Ty Lockwood, Ohio State football's first 2023 commit, decommits, flips to Alabama

Ohio State football's first commit of the 2023 class is heading to Alabama.

Four-star tight end Ty Lockwood announced Tuesday that he would decommit from the Buckeyes and commit to coach Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide.

Alabama was Lockwood's first outside offer since he committed to the Buckeyes on June 19, 2021.

Lockwood is the No. 9 tight end and the No. 141 player in the country per 247Sports' composite rankings.

Ohio State now has the No. 3 class in the country behind No. 1 Notre Dame and No. 2 Alabama.

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"It was a good, eye-opening experience," Lockwood told the Tuscaloosa News. "These coaches are great guys, and talking to coach Saban is pretty surreal. You see him everywhere, and then to be offered by him is pretty special.

"They've got a good group of players and coaches there, so it was neat to experience that and see it first-hand."

Lockwood, a 6-foot-5, 225-pound junior junior at Independence High School in Thompson’s Station, Tennessee, grabbed 43 receptions for 606 yards and three touchdowns in a breakout season last fall.

Ohio State recently secured a commitment from four-star tight end Jelani Thurman, the No. 7 tight end and No. 106 player in the 2023 class.

Lockwood was on Ohio State's campus June 7 to take part in one of the Buckeyes' annual summer recruiting camps, working with offensive line commits Joshua Padilla, Luke Montgomery and Austin Siereveld. 

After Lockwood posted his Alabama offer on Twitter Friday, the four-star tight end posted official offer tweets from Ole Miss, Auburn and the Crimson Tide and removed his Ohio State profile from his account profile photo. 

"Having offers from both of those schools, it's a pretty awesome experience to have," Lockwood said after his Alabama visit. "I'm very blessed to have the opportunity. I'm still committed to Ohio State, but to have Alabama reach out and offer me is a big deal and I'm not going to take that lightly." 

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Alabama has recently secured commitments from four-star offensive tackle Olaus Alinen and five-star safety Caleb Downs, who each had Ohio State as finalists.

Since Johnson's decommitment, members of Ohio State's 2023 recruiting class have been vocal about their continued loyalty to the Buckeyes.

"Buckeye nation, there is no need to worry," five-star wide receiver Brandon Inniss tweeted Sunday (July 31). "We will get players we need to fit the culture... They want to break us up cuz they scared of us."

"Ain't nobody going nowhere," four-star wide receiver Carnell Tate added, tagging Inniss and four-star wide receiver commits Noah Rogers and Bryson Rodgers.

Without Lockwood, Thurman is set to join a tight end room in 2023 that could include Cade Stover, Gee Scott Jr., Sam Hart, Joe Royer and Bennett Christian, with Mitch Rossi heading into his senior season in 2022. 

cgay@dispatch.com 

@_ColinGay

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State football recruiting: Ty Lockwood, 2023 tight end decommits