In what has been a long week for the Florida Gators and their coaching staff, the last thing they needed was a decommitment from their top prospect.
On Tuesday night, that is what happened. 247 Sports four-star rated linebacker Jerome Baker, who committed to the Gators this past summer, decided to stay at home and flip to the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Ohio State, who continued to chase one of the top players in their state despite his commitment, had all their efforts pay off on Tuesday night. Baker, the fourth ranked athlete in the 2015 recruiting class by 247 Sports, is quite the player and has seen time at running back through his high school career as well. According to Baker, Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith and player personnel director Mark Pantoni urged the four-star recruit to stay at home while on his visit to Ohio State in September. Baker also visited Florida when the Gators lost 30-27 to LSU.
Baker is the Buckeyes second best recruit behind five-star prospect Justin Hilliard, another in-state prospect from Cincinnati's St. Xavier.
Baker announced his decision via Twitter. "I am officially flipping my commitment from Florida to THE Ohio State University. Thanks for all your support."