Second-Year Safety Cedrick Hawkins Leaving Ohio State

Ohio State redshirt freshman safety Cedrick Hawkins is reportedly headed to the transfer portal.

BREAKING: Ohio State DB Cedrick Hawkins plans to enter the Transfer Portal, he tells @on3sports

The 6’0 188 DB from Titusville, FL will have 4 years of eligibility remaining

Was ranked as a Four-Star Recruit in the ‘23 Class (per On3)https://t.co/gAXYgVff2c pic.twitter.com/GoAsKE32CB
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) April 16, 2024

Hawkins didn’t see any action for the Buckeyes last year as a true freshman and spent this spring working with the threes at free safety. That spot on the depth chart doesn’t include the fact that sophomore Malik Hartford is also ahead of him but was out this spring. True freshman Jaylen McClain was repping ahead of Hawkins as well.

Hawkins came to Ohio State from Cocoa High School in Cocoa, Florida where he was a four-star prospect and the No. 357 player in the 2023 class per the 247Sports Composite.

Hawkins signed with the Buckeyes over offers from Auburn, Arizona State, and others.

Despite the depth ahead of Hawkins, this is still a young group of free safeties for the Buckeyes. Starter Caleb Downs is just a sophomore, as is his backup Malik Hartford. Jaylen McClain was impressive this spring as a true freshmen, but everything he experiences now is for the first time.

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