Five-Star 2025 Cornerback Devin Sanchez Says He Could See Himself at Ohio State After Visiting, Chris Burgess and Brody Keefe Earn OSU Offers at Final All-Positions Camp

By Garrick Hodge on June 20, 2023 at 7:35 pm
Devin Sanchez
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Ohio State’s final all-positions high school football camp was highlighted by arguably the country’s best cornerback in the 2025 class.

Five-star Texas prospect Devin Sanchez arrived in Columbus on Tuesday for a two-day unofficial visit. He spent the majority of his first day in town working out at Ohio State’s camp and speaking with secondary coach Tim Walton and safeties coach Perry Eliano, and planned to sit in on OSU team meetings and training sessions with the current players for the remainder of his visit. 

“They make me feel like home,” Sanchez said of OSU. 

On Tuesday, Sanchez looked every bit the part of a player ranked No. 6 overall nationally and No. 1 at his position per 247Sports’ composite rankings.

“It was fun, I wanted to get back down here for my second visit and work with coach Walton and coach Eliano,” Sanchez said of camping with OSU. “I learned some new stuff from (Walton) and I’m going to use it in my game this coming season in the fall.”

Halfway through the camp, Walton led Sanchez into the indoor Woody Hayes Athletic Center facility for a one-on-one workout. 

“He told me to stay low on my breaks and drive on my breaks and get faster,” Sanchez said of Walton’s advice. “Also keeping my shoulders turned so I can come back to the ball on comeback routes and stuff like that. It wasn’t too much on press work, it was a lot of me playing off (coverage) and getting better at that.” 

Sanchez says he talks with Walton around two to three times per week on average, and that Walton has sent him feedback on his workout clips while training in Houston. The 6-foot-2, 170-pound cornerback was offered by OSU in January and still feels elated by the opportunity nearly six months later.

“It was a blessing,” Sanchez said of picking up the OSU offer. “Just learning about coach Walton and coach Eliano and the guys they’ve put out and coached, that’s big-time. Ohio State, I wouldn’t say it’s one of my dream schools, but it’s a school I could see myself at.” 

Sanchez said he considers Ohio State “DBU” and that he has high expectations for what an OSU defensive back is supposed to look like.

“An Ohio State cornerback, he’s good at everything,” Sanchez said. “You can press, play off, that’s what they like to do. If you can do all of that and be great at it, you’ve got a chance to be on that cornerback wall and you’ve got a chance to be DBU here. There’s not that many schools where you can call it DBU, but Ohio State’s probably the No. 1 school. Just look at the guys in the league. It speaks for itself.”

Sanchez received recruiting pitches from Walton and Eliano on his visit, as to be expected for any defensive back target that visits Columbus. But he also spent a few minutes after the camp ended talking with offensive coordinator Brian Hartline, who made a pitch of his own to Sanchez. 

“His thing is, if you want to come here, you’re going to go against the top guys,” Sanchez said. “That’s what I talked about with coach Walton. Every receiver they’ve got is NFL-ready. You’re going to get that every day in practice, and then when you get to the league, it’s like you’re already here because you went against it every day in practice. You’re gonna go out and get reps against top guys like Marvin Harrison, the No. 1 wide receiver in college football. It speaks for itself.”

Considering he’s a 2025 prospect, a decision is still a long way away for Sanchez, who said he likely won’t commit until next summer.

“I’ve got a couple schools in mind, but I’m just gonna take my time, play out these next two seasons and I’ll be committed,” Sanchez said of his decision process. “I plan on being a midyear (enrollee), so I’ll probably be committed early my senior year. It’s a fun experience, going to all these schools and making relationships.” 

While Sanchez resides in Texas, he said Ohio State’s brand carries a lot of weight for him and that the Buckeyes will be strong contenders for his recruitment. 

“I tell my parents, coming out of Texas is best for me because I feel like that’s where the best DBs go,” Sanchez said. “No disrespect to all those Texas schools down there, I go down there, I see them all and have fun. But for me and the talent I have, coming to a school like Ohio State or Alabama, that’s where I’m going to get developed. My plan is to go (to college for) three years like I said.” 

Gilbert, Gach stand out at camp

The Buckeyes may not need to leave the state of Ohio to find their top target at tight end for the 2025 cycle. Four-star Lakota West product Luka Gilbert was one of the players who made the biggest impact at Tuesday’s camp, standing out in individual drills with his 6-foot-7, 233-pound frame. 

Gilbert earned his OSU offer in March, which he called “an honor” considering he grew up rooting for the Buckeyes. Working Tuesday with tight ends coach Keenan Bailey was also a productive experience for the junior. 

“It was great, it was an honor to be at the best college in college football and play for the most electric tight ends coach in the nation,” Gilbert said after camp. “(Coach Bailey) is a great coach, I’d love to play for him and I could definitely see myself being his player one day.”

One of Ohio State’s priority offensive line targets in the 2025 class is Michigan prospect Avery Gach, who picked up his OSU offer last October and has visited Columbus multiple times. Gach was among the more impressive offensive linemen working out in Columbus and said he enjoyed learning from OSU offensive line coach Justin Frye.

“I had a good experience,” Gach told Eleven Warriors. “I definitely learned a lot from coach Frye and all the other coaches out here. He definitely helped my pass sets for sure and getting to a spot, not just setting. I’ve been here multiple times and I’ve wanted to get to a camp.” 

Chris Burgess, Brody Keefe earn OSU offers

Larry Johnson extended an offer to four-star defensive end from Chicago Tuesday in 2025 prospect Chris Burgess after an impressive workout with OSU. 

Burgess is considered the 255th-rated prospect nationally and the 22nd-ranked edge rusher in the 2025 class. He’s earned nearly 30 Division I offers, including Alabama, Auburn, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Miami, Notre Dame, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Texas A&M, USC, Washington and Wisconsin. 

Arguably the most impressive wide receiver at Tuesday’s camp was 2026 North Carolina prospect Brody Keefe, who was the lone player to record a catch against Sanchez in one-on-ones. His performance Tuesday earned him an offer from Hartline, giving him 10 Division I offers in total. Other schools that have offered include Arkansas, Liberty, NC State, North Carolina, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest. 

Tavien St. Clair returns to OSU

Ohio 2025 quarterback Tavien St. Clair is certainly doing his part to showcase his interest in Ohio State. The Bellefontaine quarterback camped in Columbus on Thursday, then returned to the Buckeyes’ final camp of the summer on Tuesday and had another impressive performance. St. Clair will return to OSU once more on Wednesday to compete in the Buckeyes’ annual seven-on-seven tournament. 

The best of the rest

Three-star Illinois linebacker Dominik Hulak was invited to camp by OSU defensive coordinator Jim Knowles, and couldn’t pass up an opportunity to work out with Ohio State. 

“I really wanted to come down here and work with the coaches knowing I could get better,” Hulak told Eleven Warriors. “I know I stepped up my game today.” 

Besides Gilbert, Tennessee four-star tight end Eli Owens was the most intriguing tight end prospect in attendance. Owens, who already boasts an OSU offer, made an impressive one-handed catch in one-on-one drills and proved to be a big-bodied target in the red zone for any college offense in the passing game as well as an adept blocker.

An intriguing 2026 quarterback to watch is Ohio signal caller Nathan Bernhard, who camped Tuesday and has a gigantic frame at 6-foot-5, 210 pounds and a strong arm. If he can take the next step in his consistency, it wouldn’t be surprising for him to get a lot of attention from OSU.

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