Ohio State coach Urban Meyer retired following the 2018 season and will spend this coming year as an analyst for FOX Sports.

That decision understandably affected Ohio State’s recruiting, as 5-star 2020 CB Elias Ricks out of California ended up choosing LSU instead.

This week, Ricks told 247Sports that he probably would have chosen the Buckeyes if Meyer was still the head coach, saying he’s still going to take a visit to both Ohio State and USC:

“I’m going to Ohio State (Nov. 22),” Ricks said. “Ohio State was my No. 2 choice behind LSU and honestly if Urban Meyer never left, I probably would have committed there. It was really close and they’re still recruiting me really hard. I hear from coach Hafley (DC) almost every day so I’m looking forward to getting out there.

“Im also going to visit USC on (Nov. 2) for the Oregon game. I talk to that staff all the time as well and just heard from coach Burns (DB coach) about 30 minutes ago. Coach Helton hits me up and of course I talk to Chris Hawkins (GA) all the time, he’s like family to me.”

Per the 247Sports composite, Ricks is the No. 2 cornerback in the class of 2020 and the No. 3 overall recruit from the state of California.

Will he stay with the Tigers or flip to a different school? We’ll find out over the coming months.