) July 16, 2020

 

Brown is now ranked No. 113 overall and No. 14 defensive back............

 

#Buckeyes commit Jyaire Brown getting ready to make his Ohio debut. Photo via @TomOrr4 pic.twitter.com/mIzaH64oE2

— Marc Givler (@MarcGivler) August 28, 2020

 

Big win tonight for future #Buckeyes @jyairebrown13 and @tshabola_tegra photo via @TomOrr4 pic.twitter.com/24gp1A30vw

— Marc Givler (@MarcGivler) August 29, 2020

 

Down near West Chester, Ohio, offensive lineman Tegra Tshabola and cornerback Jyaire Brown helped Lakota West dominate Hamilton 40-13. Even though Hamilton took an early 7-0 lead, Lakota West forced three-straight turnovers and turned them all into touchdowns. Hamilton never saw a lead again as Lakota West improves to 2-0.

 

I’m at Sycamore Stadium tonight, where the Aviators are hosting Ohio State commits Jyaire Brown and Tegra Tshabola and the Lakota West Firebirds. Here’s a glimpse of Brown returning a punt. Lakota West up 14-0 in the second quarter. pic.twitter.com/kKbvbArPL9

— Dan Hope (@Dan_Hope) September 11, 2020

 

#OhioState DB commit @jyairebrown13 returning punts too. pic.twitter.com/50SbiymrXk

— Bill Kurelic (@Bill_Kurelic) October 2, 2020

 

#OhioState cornerback commit @jyairebrown13 pic.twitter.com/8GopNh9IVE

— Bill Kurelic (@Bill_Kurelic) October 2, 2020