That is what comes along with being an Ohio State verbal commitment, and he did not sound as if he would have it any other way.
“It’s really good,” he said Monday after working out with teammates for dozens of college coaches at Heidkamp Stadium. “Me being the center of attention kind of helped my teammates get to show their talent. So that’s really why I’m here today, just for everybody to come out so my teammates can get some looks, and that’s what’s happening right now. So hopefully all my teammates have great conversations with all the coaches and great people out here.”
Credit: DaytonDailyNews
The 6-foot speedster led the GWOC in receiving yards last season with 1,065 on 63 catches with 13 touchdowns. He made the All-Ohio second team, helped the Warriors to the Division I regional finals and announced his commitment to Ohio State in late November.
He entered spring ranked the No. 1 prospect in Ohio for the class of 2027, the No. 1 receiver and No. 3 overall in 247Sports Composite rankings, but he still sees plenty of room to improve.
“My skills are getting better each and every day,” he said. “Everything. Always get better, so that’s what I just really look forward to doing, just getting better each and every day. Working on my craft.”
He has also been burning up the track this spring across the state and beyond, helping the Warriors win the Ohio Association of Track and Cross Country Coaches state indoor meet in March and an invitational in South Carolina, among other events.
After finishing second in the 100-meter dash at the state track meet last year, he has already run a school-record 10.47 in the 100, broken the Wayne record in the 200 (21.67) and anchored a record-breaking 4x1 squad this spring.
‘It feels good, but records are meant to be broken,” he said. “So hopefully somebody can break my record in a couple years. You can’t just stick on that all the time.”
Wayne track coach Michael Fernandez praised his ability to balance track and football responsibilities this time of year (including 7-on-7 competitions), but Averette-Brown shrugged that off.
“It’s not difficult when you have the right people to help you out,” he said. “So my 7-on-7 coach has helped me out with that schedule, and my head track coach and my assistant track coach, have helped me out with the track schedule.
“I’m just trying to keep getting better. Just get a PR (personal record) every time out, get my teammates better. Getter better every day, and win state, obviously, but we’ve still got little steps before we get to state. So really, just working our way up to getting to state.”
As for football, Averette-Brown is looking ahead to being a bigger leader for a Warriors team that graduated its quarterback, tight end and two other starting receivers.
“I was already a big leader, so I’ve just got to step up a little bit more this year,” he said. “So everybody already knows how good of a leader I am, but sometimes some people love to doubt or hate a little bit. So this season, we got a lot of doubters because, I mean I will say we had a lot of great pieces leave for college, but sure, everybody’s gonna doubt us. So it’s always I love being the underdog. I love proving people wrong.”
He is also enjoying continuing to build a relationship with Ohio State offensive coordinator and receivers coach Brian Hartline.
“We actually talked a couple days ago,” Averette-Brown said. “It was really just another great conversation with him. It just felt like he coaches me every day. It just feels like a normal conversation that I could have with my (high school) coaches, so I don’t have to really act different or talk differently. He makes me feel comfortable when I talk to him. All the coaches at Ohio State make me feel welcome when I’m around and always ask about me and stuff like that.”
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