Cavazos back in the fold for the Buckeyes

Ohio State never gave up in its pursuit of four-star Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy defensive back Lejond Cavazos. Not after his decommitment from the program following Urban Meyer's departure and not after turning over a defensive staff that has four new coaches on board. That persistence paid off on Friday evening as the four-star defensive back committed to the Buckeyes, again.

New head coach Ryan Day stayed on Cavazos immediately after his decommitment in December and new co-defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley made the Cavazos family his first phone call upon arriving in Columbus. Those relationships kept the Buckeyes very much at the forefront of Cavazos' recruiting process and are big reasons for his re-joining the class.

Cavazos handled the decommitment with great maturity, deciding to take a breath and see what Ohio State would do as it filled out its staff while also taking a few visits to schools that had continued to recruit him even after his summer pledge to the Buckeyes. Ultimately, the late March visit back to Columbus turned the tide back to Ohio State. The Buckeyes had been picking up momentum over the past several weeks, but seeing that the "new" operation in Columbus didn't seem so different from the old one was enough to get the big-time speedster back in the fold.

Cavazos is commitment No. 8 for the Buckeyes in the 2020 class which currently sits at No. 5 in the Rivals team rankings.