Ohio State lands commitment from top in-state defensive lineman

Ohio State made Cincinnati (Ohio) Princeton defensive lineman Darrion Henry its top recruiting priority at the position over the past two years. That work paid off on Saturday with a commitment from the Rivals100 product. Henry chose the Buckeyes over Tennessee, Cincinnati, LSU, Kentucky, and Georgia.

The long-standing relationships that Henry built at Ohio State were able to win out for the four-star prospect.

"Coach Day is a great guy, a great family person," said Henry of why he picked the Buckeyes. "Then you have coach Johnson who has produced a lot of guys to the NFL. He's obviously the best defensive line coach and definitely a great guy too."

Henry will join his now high school teammate, Paris Johnson Jr. in the Buckeye recruiting class. The two top prospects in Ohio are both at Princeton now and the childhood friends are looking forward to teaming up beyond high school.

"Playing with Paris in college will be great," he said. "Having a friend that I grew up with, being able to play with him at the next level, it should be really good."

Before that happens, they'll team up this fall on a loaded Princeton team. The battles in practice should be interesting.

"It's a great thing, we're hopefully going to put on a show," he said. "It's an opportunity for both of us to get better."

Henry is rated the No. 45 prospect in the nation by Rivals.com in the 2020 recruiting class.