A mere glance at Ohio State’s class of 2024 recruiting rankings wouldn’t have made Jaylen McClain a contender for one of its first members to find the field.
Five-stars Jeremiah Smith and Eddrick Houston were obvious candidates, and the duo were two of the three 2024 class members to start a game as freshmen, Smith all 16 of them and Houston one against Purdue in place of Tyleik Williams.
Those were the Buckeyes’ two highest-ranked prospects per the 247Sports composite. Scrolling down to the 14th-highest-ranked of Ohio State’s 22 recruits from 2024, one will find safety Jaylen McClain, the third and final true freshman to start a game last season. And he’s already in line for playing time as a sophomore.
“Jaylen's had a great spring,” safeties coach Matt Guerrieri said in April. “Competition (between him and Malik Hartford) has been awesome, but it's our job as coaches to have packaging that, if those guys earn the right to be on the field, we've got to put them on the field. So, how do we find the balance to be able to play multiple safeties, multiple corners in packaging? Matt Patricia is the guru of being able to do that throughout his career, what he's been able to do from a personnel standpoint. I'm very, very impressed and happy with Malik, with Jaylen, the mentality, the performance on the field. It's been really good.”
McClain wasn’t ranked low per se, a four-star and the No. 373 prospect and No. 36 safety in the composite. But he was well below several classmates who are a long way from making an impact in their Ohio State careers, players like Gabe VanSickle, Max LeBlanc, Dominic Kirks and Garrett Stover.
Coming out of Seton Hall Prep in West Orange, New Jersey, McClain never paid much mind to his rankings. Where you rank in your cycle ultimately does nothing to produce or keep you from producing on Saturdays.
“I feel like I was rated right,” McClain said. “Coming out of Jersey, you’ve just gotta be different, you know what I mean? I had all the offers you could probably think of. Might have fallen down the recruiting websites, but it doesn’t matter when you get here. Only stars are wins.”
McClain’s play spoke for itself when given the opportunity in 2024 anyway. He was the third freshman to shed his black stripe and the first to do so in preseason camp, fresh off turning heads in the Buckeyes’ spring game with an interception and some standout performances during practices open to the media.
Jaylen McClain picks off fellow freshman Julian Sayin in the spring game. pic.twitter.com/04OHiSVXBB
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) April 13, 2024
McClain credited his work ethic and the competition he faced in New Jersey for preparing him to crash onto the scene so well. He leapfrogged then-redshirt sophomore South Carolina transfer Keenan Nelson Jr. and redshirt freshman Jayden Bonsu to crack Ohio State’s two-deep, playing 106 snaps, third-most among Buckeye safeties. Bonsu has since transferred to Pitt.
“My preparation before college, the high school I went to, as well as my self-determination,” McClain said of why he made an early impact. “And just my want to. I want to work here.”
McClain’s start came at nickel against Nebraska following an injury to strong safety Lathan Ransom, as Ohio State opened in a 4-3 package with Jordan Hancock joining Caleb Downs at deep safety. Lorenzo Styles Jr. handled nickel duties in the Buckeyes’ base 4-2-5 look.
As he and Hartford battle to replace Ransom at strong safety in 2025, McClain is working on his ability to perform at multiple positions to ensure he finds a role somewhere. He’s also bulked up physically and was nearly up to 200 pounds in the spring, which he said has allowed him to play more aggressively.
“Just working on versatility, being able to plug and play anywhere,” McClain said. “Like Coach G said, keeping us all versatile, so if something happens, everybody's ready for anything.”
More comfortable in Ohio State’s program than a year ago, McClain is ready to master whatever Guerrieri asks him to.
“Work to compete, you know what I mean,” McClain said. “We run whatever with how many safeties or whatever. But I'm just working. Just compete, work my tail off and make a role for myself.”
For Guerrieri, his challenge is to find the best utilization of both Hartford and McClain’s skill sets. Defensive coordinator Matt Patricia’s background using myriad personnel packages will help in that regard.
“Everybody competes every day, but like I said, do we just have 11 starters? No, we have starters in a multitude of packaging,” Guerrieri said. “We're not even close to rolling that out yet. But to answer your question, yes, I don't think it's just a competition between guys for one job. We're trying to put the best 11 on the field, and if those guys are that, it's our job to be able to get them out there.”
But McClain will have a spot, and with it a chance to continue outperforming the number next to his recruiting profile.
