Shaun Wade is going to the NFL.
The fourth-year Buckeye and second-year holder elected to enter the 2021 draft, announcing via social media on Friday that he is turning professional.
Thank you Buckeye Nation !! pic.twitter.com/4jdX3V3g4m
– Shaun Wade (@ shaunwade24) January 15, 2021
It is no surprise that the Ohio State cornerback has decided to officially join the league. After exploring the possibility of becoming a professional after his third season, Wade returned to his first year in a red shirt looking to increase his draft stock and win a national championship.
Wade won the third team’s All-Big Ten honors as a first-year starter in 2019, lining up as a slot cornerback for the Buckeyes. He moved abroad in the 2020 season and entered the fall as a first-team All-American by the Associated Press.
Wade fought throughout the season in his first high school year as an outside corner. This included being defeated all night by DeVonta Smith in the national championship game, a Sugar Bowl up and down performance against Clemson and a pair of touchdowns surrendered to Jahan Dotson of Penn State in Week 2.
But Wade still won a nod as an All-American consensus, in the vote that ended before the college football playoff. He was named an All-American of the first team by the Associated Press and Sporting News and entered the list of second team of the Football Writers Association of America.
These All-American honors, however, are not expected to improve his draft stock, as he dropped from a likely choice from the first round to a second round in most simulated projects.
Wade, who said after the national championship game that he would consider returning, but decided it was time to turn pro, becomes the first underclassman Buckeye to officially announce that he is entering the 2021 draft of the NFL. The deadline for senior students to declare themselves for recruitment is Monday.