Gardiner ready to report and compete

KEMP, Texas – Football may be football but there will be some adjustments for Ohio State signee Ellijah Gardiner when he comes up to Columbus to start his college career. The one-time Missouri commit flipped to the Buckeyes late in the process and now is just a matter of days away from leaving his small-town home and heading to Ohio State.

Gardiner made the trip to Columbus for the spring game and saw what he has in store. Gardiner really saw his recruitment ramp up after the Ohio State home football season was over, so this was his first taste of what is in store.

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"There was a lot of energy in the stadium like I have never experienced anything like it," Gardiner said. "80-thousand were there? That is crazy. I am down here in front of maybe 300 people, if that. It is a big change."

The tall wide receiver had been committed to Missouri for several months before changing his commitment over to Ohio State. The Buckeyes had been looking into Gardiner longer than most people were aware but things really picked up late in the game.

"They kind of came in late, everyone thinks they came in late but they were in for a while on the (down low)," Gardiner said. "They did a lot of research and came in. I went up there for a visit, I loved it up there. I had a great time. I came home, talked it over with my parents and we decided to flip like a couple of days before signing day."

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Gardiner recalled how tough it was telling Missouri that he was going elsewhere. It was a long and awkward conversation where Gardiner finally had to just tell him that his mind was made up and then get off the phone.

But before that, schools were starting to take notice of Gardiner and it was kind of easy to tell other schools that he was set in his commitment. That all changed once Ohio State got involved.

"I was like, 'Mom, this is Ohio State, you have to talk to them'. And then it turned out for the best," Gardiner said.

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Gardiner will get a head start on getting to Columbus before the actual scheduled arrival date for the remainder of the 2017 signing class.

"I am leaving here June 1st just to drive up there with my parents," Gardiner said. "I believe we are supposed to report (as a team) on June 4th."

It was a tremendous haul out of the state of Texas with players like Gardiner, Baron Browning, Jeffrey Okudah and JK Dobbins all heading north to Ohio State.

Gardiner is just excited to be at this point of his life and can't wait to make the adjustment to the college game and college atmosphere.