Buckeyes land five-star defensive end

The Ryan Day era is just getting underway in Columbus but recruiting wins don't come much bigger than the one Day just earned less than three weeks into his tenure. On Wednesday afternoon, after a long two-year battle with a pair of Big Ten rivals, Ohio State landed the commitment and signature of Lewis Center (Ohio) Olentangy Orange defensive end Zach Harrison.

The five-star prospect, and Ohio's top-ranked senior, picked the Buckeyes over Penn State and Michigan. Those three schools have battled it out for Harrison's services for more than two years now and each program seemed to hold a lead or at least a lot of momentum at various points in Harrison's recruitment.

The 6-foot-5, 245-pound pass-rusher has been the wire-to-wire top prospect in the state of Ohio in the 2019 recruiting class. Harrison spent his early years in the Chicago (Ill.) area but moved to Central Ohio several years ago. Not being a traditional Central Ohio native and not really watching a lot of college football growing up, Harrison's recruitment became much more interesting than the typical Columbus area prospect.

But ultimately Ohio State defensive line coach Larry Johnson's relationship with Harrison won out. Johnson has recruited Harrison hard for three years and his track record of developing pass rushers into NFL draft picks was something that appealed to Harrison throughout the process, even when he may not have been sure that Ohio State was going to be his choice.

This commitment gives the Buckeyes four members of the current Rivals100 in 2019 joining wide receiver Garrett Wilson, offensive lineman Harry Miller, and linebacker Cade Stover.

Stay tuned to BuckeyeGrove.com for more on Harrison's commitment and continued coverage of the early signing period.