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.
For about a year, Ohio State has had interest in Tommy Eichenberg. But without a scholarship offer, he turned his focus elsewhere.
The Eichenberg File
- Class: 2019
- Size: 6-foot-3, 235 pounds
- Pos: LB
- School: St. Ignatius
- Composite Rating: ★★★★
- Composite Rank: 20 (ILB)
So, on June 27, he committed to Boston College. He remained a pledge to the ACC school until Nov. 19, when he opted to decommit nearly two months after his original commitment.
Ohio State and Michigan, which offered him more than a month before the Buckeyes, duked it out for weeks for the four-star inside linebacker. But on Dec. 6, two days after Urban Meyer announced his impending retirement and Ryan Day was announced as his replacement, Tommy Eichenberg committed to Ohio State.
Eichenberg made the process official when he signed his National Letter of Intent on Wednesday, the first day of the Early Signing Period.
Nothing like some good ol' midwestern grit @tommyike41 is staying home. O-H! #LBU#GoBucks #Dynasty19 #NSD19 pic.twitter.com/9csyic10cE
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) December 19, 2018
At St. Ignatius, which possesses a powerhouse football program, Eichenberg began as an outside linebacker, but moved inside during his senior season. He drew interest from some of the top programs in the nation, but none offered him until his final year of high school. Iowa, Maryland, Michigan State, Duke and Purdue were among the schools to offer him, which led to the Boston College commitment.
Scholarship offers from Ohio State and Michigan forced Eichenberg to reevaluate his commitment.
Eventually, he backed off of his Boston College pledge to take a longer look at the Buckeyes and Wolverines. Eichenberg, the top inside linebacker prospect in the state of Ohio, chose to commit to Ohio State about three weeks after his decommitment.
Landing Eichenberg was a major snag for Day, who had made a pitch to high school coaches in the state just two days prior.
"To the high school coaches in Ohio: We have the best coaches and some of the best high school programs in all of America here at Ohio," Day said on Dec. 4. "And it will continue to be our first priority to recruit Ohio football players. Every young football player in the state of Ohio should dream about one day becoming a Buckeye. And it's our staff's responsibility to make sure we recruit them at the highest level."
Officially committed to The Ohio State University #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/PsXWx6HeqC
— Tommy Eichenberg (@tommyike41) December 7, 2018
Eichenberg will join a young group of inside linebacker. Tuf Borland has two years of eligibility remaining, and Baron Browning is just a sophomore. Teradja Mitchell will also factor into the team's plans in the coming years. So, expect Eichenberg to factor into special teams primarily as a freshman before eventually earning a chance to play defensive snaps.
