The Buckeyes finally get their guy with Tuimoloau
The Buckeyes had to take it to overtime but came out on top for the recruitment of class of 2021 defensive lineman J.T. Tuimoloau as he is now a member of the Ohio State Buckeyes, just five months after the start of the late signing period.
Ohio State beat out Oregon, USC and Washington for the signature as the five-star lineman had settled on final five that dropped down to a final four when the Bellevue (Wash.) canceled a scheduled official visit to Alabama.
Checking in at 6-foot-4, 275-pounds, the nation's No. 6 overall prospect from the class of 2021 went to great lengths to not provide news in terms of his recruitment, granting very few interviews along the way.
The less he spoke, the more that recruiting fans became interested in things, especially for the final couple of schools that were still under consideration.
Tuimoloau took an official visit to Ohio State the weekend of June 18th, what ended up being his third of four visits. The Buckeyes made sure that a pair of state of Washington products were front and center as Ohio State has landed top players over the past couple of seasons with Gee Scott Jr. and Emeka Egbuka.
RELATED: Ohio State's class of 2021
As with most defensive linemen, Ohio State defensive line coach Larry Johnson is a big draw for top prospects and sources indicated that it was no different for Tuimoloau as the chance to learn under Larry was too much to pass up on.
Tuimoloau ends up as the 22nd and final member of the Ohio State class of 2021, the nation's No. 2 ranked class according to Rivals.com. He also gives the Buckeyes a pair of five-star defensive ends with the addition of Jack Sawyer, who enrolled early and took part in Ohio State spring ball. Sawyer was credited with three sacks in the annual Ohio State spring game.
Now the question is how quickly Tuimoloau can get up to speed with the Buckeyes after not only not being able to enroll for the second semester of the past academic year but also not being part of the early summer work.
Ohio State now has four five-stars for the class of 2021 and the Buckeyes have had multiple five-stars in four of the last five classes and are already in line to continue that trend with multiple five-stars in the upcoming class of 2022.
Keep it locked in here at BuckeyeGrove.com for all of your JTT coverage as we now have reached the end of one long road and now will start a new long road as Tuimoloau will now suit up for the 2021 team and look to make an impact as the Ohio State defensive line looks to be more disruptive than it was just a season ago.