In a weird, late development, longtime Ohio State commit, P Johnny Townsend has signed his letter of intent with Florida, rather than the Buckeyes, where he was committed to since June 19, 2012.
Townsend was supposed to fax in his NLOI at around 12 PM ET after a ceremony at his high school, but that ceremony was initially pushed back to 4 PM. After some deliberation, Townsend decided to cancel the ceremony altogether and just fax in the letter of intent to the school of his choice.
He did that earlier today and, unfortunately for Buckeye fans, the fax went to Will Muschamp and the hometown Gators.
Being that Townsend was expected to start at punter next season for OSU, the Bucks will now have to look for other options to replace Ben Buchanan. Current roster members that are speculated to be considered include K Drew Basil, WR Frank Epitropoulos, and walk-ons P Kevin Niehoff and K/P Jake Russell.
We'll continue digging for the reason that Townsend is no longer a part of Ohio State's class, but early returns lead to the circumstances changing with his opportunities after the Buckeyes landed all three of Dontre Wilson, Vonn Bell, and James Clark.
