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Four-star safety Jantzen Dunn of South Warren High School in Kentucky had never heard of Kerry Coombs before Coombs returned as Ohio State football’s defensive coordinator after spending two years with the Tennessee Titans.
He knew the reputation the Buckeyes had built of developing defensive backs into first-round NFL Draft picks. It’s a significant part of why he committed. He just wasn’t aware of the man responsible for that reputation. The two would eventually meet at the first of two spring practices OSU held before a pandemic hit, canceling the rest of the spring. He quickly discovered what everyone knows about Coombs. He’s intense.
“He’s a really intense guy,” Dunn told cleveland.com. “I love the way he coaches.”
But Coombs isn’t the reason Dunn is coming to Columbus in 2021. That credit goes to special teams coordinator Matt Barnes, who also serves as the assistant defensive backs coach. Barnes initiated the relationship between Dunn and Ohio State,then maintained it long after Jeff Hafley left for Boston College.
"It started last October," Dunn said. "We've since made that transition from recruiting to coaching."
According to 247Sports, Dunn is the highest-rated player — and first four-star — Barnes has ever landed in his 11 years as a college coach. He’s considered the No. 205 player and the No. 5 safety in the class. He’s also one of six defensive-back commits for Ohio State, which could lose at least three starters after the season. He sees a perfect fit in what head coach Ryan Day wants in a defense as a single high safety who compares his style of play to Arizona Cardinals defensive back Patrick Peterson.
Just sayin': When you think of Ohio State's best recruiters, Matt Barnes isn't one of the names that comes to mind first; however, (apparently) he was instrumental in landing Jantzen Dunn.
But still, he had just given his word to Manning. So, Jantzen and his dad spoke for about 20 minutes, weighing the options and figuring out the next steps.
Ohio State checked off all the boxes they had been looking for in a school:
Incredible market: “They don’t even have to put their name on something. They just have to put their logo out and people know who you’re talking about,” Mitchell said.
“Their fan base is incredible. Their coaching staff is incredible,” Mitchell said.
Defensive backs are going to the league: “That’s the best place that gives you a chance as a defensive back. It just made sense,” Mitchell said.
None of those boxes were quite as important as the last one: “It was close to home. That was really the big difference between Ohio State and Oklahoma. All the family could get to all his games a lot easier. If he had issues or an injury, his mom could go and still be able to take care of him. Just to have family around.”
Above article posted by Script is quality stuff. Describes all the angst a family goes through during the decision process and in this particular case when because of
a misunderstanding they had to change their minds. Good read.
Dunn, who is probably the most underrated recruit in the Buckeyes' 2021 cycle and one of the most underrated in the entire country, was finally given his fourth star by Rivals.
According to his dad, the first picture is Jantzen in his sophomore year of high school at 155 pounds. He left for Ohio State a couple years later at 173 pounds. Now, he's at 195 pounds seven months after enrolling.
OHIO STATE FRESHMAN SAFETY JANTZEN DUNN WILL BE OUT “LONG-TERM” AFTER SUFFERING INJURY AGAINST RUTGERS
Ohio State’s safety depth has taken another hit.
Freshman safety Jantzen Dunn’s first season as a Buckeye has ended early as he suffered a “long-term” injury against Rutgers, Ryan Day said Thursday.
Day said he is disappointed for Dunn, who he felt was improving quickly, and that Dunn will have a long road to recovery ahead of him, but he believes Dunn will have a bright future at Ohio State.
“That was tough to see because he was really coming on as a young guy, and so he’s gonna have to work through a long-term recovery on that,” Day said. “So it’s gonna be hard on him, but we’re gonna try to get some of the guys who have been through the same thing before to try to help him in that area and support him as he works through that rehab.
Just sayin': Jantzen Dunn is a true Freshman and has only played in 2 games, i.e. redshirt year with 4 more years of eligibility. Work hard through rehab young man and come back better than ever for 4 more years.