Four-Star Point Guard Markell Johnson Commits to North Carolina State over Ohio State, Others

A whirlwind of a recruitment ended with some surefire disappointment for Ohio State fans Monday. Once considered a strong Buckeye lean, four-star point guard Markell Johnson announced his commitment to NC State on his personal Twitter account.

Thanks To Everybody That Have Been On My Side Through This Process I Have Decided To Join The Pack pic.twitter.com/clshfGKMEQ

— Markell Johnson (@kells_2017) June 20, 2016

The Buckeyes were long thought to be one of the favorites to land Johnson, who was thought to be moving to the 2016 class earlier in May. Months of speculation about a potential reclassification made things very complicated, however, and on May 2 Johnson officially announced his intentions to move to the 2016 class. Just a few days later, however, Johnson recanted his announcement. It appears he plans to enroll at NC State as part of the 2016 class now, though.

Taking an official visit to NC State earlier in June, things heated up between Johnson and the Wolfpack, as the 6-foot-1 guard decided to make things official with a commitment Monday.

Ohio State already signed a point guard out of necessity in its previous class, junior college transfer C.J. Jackson, prior to Johnson's original reclassification announcement and things started trending away from the Buckeyes as Johnson's recruiting process dragged out and more uncertainty surrounded it.

A 6-foot-1, 180-pound point guard from East Technical High School in Cleveland, Johnson committed to NC State over Ohio State, Louisville, Texas A&M, Xavier and others. He is rated as the No. 79 overall player in the 2016 class and is the 17th-ranked point guard.

The Buckeyes have a four-man class in 2016 with Jackson, forward Derek Funderburk, center Micah Potter and wing Andre Wesson.