Local star staying home with the Buckeyes

After signing arguably the best class in the school's modern recruiting history last month, Ohio State is picking up right where it left off. On Wednesday afternoon, the Buckeyes landed local star Jaelen Gill out of Westerville (Ohio) South High School. Gill announced his verbal commitment to the Buckeyes in front of friends and family in the Westerville South auditorium.

The 6-foot, 185-pound running back was long considered an Ohio State lean but took a close look at schools like UCLA, Virginia Tech, Tennessee, and many others, before choosing the Buckeyes out of his nearly 30 scholarship offers.

With the decision out of the way, Gill plans to get right to work in helping Ohio State recruit more talented players to join the class.

"I made the decision about a month ago to go to Ohio State," Gill explained. "We needed some momentum. We lost a couple of recruits so by me committing, since I already knew I was coming, that should build some momentum."

Gill is the fourth commitment in the 2018 class for Ohio State with all four commitments being ranked as Top 100 prospects by Rivals.com. Gill is also the first class of 2018 commitment from the state of Ohio.

"It definitely means a lot," Gill said of staying home. "Growing up I was an Ohio State fan, a lot of people growing up in the Central Ohio area want to be a Buckeye. So it just shows that they do recruit this area very heavily."

But Gill says he strongly pondered leaving the state, specifically to head out West. A Pac-12 swing through UCLA and USC early in his recruitment left a good impression. When decision time came, however, the best fit just happened to be around the corner.

"I always wanted to do something different," he recalled. "But at the same time it's hard to pass up an opportunity like this. Ohio State is one of the best programs if not the best, and just growing up an Ohio State fan it's hard not to (stay home)."

Ultimately, Gill's relationships with the Ohio State coaches, most notably Urban Meyer and Tony Alford, made the difference. Ohio State recruited Gill early and recruited him hard, making sure the local star was not taken for granted simply because he grew up just minutes from campus.

One of the first questions that will need to be answered with Gill is just where he fits within the Ohio State offense. He has the versatility to play running back or slot receiver and there could be some heated debates about that inside the WHAC.

"I think I have the frame to get up to 210-215 pounds, so it's kind of up to them," Gill said. "Coach Meyer has really been talking about H-Back where as coach Alford wants me with him all the time. Whoever wins that argument, but I'm guessing you know who will win that argument."

Gill is rated as the nation's top all-purpose back in the 2018 class and the No. 44 overall prospect despite missing most of his junior season due to injury.