BOOM Ohio State bolsters its secondary for the 2024 class with the commitment of four-star safety Jaylen McClain.
McClain's addition marks the second straight year the Buckeyes have added a safety from New Jersey, with Jayden Bonsu signing in the 2023 class. Ohio State has also had recent luck with safeties from New Jersey considering former OSU product Ronnie Hickman started for the Buckeyes the past two seasons. Other New Jersey prospects to join OSU in recent recruiting classes include Cody Simon and Luke Wypler .
McClain chose Ohio State over the likes of Notre Dame, USC, Oregon, Penn State, Rutgers, Boston College, Cincinnati, Duke, Georgia, Iowa State, Kentucky, Louisville, LSU, Maryland, Miami, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ole Miss, Pittsburgh, South Carolina, Stanford, Syracuse, Tennessee, Texas A&M, UCLA and Wisconsin.
The 6-foot, 185-pound prospect is a two-way player for Seton Hall Prep , lining up at wide receiver offensively. OSU is obviously focused on his capabilities as a defensive back, though. Last season, McClain racked up 83 tackles with a sack and interception. Offensively, he totaled five receptions for 22 yards and five carries for 17 yards and a touchdown.
At his build, McClain is best fitted as a strong safety in defensive coordinator Jim Knowles' scheme. McClain has both speed to be adept in coverage, being clocked at 11.06 seconds in the 100-meter dash and 22.7 seconds in the 200-meter dash but also the physicality needed to cover and jam tight ends or make plays in the run game. Given his edge awareness he displayed in high school, it wouldn't be surprising to see Knowles deploy him in the box when on the field.
McClain will need to bulk up a bit when he gets on campus, but has a chance to compete for playing time within his first few seasons, especially considering he's willing to play multiple positions and could be a special teams contributor.
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