Pickerington (Ohio) North five-star defensive end Jack Sawyer officially ended his recruitment when he signed with Ohio State during the first day of the Early Signing Period on Wednesday.
The 6-5, 248-pound Sawyer is considered the third-best strong-side defensive end and No. 4 prospect overall in the class of 2021, though his sat out his senior season with the intention of enrolling early and playing in a potential spring season, though that went out the window when the Big Ten reinstated the fall season.
Sawyer was the first player in his class to commit to the Buckeyes, doing so in February 2019. He’d been to campus numerous times leading up to that, including a camp the previous summer where he worked one-on-one with defensive line coach Larry Johnson and three games that fall, including Ohio State’s 62-39 destruction of Michigan.
From there, Sawyer became a leader in the Buckeyes’ recruiting class. He notably hosted an unofficial Buckeye Bash at his home in October, which allowed fellow commits and top targets to bond while watching Ohio State’s season opener against Nebraska. He also showed the other recruits around campus, since a few had never been to Columbus and were unable to conduct official or unofficial visits due to the ongoing recruiting dead period amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Sawyer is joined in the Buckeyes’ 2021 recruiting class by Streetsboro, Ohio, four-star defensive tackle Mike Hall and Manassas (Va.) Unity Reed four-star defensive tackle Tyleik Williams. Ohio State is still hoping to add to that haul by landing Sammamish (Wash.) Eastside Catholic five-star defensive end J.T. Tuimoloau on the traditional National Signing Day on Feb. 3.
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