Mitchell Melton commits to Ohio State
The Ohio State summer commitment wave rolls on with another pledge from a top priority. Olney (Md.) Good Counsel linebacker Mitchell Melton has been right at the top of the linebacker wish list for the Buckeyes for a long time now and on Wednesday morning he made his commitment to Ohio State over Michigan, Notre Dame, and many others.
"Out of all of the schools they probably showed me the most love," said Melton. "Ohio State was just one of the constants during my recruiting process. After they offered me, it was just constant communication on top of it. They believed in me from the start and I really appreciate that."
Melton is one player that Ohio State never let up on, even during a coaching transition that saw four new defensive assistants. First it was former linebackers coach Bill Davis who Melton communicated with, but the past six months it has been Al Washington and things seemed to just pick up where they left off.
"Coach Washington is a great guy and a great coach," Melton continued. "We've just been communicating and building a relationship for a while and that has been going really well."
Another factor in Melton's decision was his recent official visit. He was able to gain insight from a lot of players in the program and felt like he just naturally fit in with the culture and type of personalities that the Buckeyes have in the linebacker room.
"I was hosted by Dallas Gant but I also had a chance to talk to a lot of other players," he recalled. "They were all cool and they all seemed to understand what it takes to be a Buckeye and what it means."
Ultimately the location factor was important as well. Melton's family is from Ohio and he still has a lot of family in the Buckeye State.
"I think like ninety-percent of my family is from Ohio," he said. "My sister goes to college in Wittenberg. Ohio has always been a second home to me so being able to go to a great college in the state is just an added bonus for me and my family."
Melton is commitment No. 17 for Ohio State in the 2020 class and joins New Jersey standout Cody Simon as the second linebacker in the group.