'Part of the brotherhood': 2024 4-star Arizona CB Miles Lockhart commits to Ohio State
Bryce West and Damarion Witten were not the only 2024 recruits to announce his commitment to Ohio State on the June 23-25 official visit.
At the Friday night dinner of his official visit, 2024 four-star cornerback Miles Lockhart said that he would be committing to Ohio State, publicly announcing he would join the Buckeyes' recruiting class Thursday.
"I was a little nervous, I ain’t going to lie," Lockhart told The Dispatch before publicly announcing his commitment. "But my mom and everybody was really happy. My sisters, they (were) all crying and stuff like that. Just seeing everybody come up to me — coach (Ryan) Day, coach (Tim) Walton — just telling me, ‘Welcome to the family’ and stuff like that, it’s a real surreal feeling. You’re really part of the brotherhood right now. "
Lockhart is ranked as the No. 356 player and the No. 31 cornerback in the class per 247Sports composite rankings. The Chandler, Arizona native chose Ohio State while holding offers from Texas A&M and Oregon, among others.
Along with West, Lockhart joins an Ohio State 2024 defensive recruiting class that includes linebackers Garrett Stover and Payton Pierce, defensive lineman Justin Scott and safety Jaylen McClain.
Lockhart was offered by Ohio State cornerbacks coach Tim Walton and the Buckeyes after a recruiting camp last June, fitting the bill of a traditional Buckeye cornerback standing at 5-foot-10, 185 pounds.
Lockhart said Walton sees him as a nickel cornerback, allowing him to do everything from blitzing off the edge and stopping the run game, to being a "ball-hawk" in the slot.
"It’s just like a versatile position that they could move around a lot," Lockhart said. "And he feels like I could fit in right into there."
For the past three seasons at Basha High School, Lockhart recorded 169 tackles and 8.5 tackles-for-loss at cornerback, along with seven interceptions and 38 pass deflections per MaxPreps.
Lockhart is Ohio State's first cornerback commit from Arizona since Denzel Burke, who was a 4-star athlete in the 2020 class. 2022 quarterback Devin Brown is an Arizona native, but committed as a senior at Corner Canyon High School in Draper, Utah.
Burke is one of six Arizona natives in Ohio State's 2023 roster along with kicker Parker Lewis, long snapper John Ferlmann, Brown, safety Lathan Ransom and wide receiver Kyion Grayes.
Lockhart is Ohio State's 11th out-of-state commitment in the 2024 class, along with Scott (Illinois) wide receivers Jeremiah Smith (Florida) and Mylan Graham (Indiana), quarterback Air Noland (Georgia), running back James Peoples (Texas), offensive lineman Ian Moore (Indiana), Pierce (Texas), tight end Max LeBlanc (Tennessee), running back Jordan Lyle (Florida) and McClain (New Jersey).
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Miles Lockhart, 2024 four-star CB, commits to Ohio State football
