Buckeyes have their punter

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There has been a lot of talk if the Buckeye would or would not take a specialist in the class of 2013. On Tuesday afternoon we got our answer as we learned that the Buckeyes took a commitment from Orlando (Fla.) Boone punter Johnny Townsend. The commitment to the Buckeye staff happened earlier on Tuesday morning according to Townsend.

The new Buckeye is not a household name to many people but he has done a lot to impress people in the know with his skills. As a junior the 6-foot-2, 200 pound punter averaged 42 yards a punt while splitting time at safety and outside backer on his high school team and also played baseball during part of the season.

The path to Columbus (Ohio) for Townsend did not take too long and the whole recruiting process moved very quickly.

"I have been talking with coach Urban Meyer for not even a week," Townsend told BuckeyeGrove.com. "They offered me (Tuesday) morning. I willl have the opportunity to start as a freshman and punting all four years at Ohio State and working with coach Meyer one-on-one. He wants to coach the punters and kickers one-on-one."

Townsend recently made the trip to Columbus to the Ohio State kicking/punting camp and made enough of an impression. The new Buckeye also held an offer from Cincinnati and had preferred walk-on offers from Alabama and Florida.

Townsend did what he set out to do with his trip to the Ohio State kicking camp, picking up an offer to a place that he wanted to go to.

"I went out there and competed and felt that I earned it," Townsend said. "It is the place I want to be."

The Ohio State head coach is a known person to the Townsend family and they knew all about coach Meyer well before he became part of the Ohio State program.

"I know that he is an incredible coach," Townsend added. "He loves what he is doing. Me and my family were Gators fans and we followed him for a long time. The fact that he works directly with the specialists really sparked my interest and he will help me get better."

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