In late June, four-star Florida defensive back Jordan Battle committed to Ohio State. A little over five months later, Urban Meyer announced his retirement as OSU’s head coach; a couple of weeks later, Meyer’s replacement, Ryan Day, officially suffered his first big loss.
Even after Battle committed to OSU, and before Meyer’s retirement announcement, he took official visits to, among others, Alabama. As the second Early National Signing Period kicked off Wednesday, the uncertainty for the Buckeyes over the level of Battle’s commitment morphed into a hard reality as the St. Thomas Aquinas product officially flipped his commitment from OSU and signed with the Crimson Tide.
It’s a big loss for Day as Battle had been the third-highest-rated commitment in OSU’s 2019 recruiting class, and the highest-rated recruit on the defensive side of the ball. Battle becomes the first 2019 commit to decommit since Meyer announced he was stepping down, although two 2020 four-star prospects decommitted in the days after the announcement.
On the flip side, of course, Battle’s signing merely adds to an Alabama class that entered the day as the top-ranked group in the country.
Battle is a consensus four-star prospect, rated as the No. 6 safety in the country; the No. 10 player at any position in the state of Florida; and the No. 77 player overall on 247Sports.com‘s composite board. As was the case with the Buckeyes, it’s believed he will, at least initially, play cornerback for the Crimson Tide.