Fuller gives Buckeyes victory over That Team

One of the last, but certainly not the least, Jordan Fuller represents a massive recruiting win for the Buckeyes over rival Michigan and head coach Jim Harbaugh. This talented defensive back from New Jersey selected Ohio State on Monday night, just two days before National Signing Day, over fellow finalists Michigan and Notre Dame and now his letter of intent has been signed and sent in.

While Fuller's decision was certainly a difficult one and required months and months of thinking on the matter, in the end the decision boiled down to one relatively simple statement of fact.

"Ohio State is just the best place for me," Fuller told BuckeyeGrove.com.

Fuller picked the Buckeyes in part due to a series of long-standing relationships: those forged with new Ohio State Greg Schiano years back when he recruited Fuller's older brother; those forged with Ohio State commits like Austin Mack and Jonathon Cooper over his recruitment and particularly at the Army All-American bowl; and those formed with the entire Buckeye coaching staff and The Ohio State University over months and years of the recruiting process.

Fuller represents an ongoing trend for the Buckeye coaching staff to seek out big, rangy athletes for their defensive back spots and Fuller represents exactly that. The 6-foot-2, 190-pound prospect could end up at any of the defensive back spots and has experience and ability that fit each in different ways.

"Fuller has safety size but has a lot of experience playing cornerback, the position he played in the Army All-American Bowl just a few weeks ago," said BuckeyeGrove.com analyst Marc Givler. "As a corner, Fuller is physical in press-man coverage and is a very cerebral player in that he understand the advantages that his height and wingspan give him at the position and uses those advantages by being patient in coverage and not getting caught off balance by trying to jump routes.

"Ultimately, his physical tools may be best suited for safety where he can run the alleys and use his size to shrink passing lanes and be a bigger factor in run support. His speed going sideline-to-sideline along with his length make him a very intriguing free safety prospect."

Fuller is rated as a three-star safety by Rivals.com, but held offers from elite programs like Ohio State, Michigan, Notre Dame, Alabama, Michigan State, Clemson, and Florida State - among many others. Fuller is also rated as a top-ten prospect in the state of New Jersey, where he plays at Old Tappan.