J.T. Tuimoloau took us through one of the longest recruiting sagas of the past decade throughout 2020 and half of 2021.

It was a recruitment that came without controversy. But the Washington-based defensive end took about as long as he could have before finally committing to Ohio State on July 4 and enrolling soon afterward.

Tuimoloau, the No. 7-ranked overall player and No. 2-ranked strongside defensive end in the 2021 class, showed up on campus as a physical freak in regards to being a high school athlete. The first time seeing him in person, though, it was clear he had some work to do in order to match up with the size of the rest of the Buckeyes’ defensive linemen.

He walked side by side with Jack Sawyer into Ohio State’s athletics facility after an August practice. Sawyer had enrolled in January, and the eight-month legup that he had on Tuimoloau in the Buckeyes’ strength and conditioning program was easy to see in terms of size and muscle.

Tuimoloau was going to need time to prepare his body and build up his strength in order to be ready for the college level. Combined with not being adequately ready for the speed of the game going against former five- and four-star offensive linemen in practice, he was not going to see much early playing time.

Or not.

Instead, Tuimoloau quickly hit the ground running in Columbus. He played right away, logging 13 snaps in the season opener against Minnesota, 12 snaps against Oregon and 45 snaps against Tulsa. His 42 snaps against Rutgers in the season’s fifth game was the most of any Buckeyes defensive end that day. He totaled the fourth-most of any Ohio State defensive end (286) and finished with 3.5 sacks, 4.5 tackles-for-loss and 17 total tackles.

His immediate, smooth transition to the college game and his instant, sustained impact was a surprise for Ohio State coach Ryan Day and the rest of his staff. He was a five-star prospect and one of the highest-ranked players the Buckeyes had ever signed, but even the most dominant talents need time to adjust as freshmen.

“He didn't have a whole offseason. He didn't even have a summer,” Day said Tuesday. “That's probably one of the more unique ones we've had, although we've had a few in the last couple years. But he got here a week before training camps. And that was one of the concerns we shared with his family was that if you show up at the end of July, you're not gonna have a lot of time to prepare to get on the field. All you’re gonna have is August, and that's really hard.

“To his credit, he got on the field and played despite not having that lead-up time, which I don't think I've ever seen that before. So it says a lot about him. But now he's had a whole offseason – well, he hasn't had a whole offseason, but he's had seven weeks of winter conditioning, training. He's gotten stronger. And now he's kind of diving into the spring practice. So I think as we head into August, it'll be a whole year of work under his belt: the season and offseason, a spring, May and June, the summer, and I think he’ll look a lot different.”

Tuimoloau already does look different.

We saw him during Ohio State’s first spring practice on March 8. And he looked like an even more intimidating presence during the Buckeyes’ first padded practice on Tuesday.

The increase in size jumps off the page, and the way he moved in Larry Johnson’s defensive line drills showed the explosiveness and athleticism he entered the program with is only getting better.

Day spoke with confidence about what has the potential to be one of the country’s deepest defensive lines. It’s a group mixed with veterans like Zach Harrison, Javontae Jean-Baptiste, Taron Vincent and Jerron Cage and budding potential stars in Jack Sawyer, Ty Hamilton, Tyleik Williams and Mike Hall.

“[The defensive line] should be the strength of our defense up front,” Day said.

Tuimoloau already proved as a freshman that he can be an impact player for this Buckeyes defense. This spring, he has already passed the eye test as a guy who could emerge as one of the most fearsome defensive ends in the Big Ten.

Jim Knowles has options on the table for how he could use Tuimoloau in his system. He will be a hand-in-the-dirt defensive end but also appears to have the right combination of unique physical tools and athletic skills to be used as a standup edge rusher, an interior lineman in Rushmen packages and as the hybrid defensive end/outside linebacker once Knowles implements his LEO position.

Tuimoloau, Sawyer and Kourt Williams can each be argued as being the No. 1 breakout candidate in Knowles’ defense. Tuimoloau might be the safest bet of the three to unlock the next level of his game and be that breakout guy in 2022.

“Our experience is that, just to show up at this level of college football out of high school and just play is very difficult,” Day said. “I can only count on my hand a few guys who've ever done that and never seen anybody show up at the end of July and play like he did. So it’s exciting to see where he goes with a whole year under his belt.”