WAKE FOREST, N.C. – The next wave of Ohio State football players will be descending on campus the first week of June to start their collegiate careers and defensive tackle Jaden McKenzie will be part of the talent infusion in Columbus (Ohio) to join Ryan Day's first full team as head coach of the Buckeyes.

The 6-foot-3, 280-pounder was not one of the biggest talkers in the recruiting class and his late-December commitment went under the radar of many fans who were still in shock with the news of Urban Meyer's departure and the impending Rose Bowl.

Make no mistake however, just because McKenzie was not one of the most visible recruits on social media talking about his recruiting process does not mean that he is not excited for the opportunity that is less than a month away with the start of his Ohio State career.

"I'm super excited," McKenzie said. "I can't wait, honestly, I'm ready to get out of high school and experience that new life pretty much."

McKenzie made his official visit at Ohio State for "The Team Up North" game and the experience of that weekend did not disappoint.

"I'd say it was honestly just different from every other university I visited," McKenzie added. "It was a different vibe. All the coaches were just like… I don't know the words, genuine, I want to say. I might be using the wrong word, but I don't know. It was just ... it was just ... I felt really, really comfortable going there."

McKenzie was in the unique position to be recruited by the Meyer staff and ultimately sign with the knowledge that Day would be the head coach. The talented defensive tackle did sign in December and Meyer was the head coach through the Rose Bowl, but McKenzie knew who his collegiate head coach for his career would be.

Was there any thought of decommitting as things went through serious changes at Ohio State?

"It was really 0-percent (chance that I would not honor my commitment), it was really nothing I could've wanted more than to be at Ohio State, especially after that first visit," McKenzie said. "Then, the second visit just made it even better."

McKenzie knows a thing or two about going through a difficult situation. He is not a North Carolina native; he actually is from Louisiana and was forced to leave when Hurricane Katrina displaced his family and many more.

That lesson is something that sticks with McKenzie and he feels that he has made the most out of a situation that could have completely derailed his growth.

"I feel like it matured me faster than I would've if I didn't go through that," McKenzie said. "It brought a lot of opportunities that you wouldn't have expected out of it, I think. So, I mean, I honestly think everything happens for a reason, so I don't know, me and my mom trying to make the best out of it."