Four-star 2022 Louisiana CB Jyaire Brown is a Buckeye

No player in Louisiana has grabbed headlines quite like "Hollywood" has in recent weeks.

"Hollywood," better known nationally as Jyaire Brown, is the top cornerback in The Boot's talent-laden 2022 class. And in the aftermath of a very rapid recruitment, a decision is in.

Brown committed to Ohio State on Wednesday. A native of Cincinnati that currently resides in New Orleans, Brown flirted with pledging to the Buckeyes within hours of landing an offer from his home-state schools five days earlier.

After a breakout sophomore campaign at Warren Easton (La.) High School, Brown added offers from all across the country in a three-month span. That includes overtures from LSU, Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi State, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Texas and Florida State. The strange part: the CoVid19 pandemic has not allowed Brown to visit any of these campuses, so his first trip to Columbus will be as an Ohio State commitment.

Brown is the Buckeyes' first commitment in the 2022 class. Assuming he signs in 2022, Brown will be the first player to sign with Ohio State out of Louisiana since 2004 when three-star Rummel (La.) defensive tackle Nader Abdallah inked his paperwork with the Buckeyes.

"When I first got the offer, I wanted to commit on the spot. My dad told me to hold off and wait it out and weigh out my options. Over the past five days, over this span, I let it be known where I wanted to be ... I saw myself, my freshman year in college, at Ohio State. We had a Zoom meeting with the entire coaching staff today (Wednesday) and they let me know about the program, the academics and life after football. After that call today, I let Coach Ryan Day know I was committing."

"It's a blessing. My dad and I used to joke about it. I didn't play my freshman year (at Easton), so we created a fake website and I was a five-star recruit committing to Ohio State. Now, we spoke it into existence."

"Coach (Kerry) Coombs was excited. Him and Ryan Day -- they were more excited than I was. It was nice to see their reaction to my excitement."

"Everybody looks at LSU as the real 'DBU', but in my house, Ohio State is the real 'DBU.' I cannot wait to join that legacy that Marshon Lattimore, Jeff Okudah and Denzel Ward started and I can't wait to carry the torch over there."

"Not being able to visit schools and not being able to visit Ohio State, that definitely played a part. By me knowing that I have that feeling, that it's home and it's where I wanna be."

Brown is a long, physical defensive back that measures up at a legitimate 6-foot and close to 185 pounds. He was a key piece on the defensive side of the ball for Louisiana Class 4A state championship runner-up Warren Easton and was a major contributor in the title game last December in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome -- in coverage against a high-octane Edna Karr passing attack and as a run defender.

Despite seeing Brown play in-person on multiple occasions, including games on Friday nights and in 7-on-7 settings, we do not have verified speed on the 2022 defensive back. A track time or 40-yard-dash could propel Brown in the national rankings for Rivals, which will be updated over the summer.

Brown does not shy away from physicality and is a menace to opposing wide receivers when he jams at the line of scrimmage. He can be physical -- when need be -- but is technically sound in coverage. He has the ability to play press-man or off-ball coverage and while he is an outside cornerback by trade, Brown could certainly see snaps inside at the nickel position when he arrives at Ohio State.

Brown thrives at shadowing receivers downfield and can go step-for-step with some of the best receivers in the country. He showed that in a 7-on-7 tournament in New Orleans earlier this spring when manning up Rivals100 wide receiver Quay Davis and in a regular-season showdown with Karr four-star wide receiver Destyn Pazon.

Where Brown really thrives is his instincts, short reaction time and uncanny short-area quickness. Brown has incredible make-up speed and is especially fast at diagnosing routes and jumping them. That led to a pair of interceptions as a sophomore in 2019.

While we do not have testing numbers on Brown, on tape his vertical abilities are quite evident. If the balls in the air, Brown is around it. He's a playmaker in 50-50 jump-ball scenarios and gives his defense a distinct advantage. That's a testament to his vertical abilities as much as it is his long arms, his ability to be disruptive in coverage and ball-hawking nature.

Elsewhere, Brown is a physical tackler that does not shy away from contact whatsoever. He's a sure tackler in the open field and packs some punch when he makes contact with a receiver or ball-carrier.