4-Star Carlton Davis Decommits from Ohio State, Sets Sights on SEC School

Ohio State has been on a recruiting roll since winning the national title, but its 2015 class took a hit on Thursday when 4-star corner Carlton Davis dropped his pledge to the Buckeyes, according to Alex Gleitman of Bucknuts.

Gleitman reports that Auburn—who hosted the 6’2”, 184-pounder on an official visit last weekend—is now in the driver’s seat for Davis.

This turn of events has ramifications for both schools.

For the Buckeyes, the loss of Davis is a blow considering that he had been committed to Ohio State since last August.

Corners with his type of size and athleticism are rare, and those players are being coveted by coaches across the country who are trying to match up against big and athletic receivers on the outside.

While corner is a pressing need for Urban Meyer and his staff in the 2015 cycle, the Buckeyes have four talented corners still committed in 4-stars Jamel Dean, Eric Glover-Williams and Denzel Ward, plus 3-star Joshua Norwood.

According to Gleitman, the next target for Meyer could be 3-star South Florida native Damon Arnette—who is currently committed to South Carolina.

The 6’2”, 185-pounder is scheduled to visit Columbus this weekend and could be a candidate to flip his commitment on signing day.

Even if the Buckeyes can’t flip Arnette, they still have a strong group of corners to plug into their secondary.

If Auburn lands Davis, it will be the second corner it has been able flip from the Miami area within a week.

The dynamic recruiting duo of defensive coordinator Will Muschamp and defensive backs coach Travaris Robinson helped the Tigers flip 3-star corner Jeremiah Dinson, who was previously committed to Kentucky.

Davis’ impact is important to Auburn for a few reasons.

For starters, he would give Muschamp another tall and athletic corner who can play physical, man-to-man coverage on the outside—something that has been critical to the success of his defensive units over the years.

Additionally, it continues to give Auburn a presence in the talent-rich area of South Florida.

Davis could also set off a potential avalanche of top targets jumping into the Tigers class heading into national signing day.

Among the standouts that Gus Malzahn and his staff are heavily involved with are 5-star offensive tackle Martez Ivey, 5-star defensive ends Byron Cowart and CeCe Jefferson, 5-star defensive tackle Terry Beckner Jr. and 4-star linebacker Jeffery Holland.

With that kind of firepower left on the board for the Tigers, Malzahn’s program has a chance to be the biggest winner on national signing day.

Regardless of how those recruitments play out, getting Davis would fill a huge need for the Tigers in the 2015 cycle.

Sanjay Kirpalani is a National Recruiting Analyst for Bleacher Report. Unless otherwise noted, all recruiting information courtesy of 247Sports. 

Follow @SanjayKirpalani