There are few names in the class of 2025 that Ohio State would like to land more than Houston (Texas) North Shore five-star cornerback Devin Sanchez.
The 6-2, 170-pound prospect is the No. 1 corner in his class per the 247Sports composite rankings, already holding an Ohio State offer alongside Alabama, Georgia, Oklahoma, Texas, USC and many, many others.
Thing is, the Buckeyes stand out to him too. The versatility and reputation of the program’s corners is something that he admires, he told BSB at the last of Ohio State’s five one-day recruiting camps Tuesday.
“An Ohio State cornerback, he’s good at everything,” Sanchez said. “You can press, you can play off, that’s what they like to do. I feel like if you can do all of that and you can be great at it, you’ve got a chance to be on that wall (of great players). There’s not that many schools that call themselves DBU, and Ohio State is probably one of the No. 1 schools, just looking at the guys in the league. It speaks for itself.”
Also standing out is the background of both Ohio State cornerbacks coach Tim Walton and safeties coach Perry Eliano. Eliano previously coached corners at Cincinnati and helped develop Sauce Gardner into the No. 4 overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft.
“Just looking at the dudes that he’s put out, he and Coach (Perry) Eliano combined, there’s some big-time names,” Sanchez said. “You’ve got Sauce, Antoine Winfield, probably one of the best DBs to come through Ohio State. Guys like that. Then Coach Walton, he played here.”
Tuesday afforded Sancez an opportunity not just to work one-on-one with Walton, but to speak with the Buckeyes’ wide receivers coach and offensive coordinator Brian Hartline. Hartline, of course, has a reputation for consistently bringing in and developing the nation’s best pass catchers.
Should he decide to come to Ohio State, Sanchez knows he’ll get the hardest work possible in practices against such top-flight receiver groups. It’s something else that attracts him to Columbus.
“I feel like every receiver they’ve got is NFL ready,” Sanchez said. “Going against them every day in practice, and then you get to the league, it’s almost like you’re already there because you’ve been seeing it every day in practice.”
As it relates to the OSU defense, Sanchez not only sees the fit with the myriad ways the Buckeyes deploy their corners but also feels as though that side of the ball will take another step forward for Ohio State in 2023.
“That defense that they had last year, I feel like it was good but this year, seeing what they have, I feel like it’s going to be better,” Sanchez said. “It’s going to be stronger and I really feel like they can get back to where they need to be and come back with a national championship.”
Sanchez will be hanging around Columbus through Wednesday to complete a full unofficial visit, and there’s a lot of activities planned for him to get a real sense of what it would be like to play in Ohio State’s program.
“I’m going to be in all the team meetings, I’m going to be here watching the team,” Sanchez said. “After all this, I’m going to be at their (summer conditioning), I’m going to be in their meetings with them. They’re making it feel like home.”
There’s no timeline yet for Sanchez with his decision, though he does plan to be committed early on in his senior year.
“Just the relationship that I have with that coach and knowing that he’s not going to leave anytime soon when I come,” Sanchez said. “I don’t want to go to a school and the coach is gone in a year and I’ve still got two more years left. I want to build that relationship with a coach and I want him to stay and develop me.”
