The future stars of Ohio State football officially begin their college careers as standouts from all over the country put pens to their National Letters of Intent.
After Ohio State lost a commitment from Brenton Cox and its recruitment of Micah Parsons fell apart before the Early Signing Day, the Buckeyes appeared to be in some trouble at the defensive end position.
Even after signing Alex Williams in December and landing a commitment from Tyreke Smith at January's Under Armour All-America Game, the Buckeyes still needed more at the position, with only three returning scholarship defensive ends on their 2018 roster.
They got the other defensive end they needed, however, when Don Bosco Prep (Ramsey, N.J.) four-star Tyler Friday committed to be a Buckeye in January and officially signed with Ohio State on Wednesday.
The Friday File
- Class: 2018
- Size: 6-foot-3, 263 pounds
- Pos: DE
- School: Don Bosco Prep (Ramsey, NJ)
- Composite Rating: ★★★★
- Composite Rank: 6 (DT)
It first became apparent that Friday becoming a Buckeye could be a real possibility on Nov. 7, when the top-100 prospect from New Jersey includes Ohio State in his final five schools along with Michigan, UCLA, Penn State and Miami.
At that point, it was widely expected that Friday would become a Wolverine, following in the footsteps of previous highly touted Garden State recruits like Jabrill Peppers in 2014, Rashan Gary in 2016 and Cesar Ruiz in 2017. Ohio State, with Cox still committed to be a Buckeye and Parsons and Jayson Oweh still in play as potential recruits, hadn't yet made a big push in recruiting Friday.
Yet because Friday had yet to take any official visits and was not planning to be an early signee, it turned out that Ohio State – which was one of the first programs to offer him a scholarship in Dec. 2015 – still had as good a shot as anyone.
On Dec. 13, just one week after Cox announced his decommitment from the Buckeyes, Ohio State defensive coordinator Greg Schiano was in his home state of New Jersey to visit with Friday and his high school coach, Mike Teel, who played for Schiano at Rutgers.
This came less than a month after Friday made his official visit to Columbus for Ohio State's 52-14 win over Illinois on Nov. 18, when the Buckeyes made a positive impression on Friday that got the ball rolling in their favor.
Alabama had also become a player in Friday's recruitment at that point, as Friday also decided to make an official visit to Tuscaloosa, but Schiano's trip to Don Bosco Prep made it clear that the Buckeyes had made Friday one of their priority targets.
After Oweh announced his commitment to Penn State over Ohio State at the Jan. 4 Under Armour All-America Game, the Buckeyes went all out in their pursuit of Friday, knowing that they still needed another defensive end and that Friday was their top target left on the board at the position.
As the middle of January approached and Friday neared his own announcement, Ohio State emerged as the frontrunner to land his commitment, even though Alabama and Michigan remained in the hunt.
Staying true to his last name, Friday made his commitment on a Friday – Jan. 19, to be specific – and put on an Ohio State hat during a ceremony at his school, making him the 23rd pledge for this year's Buckeye recruiting class.
Ultimately, Schiano's connections in New Jersey and the ability to play for Ohio State defensive line coach Larry Johnson won Friday over.
"I know that Tyler is very high on coach Johnson, and when he went on his official visit, he spent a lot of time with coach Schiano talking very in-depth about football," Teel told Eleven Warriors. "I think he is very comfortable with those guys. Obviously, they're competing every year to be in the playoffs and for a national championship. That's important for him."
While Friday is listed as a defensive tackle on his 247Sports recruiting profile, Ohio State plans to play him as a strongside defensive end, where he offers similar physical attributes to recently departed Buckeye defensive end Tyquan Lewis.
Teel expects Friday to have little trouble making the transition from defensive tackle to defensive end, and he believes his former player can make a big impact at Ohio State.
"He's a great athlete, got great twitch off the football, very good lateral movement and he's strong," Teel said. "He's a dominant run-stopper who can rush the passer. He can do a lot of things."
While Michigan might have had the early lead in Friday's recruitment, the defensive end said after his commitment that ultimately, Ohio State leaped to the front of the pack after his aforementioned official visit during the Buckeyes' rain-soaked win over the Illini.
“I fell in love with everything they had to tell me,” Friday told 247Sports' Brian Dohn on his commitment day. “When I first got there, they mapped out a plan for me from freshman year all the way to senior year, or halfway through my junior year if I’m lucky.
“I was just blown away,” Friday added. “My family was with me, and my mom and my dad said they would feel comfortable leaving me with someone there for the next four years. That says a lot to me, and I really trust those guys and I really think we can get something done.”
With no doubts left in his mind and feeling confident about the way his Buckeye career will play out, Friday will arrive at Ohio State this summer with a chance to compete for immediate playing time, as a spot on the defensive end two-deep behind Nick Bosa, Chase Young and Jonathon Cooper should be wide open for one of the incoming freshman to potentially come in and seize.
