The fallout from the departure of Ohio State defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley just got a little bigger.
According to multiple reports, Cameron Martinez will not sign with the Buckeyes on Wednesday, as was expected.
Martinez is not decommitting, but is pushing his decision back until the traditional Signing Day in February.
Martinez is an immensely talented athlete being recruited as a defensive back by the Buckeyes.
He has twice won the MLive player of the year award as the top player in the state of Michigan, the first player to ever accomplish that. He was also named Mr. Football and the Gatorade Player of the Year in the state.
His senior season highlight reel (below) runs more than nine minutes long and exclusively features him scoring touchdowns. So yeah, he’s an explosive player.
Martinez was all set to sign with the Buckeyes on Wednesday, but apparently decided to wait until February after Hafley announced that he would take the Boston College job.
Hafley was Martinez’s primary recruiter, and was set to be his position coach at Ohio State.
Just a week ago, Hafley made an in-home visit with Martinez at his home in Muskegon, Michigan.
Appreciate @CoachJeffHafley stopping by and visiting with the family on sunday, after the big ten championship! ⭕️ pic.twitter.com/FIrsSdcRD4
— Cameron Martinez (@CM240) December 11, 2019
However, a lot has changed in the last seven days. Word started to leak out that Hafley had accepted the Boston College job on Friday evening.
Monday morning, Hafley was in Boston being introduced as the new head coach of the Eagles.
But while his future was suddenly clearing up, things got a little more murky with a number of the Buckeyes’ defensive back recruits.
Clark Phillips, a 4-star corner prospect from California, took a weekend visit to Utah and will announce where he is going to school on Thursday.
Now, Martinez has opted to delay his decision.
That delay will give Ryan Day time to identify and hire his new defensive backs coach, and then get back in front of Martinez to sell him on the new guy.
Defensive back is a position of massive need for the Buckeyes this cycle. They failed to sign a corner in the 2019 class, and could be on the verge of losing all four starters from this year’s team to the NFL.
Lathan Ransom, Lejond Cavazos, and Ryan Watts are all still expected to sign with the Buckeyes on Wednesday, with the latter two also enrolling early to get on campus in January.
Phillips will also enroll early, meaning that his decision on Thursday will be final. That could end with the Buckeyes dodging a bullet or really being under the gun.
Things aren’t quite so black-and-white with Martinez. But things have to be a little uncomfortable inside the walls of the Woody Hayes Athletic Center right now.
You can watch Martinez’s senior season highlight reel below.
