How an official visit sparked Ohio State’s win over Michigan for Aaron Scott’s commitment: Buckeyes Recruiting

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Aaron Scott sat down at a table in Springfield, Ohio, ready to tell the world where he’d spend the next three to five years of life.
I’m front of him sat an Oregon bag on his right, an Ohio State bag on his left and a Michigan bag in the middle while the colors of rags school hung behind him. That Oregon bag lasted all of three minutes as the clear distance third school in this race.
Next to go was the Buckeyes, who’s spent the past year trying to fight off their rival from stealing away a top-100 recruit from their backyard for the first time since 2013. At that moment it felt like Michigan was on the verge of an upset win, and that’s where our story begins.
A month earlier Scott thought the very same thing as he went into an official visit in Columbus.
“At that time I was leaning more to Michigan honestly,” Scott told cleveland.com. “At the time of the visit, I’m still thinking I’m gonna be a Wolverine.”
While this wasn’t quite a battle that was Michigan’s to lose, it was out in front heading into the summer. That’s because the whole “Ohio’s best stay home” idea didn’t resonate with the nation’s No. 52 player and No. 5 cornerback the same way it had the other seven in-state commits in this class.
Just because he was from Ohio didn’t mean people should’ve just assumed he’d want to stay home. OSU would have to recruit him hard, just as it would any other kid.
That’s where an official visit at the end of June changed everything. He watched the only player he hoped to play with at the next level decide to commit to the Buckeyes, and it sparked something in his head.
“I tried not to pay too much attention to it,” Scott said. “But seeing Bryce (West) do that got me thinking, ‘OK, this is what we’re doing.’ We’ve talked about teaming up and he just made the first move.”
West put the ball in Scott’s court, and the actual Ohio State coaching staff did the rest to tip the scale.
That started with Tim Walton establishing a family-like relationship while never being too pushy. It continued with Ryan Day, who continues to be more hands-on with recruits than one might expect from a head coach.
“They all made me feel like I’m special,” Scott said. “Like I’m the one who’s gonna bring B.I.A. (Best In America) back. Especially Coach Day. He let me know my family is comfortable with him and they can pick up the phone and call him anytime.”
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Those factors helped flipped Scott from being the first top-100 recruit from Ohio to choose Michigan over OSU since Dymonte Thomas in 2013.
Staying home wasn’t the only thing that mattered to him and he made that clear on numerous occasions. But variables made more and more sense by the day as everything else that mattered started to check out.
“Being from Ohio, knowing what they could do for me (and) they made me feel like I’m needed,” Scott said after his decision. “They showed me a lot of love so it just made sense for me to go there.”
Scott’s recruitment it finally over. There will be No visits, phone calls or anything else in that category unless it’s for the Buckeyes, and there’s not a person more relieved by that reality than him. He’s been over all of it for the past month, and some of the antics schools pulled don’t help ease that stress.
That includes Michigan choosing to involve Hall of Famer Charles Woodson in his recruitment by sending tweets at him. It’s something that should’ve been a cool moment and even emphasized more how much Michigan valued him.
But it’s hard to receive that when you’re already stressing yourself out over a decision that had everyone who mattered to him divided in a room on a Sunday evening.
“It made it worse,” Scott said. “It was tough.”
Which takes us back to the beginning of this story with three bags sitting on a table in a community center in Springfield, Ohio. The Oregon bag was eliminated first, just as it had in his process. Then he tossed away the Ohio State bag, leaving only the Michigan bag as those in the crowd who were pro-Wolverine got excited.
Then he opened up the maize and blue bag and to the delight of every Buckeye fan in the building, pulled out a scarlet and gray jersey with the No. 5 on it. The home team won, even if it took a few twists and turns to get there.
“That was the plan,” Scott said with a smirk about his announcement plan. “Just to throw them off a little bit.”
To see Ohio State’s full 2024 recruiting class, Click here.