COLUMBUS – The Buckeyes continue to recruit the state of Florida at a high level and that was not hurt by having some of the best in the state on campus over the weekend with the South Florida Express 7-on-7 team visit.
Cornerback Sharif Denson calls Jacksonville home, far from ‘South Florida’ by any stretch of the imagination but the reach of SFE is felt throughout the entire state as the top-200 national recruit was part of the trip.
This was not a first visit for the 5-foot-11, 170-pounder but it was a first one after an Ohio State staff shakeup and it was a good chance to get in front of the new coaches and check a few things out.
“Visit one was with the old staff, it was with Kerry Coombs and (Matt Barnes),” Denson said on Saturday afternoon. “With the new staff, I just wanted to make sure it was still the same (feelings).”
In now are defensive back coaches Perry Eliano and Tim Walton, two very familiar names to young defensive backs who are looking to get developed, each with their own skillset and path that took them to Ohio State.
“Coach (Eliano) just put out Coby Bryant and Sauce (Gardner) so he is confident in his ability,” Denson said. “And coach (Tim) Walton, he had been in the league for so long, he hadn’t been recruiting he had been working on DB’s just getting better at DB work, so he is going to develop you all the way.”
The Buckeyes have been no stranger to putting first round defensive backs into the National Football League, most recently with Jeff Okudah going to the Detroit Lions in the 2020 NFL Draft.
With Eliano and Walton on staff, Denson knows that Ohio State’s pedigree is just fine.
“So, when I met them, I just knew that Ohio State is real DBU,” Denson said.
What else have the Buckeyes been saying? Denson is in no hurry to make any sort of decisions as he already has more than three-dozen offers. The Buckeyes would love to see Denson pull the trigger but are not putting on the hard sell as Denson works things out.
“(They told me) if you want to compete with the best and go to the national championship every year and go to the draft, this is the place to be,” Denson said.
What else did the four-star corner have to say about his visit? Check out our exclusive video interview as part of the SFE trip to Ohio State over the course of this past weekend.
