'2020-2021 DB - Lejond Cavazos (Transfer to North Carolina)

24/7SportsComposite:

National: 253
Safety: 20
Florida: 37​

 

Lejond Cavazos tells me he will be in town for Ohio State’s big recruiting weekend next weekend. Expect a lot of recruiting to be done on his part, with officials coming from Clark Phillips, Lathan Ransom, Kourt Williams and others.

— taylor from bite-sized bison (@ByTaylorL) June 16, 2019

 

Ohio State commitment Lejond Cavazos is heading to Columbus for a big Buckeyes weekend.

Outside of the Ohio State coaching staff, Cavazos may be the best recruiter on campus this weekend. https://t.co/EFqZtry43N

— Jeremy Birmingham (@Birm) June 20, 2019

 

#Buckeyes commit Lejond Cavazos in coverage at The Opening Finals: https://t.co/op9qjdilw7 pic.twitter.com/N4oGcHxD9d

— Steve Wiltfong (@SWiltfong_) July 1, 2019

 

#OhioState commit Lejond Cavazos in coverage on incompletion. pic.twitter.com/d4ZJnXhfwc

— Bill Kurelic (@Bill_Kurelic) July 1, 2019

 

#OhioState commit @lejondaryy in Fastest Man competition at @TheOpening pic.twitter.com/fpIuWSZ3DV

— Bill Kurelic (@Bill_Kurelic) July 2, 2019

 

#OhioState corner commit @lejondaryy in coverage at @TheOpening pic.twitter.com/yCUeAIIJ4L

— Bill Kurelic (@Bill_Kurelic) July 2, 2019

 

Lejond Cavazos on winning the 7-on-7 championship with the Ohio State-heavy squad: “This is the first of many.”

— taylor from bite-sized bison (@ByTaylorL) July 3, 2019

 

#Buckeyes commit Lejond Cavazos @lejondaryy shining on the field at The Opening but also putting his recruiting skills to work. "July will be a great month for The Ohio State Buckeyes. Mark my words." https://t.co/UpbgWU6tj7

— Marc Givler (@MarcGivler) July 3, 2019

 

Lejond Cavazos on Elias Ricks
Another prospect that Ohio State’s commits were aiming for during the week was LSU cornerback commit Elias Ricks. Ricks and Lejond Cavazos are good friends and share a relationship not only because of their talents at the cornerback position but also because they both were bound to commit for Urban Meyer’s Ohio State program.

Once Meyer departed, Cavazos decommitted and Ricks aimed his focus elsewhere. Now, with Cavazos recommitted to coming to Columbus, the cornerback is trying to reign Ricks in again.

“If Urban never left, Elias would have been committed,” Cavazos told Eleven Warriors on Wednesday. “It’s just the fact that he has to get to know the coach and restart everything over. I relate to that. Obviously, some work needs to get done on that, with the coaching staff getting to know him, even though they’ve done a great job on that. They talk to him every day. I talk to him every day. I think we’re in a really good spot.”

Ricks has set up an official visit to Ohio State scheduled for Nov. 23, and he also has an official scheduled with USC for Nov. 2. He’s hoping to get visits scheduled with LSU, Alabama and a fifth school as well, but the reason that’s significant to the Buckeyes is because he is lengthening his recruitment process. A longer recruiting process for Ricks means more of an opportunity for Ohio State to redevelop that relationship with him.

“I visited there when Urban was there,” Ricks told Eleven Warriors. “Me and Urban talked every single night. That was my guy, and when I heard he was leaving, I was hurt. If he was still there, it would’ve been a whole other story. We were ready.”

Cavazos has a similar relationship with Meyer. He still talks to the former head coach every day, he said. He was also close with former Ohio State cornerback coach Taver Johnson, who left for the Oakland Raiders. But Ohio State convinced him to reconsider the program because Cavazos was able to communicate with current players like Jeffrey Okudah and Shaun Wade to determine what the program might be like in the future.

“Knowing Jeff Hafley’s resume and I texted Jeff Okudah, Shaun Wade and all of them and was lie, ‘What do you all think about him? How is he different from Taver?’” Cavazos said. “Me and Taver were close. Meyer and I were close too. That’s my dog. But it was really cool then, and good relationships are being built.”

Cavazos is now trying to play the role the current Buckeye splayed in his recruitment and sell Ricks on Hafley and the new staff heading the program in Columbus. And he isn’t afraid of competing for a position either. Neither he nor Ricks nor Clark Phillips are.

“It could be 500 cornerbacks committed,” Ricks said. “If that’s the school for me, I don’t fear competition. I always think I’m going to be the top dog wherever I go. I’m always going to come in thinking I can beat these guys out, and those are my guys. But that’s not going to affect me.”

“If someone says someone is better than me, I want to play with him and compete against him in practice just to be sure that there’s no debate,” Cavazos said. “Elias is amazing, Clark is amazing. They’re both really good at what they do, but the fact that they’re there pushing me and I’m there pushing them, we can make ourselves better.”

 

[Free] One of the storylines I'm watching closely at @IMGAFootball this fall is the progression of big, athletic DB @lejondaryy as he moves from safety to corner full time. He breaks down why it's a better fit for him now and eventually at #OhioState: https://t.co/mFlXhxgYmD

— John Garcia, Jr. (@JohnGarcia_Jr) July 25, 2019

 

Lejond Cavazos


Lejond Cavazos’ senior season is crucial for the cornerback at the high school level. He’s battled through injuries to the point where he’s only played in nine games, but his athleticism is elite, as he ran a 4.40-second 40-yard dash and jumped 44 inches in the vertical. His senior season will be an opportunity for him to prove that he is worthy of the attention he’s garnered on a national stage. He’s also welcoming in his friend, five-star cornerback Elias Ricks, who will play one season at IMG after transferring from Mater Dei.

First Game: vs. St. Peter’s Catholic, Aug. 16

Game to Watch: at St. Joseph’s Prep, Sept. 13

This will be a massive game for those with Ohio State interests, as Kyle McCord and Marvin Harrison Jr. take on Cavazos and Ricks. These two programs are elite among the top programs in the nation, so even without the Ohio State ties, it will be an exciting game to watch. The two teams did not play last season, so this will be the first matchup between McCord-Harrison and Cavazos.

 

#OhioState cornerback commitment @lejondaryy had an outstanding game as IMG defeated Venice 46-7 on Friday night. https://t.co/QHEUTPGRv7

— Bill Kurelic (@Bill_Kurelic) August 24, 2019

 

#OhioState commits ⁦@lejondaryy⁩ and ⁦@kylemccord16⁩ to face off tonight on ESPN2 https://t.co/GhkY1ePin6

— Stephen Means (@Stephen_Means) September 13, 2019

 

#Buckeyes CB commit Lejond Cavazos @lejondaryy talks big win over St. Joe's, transitioning to cornerback, and more: https://t.co/Te4TYJuOAa

— Marc Givler (@MarcGivler) September 19, 2019

 

Lejond Cavazos enjoying transition to cornerback

He’s always been one of the country’s fastest football prospects, but a few games into his senior season at the IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.), Buckeyes commitment Lejond Cavazos is proving to himself and others that he can a top-tier cornerback.

“Everything is going great,” Cavazos told Lettermen Row. “I’m loving the move.”

The move from safety to cornerback may not seem to be that large of a transition, but it is vastly different on the football field. Cavazos, who missed most of his junior season with a hip injury, has been getting some help from Ohio State defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley, who has been able to evaluate the 6-foot-1, 195-pound senior.

“[Hafley] has been helping me with stuff I need to work on,” Cavazos said. “Other than that, he’s loving what he’s seeing. He said he likes how comfortable and confident I am with this being my first season playing the position.”

Hafley and the rest of the coaching staff will get a chance to applaud Cavazos in person when he heads back to Ohio State for the game against Michigan State next week.

“I’ll be up there next weekend for the Michigan State,” he said. “It’s an unofficial visit, and I’ll be there with Julian Fleming. I’m taking my official visit for the Penn State game.”

 

IMG defeated Miami (Fla.) Booker T. Washington 52-14. Cavazos had an outstanding game that included eight tackles and three pass break-ups.