Signed: Four-star DT Tyleik Williams

It was an interesting path for Tyleik Williams to officially become a Buckeye today.

The four-star prospect netted an offer from Ohio State back in early April, which was shortly after the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak. As a result, he was unable to make his way to the school and interact with the coaching staff on campus.

A couple of more offers poured in for Williams, but the top-20 defensive tackle on Rivals wound up trimming his list to a half-dozen schools in June. Those programs were Alabama, LSU, North Carolina, Ohio State, South Carolina and the in-state Virginia Tech Hokies.

Although the Buckeyes made the cut, we knew that Rivals100 DT Tywone Malone remained high on their radar and was their top option at the position. Back on Aug. 27, however, Ohio State was rewarded with a commitment from Williams.

Williams has had no second thoughts since committing, and even took his first-ever trip to Columbus for the Buckeye Bash event less than a couple of months ago. He’s also been putting on his recruiting hat as he’s constantly pushing for high school teammate and five-star linebacker Shawn Murphy to join him at the next level.

The Manassas, Virginia, prospect did just sign his LOI, but he will have his signing ceremony today at 12:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on his Instagram (@tyleikk). Also worth noting is that Williams will be an early enrollee at Ohio State.

“With the Buckeyes, it’s just a great brotherhood,” Williams told us a month ago. “I wouldn’t want to be nowhere else. I fit in perfectly. I’m cool with all the commits, all the coaches are cool. It’s just a great place to be.”

It's unfortunate that Williams was unable to play in his final season of high school due to concerns regarding the novel coronavirus. By all accounts, he has been training hard in the offseason and perfecting his craft, so it would have been interesting to see him take the next step in 2020.

Either way, there is a lot to be excited about when watching the film above. This is what I wrote about him after he committed in August:

"Listed at 6-foot-3, 315 pounds, Williams takes up a good amount of space along the interior of the defensive line.

"Even at that size, Williams can easily shed blockers and making his way into the backfield with no problem. He does a lot of damage as a run-stopper, whether the ball carrier is going straight uphill or cutting to one side, but Williams also makes a signal caller's job difficult.

"In passing situations, Williams moves very well for his size and angles his body to take down quarterbacks or put pressure on their throws. He's also more than capable of putting his hands up and deflecting passes before they get past the line of scrimmage. From watching his highlight reel above, you could also see that he can block punts or attempted field goals, making him valuable in special teams as well.

"When it comes to playing against the run, I'm impressed with Williams not only because of how easily he gets into the backfield, but also because of his anticipation. Williams won't get easily fooled when a running back tries to cut one way or reverse field; he holds his position and doesn't get tricked into tackling a ghost. His tackling technique is solid as he doesn't allow players to get additional yardage after he makes contact with them."

But don't just take my word for it. Here is what his high school head coach Carroll Walker said about him in the summer.

"He's a big 6-4, 330-pound kid. A defensive tackle who can run like a power forward on the basketball court," Walker said. "His strengths — he can slant and hit the gap real good. He can avoid blocks, he has strength to bull you over and he reads the football very well.

"He's just a great kid, man. His strength... to have a big kid like that to shut down one side of the field and kind of put a team in a position to run to one side because they're afraid to take on this young kid who can take on two or three blocks at one time."

I'm definitely intrigued by what the combination of Williams and Michael Hall can do together along Ohio State's defensive line.

Stay tuned to BuckeyeGrove.