Signed: Grant Toutant
It's official: Ohio State has signed 2020 offensive lineman Grant Toutant of Warren (Mi.) De La Salle, who they flipped from Penn State during the recruiting cycle
Originally part of Penn State's 2020 recruiting class, Ohio State identified offensive tackle Grant Toutant as a player they wanted in their large class of big men up front. Their hard work and efforts paid off, as Toutant flipped from the Nittany Lions to the Buckeyes back on June 9, 2019, and hasn't looked back since.
During his senior season, Toutant suffered a season-ending shoulder injury, but got surgery and has been rehabbing with a doctor in Columbus, and is on track to be full-go when he reports to Ohio State in the summer. He's looking forward to kicking off his career with the Buckeyes then, and feels he has a ton to offer his new team.
"What I’m looking forward most is being a Buckeye for life," Toutant told BuckeyeGrove. "I’m blessed to be able to spend the next few years playing the game I love, training with some of the best coaches and staff in the country, and putting it all out there week after week for Buckeye Nation.
"I’m a gritty, hard working lineman. I lead by example and give everything I have for the team. Being long, athletic and really flexible gives me the ability to play multiple positions on the line. I play with an edge and won’t stop till the whistle blows."
Toutant signs with Ohio State currently ranked as a 3-star prospect and the 22nd overall prospect in Michigan for 2020 per RIvals.
Gleitman's Thoughts
As Toutant mentioned, he's got a lot of traits that are hard not to like when looking at a lineman. At 6-foot-7, 310-pounds, he has tremendous size, and as a former gymnast and basketball player, he's plenty athletic, which is attractive to Ohio State when looking for guys who can play on the outside at tackle.
The intangibles are not a concern either. This kid is a tremendous teammate, works his tail off, and as he mentioned, will sacrifice whatever is needed to help the team succeed.
Coming off shoulder surgery, and needing to do some work with Mickey Marotti, it wouldn't be surprising to see him redshirt in his first year, but the tools are there for Ohio State to develop when it comes to Toutant being a starter on the offensive line for the Buckeyes one day.