Ohio State just landed the biggest remaining fish in the sea.
J.T. Tuimoloau has joined Ohio State's already-monstrous 2021 class and made it, well, even more monstrous.
The No. 3 overall player and the No. 2 strongside defensive end in America, the 6-foot-5, 280-pound Eastside Catholic (Wash.) five-star talent has committed to Ohio State, and now Larry Johnson has another potential star along the defensive line to work with.
Actually, he's got four of them.
Let's take a look at what Tuimoloau brings to Ohio State on the field, off the field and in the recruiting class:
On the Field
Tuimoloau was the top-ranked player when the initial 2021 player rankings were released in the summer following his sophomore season, and he never dipped below the No. 9 spot. He was the wire-to-wire No. 1 prospect according to 247Sports, so there are obviously a lot of things to like about him.
But the No. 1 thing that stands out about him is his athleticism at his size. With his frame, it would be understandable for him to be a bit slower or not move as well, but Tuimoloau's first love was basketball and he moves like a guy who could play the sport at the next level. (Many analysts who have seen him play on the court believe he could be a Division I basketball player if he wanted to focus on that sport, and he even received basketball scholarship offers from Washington and Oregon.)
Tuimoloau's athleticism is instantly noticeable on film, as he has the ability to quickly jump off the line of scrimmage, rip through an offensive tackle, bounce off a guard and get to the quarterback, just like he's absorbing contact on his way to the rim.
He has a knack for jumping up to bat passes down at the line, or at least alter the throw, and he uses that same vertical leap on offense for Eastside Catholic.
If Tuimoloau focused on being a tight end, he could be a scholarship player for a Power 5 program. The Crusaders line him up on the inside and flip quick passes to him on bubble screens, and he gets up the field well for his size. He finished with 235 yards receiving and four touchdowns on 18 catches with an average of 13.1 yards per catch. Perhaps Ryan Day could get creative and use that skillset in goal-line packages. (We can dream, anyway, right?)
The adept tackler accelerates quickly through the line with burst, whether it's on the edge or if he's lined up inside, which brings us to one of the key reasons he's so valuable – his positional versatility.
Listed under the general "defensive line" group, he flips back and forth between being on the edge and inside at Eastside Catholic. He's great at getting a push up front on the inside and outside, and he's also unique in his ability to be effective in pass coverage similar to a linebacker.
As a junior, he led the Crusaders in sacks (11.0), tackles-for-loss (4.0) and total tackles (64), and he had a team-high three blocked punts. He shows excellent ball pursuit, whether running toward a scrambling quarterback or attacking a running back who's broken into the second level.
With Tuimoloau's ability to play both inside and on the edge, it provides a lot of possibilities for Johnson and the Buckeyes' defense and gives them a major advantage in terms of creating mismatches, and that athleticism allows him the ability to possibly be used in pass coverage in certain spots. Despite his delayed arrival, Tuimoloau is talented enough to compete for immediate playing time as a true freshman during the 2021 season.
As he continues to grow physically in Mickey Marotti's system, perhaps he could end up kicking inside permanently later in his career, but right now he projects as one who could do both and is expected to start out playing along the edge.
Off the Field
It's hard (read: nearly impossible) to get a feel for Tuimoloau off the field. He's intensely private, rarely giving interviews about his recruitment or anything else, and his family is equally as private.
Nothing wrong with that, obviously. Just makes it a bit harder to get a feel for who he is as a person directly from him.
But in speaking with someone familiar with Tuimoloau and his family, that person raved about Tuimoloau's character, saying that “he's a great young man who comes from an amazing family. He has a great spirit that will carry him further than his talent for the game of football. I couldn’t be more proud of him.”
Work ethic is also something he has been praised for, as he bulked up over his first two years of high school and continued plugging away, soon earning an invitation to the 2021 All-American Bowl in March of his sophomore year after he amassed team-bests in TFLs (17) and sacks (7.0).
In the Class
Ohio State became a hub for bringing in the elite of the elite at defensive end once Johnson came on board and landed the Bosas, Chase Young and Zach Harrison.
The 2020 class, though, was a down year in terms of bringing in the top-tier defensive end who immediately brings star power to the class. And even though the three-man haul of Jacolbe Cowan, Darrion Henry-Young and Ty Hamilton is a really good core, the missing piece of the class (other than getting a high-end running back) was a commitment from a stud defensive end.
The Buckeyes will not have any of those worries in the 2021 cycle as they have more than made up for it in this cycle.
Five-star defensive Jack Sawyer has been the crown jewel of the class ever since committing in February of 2019. The commitment from the Pickerington star helped to ease any concerns about the 2020 cycle, and his early arrival and performance in the spring game have everyone excited about his future.
But with Sawyer on campus and Tuimoloau committed, the Buckeyes have the No. 3- and No. 4-ranked overall players, respectively, in 2021. That one-two punch along the defensive line is unrivaled when compared to any other class in recent memory.
Add in the nation's No. 10-ranked defensive lineman and another near-consensus top-50 recruit, Mike Hall, as their guy to fill the 3-tech spot, and the Buckeyes have inarguably the best defensive line haul in America.
QB @samhuard11 to TE @JT_tuimoloau for the game-winning TD for @gofordsports @USCScoop pic.twitter.com/34RjKO2eo2
— Scott Schrader (@Scott_Schrader) April 7, 2019
Tuimoloau gives the Buckeyes their third commitment from the state of Washington in the past two years, as he joins Eastside Catholic teammate Gee Scott Jr. and Steilacoom's Emeka Egbuka. Ohio State had only rostered two players from the state in program history, and now it's looking like it could carve out a pipeline if the state continues its upward trajectory of developing high-level talent.
