Gilbert 100-percent At Home With The Buckeyes

CARROLLTON, Ga. – The recent Under Armour camp in suburban Georgia was a big hit with a deep roster of stars from the classes of 2024 and beyond. The Buckeyes had a verbal commitment take part as Atlanta Douglass high school defensive back Jontae Gilbert attended, Ohio State’s lone 2025 commitment.

The 6-foot-1, 170-pounder gave his pledge to the Buckeyes more than seven months ago and there will be a long way to go to hold on to the pledge as he is more than a year away from signing any sort of paperwork that would be binding.

That means schools have not given up in their pursuit of the four-star athlete, but Gilbert continues to tell anyone who will listen that he is ‘all-in’ with the Buckeyes.

“(My phone) still blows up, you know but 100-percent (to) Ohio State right now,” Gilbert said. “Tennessee calling, Georgia calling, other schools call.”

That will always be a source of concern for fans and coaches alike as landing a commitment is one thing, holding on to one is another.

But Gilbert admits that he no second thoughts when it comes to his decision for the Buckeyes. He remains in constant contact with coaches Perry Eliano and Tim Walton and their conversations are frequent.

“Great relationship, matter of fact, I just got off the phone with them before the camp,” Gilbert added. “They check on me every Sunday and Thursday, a great relationship with them.”

The Buckeyes have not had a lot of continuity in the defensive back rooms over the past couple of seasons and that will mean a lot for many young recruits as they want to know who they will be spending most of their time with.

Gilbert was in the unique position during Ohio State’s last football game of living just a couple of hours away from Athens (Ga.) where the Bulldogs call home and being committed to the Buckeyes. Make no mistake, there was only one team that Gilbert wanted to see win and even though they came up just a little bit short, the talented product from the Peach State came away proud of his future teammates.

“The defense started off strong, you know we just got to finish next time, that’s all,” Gilbert said.

At the Under Armour camp, Gilbert took home special recognition from the evaluators at the camp and will have a spot in the UA Future 50 event, a big honor for any underclassman. But during the event, Gilbert also was playing recruiter, trying to help the Buckeyes in the South with many top targets.

What does the pitch sound like?

“That’s the place to be,” Gilbert said with a smile. “It is home.”

Find out more of what Gilbert had to say in this exclusive interview only available here at BuckeyeHuddle.com.