Ohio State pushed its 2008 recruiting class back up to 18 members today with the commitment of defensive end Keith Wells of Gainesville, Ga.
Wells said he picked the Buckeyes over Tennessee and Notre Dame, which made a late push for the late-blooming pass-rusher.
"Ohio State is my best all-around school," Wells said by phone. "They've got a top-20 engineering program, their football team is thriving, definitely excelling the last few years, and I definitely feel I have an opportunity to get in there and play early."
Wells, who just started playing football in the 2006 season, blossomed into a 6-foot-5, 235-pound speed rusher who made plays all over the field for the Red Elephants of Gainesville.
Recruiting experts are still trying to figure out his potential, too. Consider that though he is considered a four-star prospect by Scout.com, which rates him as the 16th best defensive end prospect in the country, rivals.com rates him as merely a three-star recruit.
The Buckeyes, meanwhile, still await word from the nation's No.1 prospect, Terrelle Pryor, the quarterback from Jeannette, Pa., who might not make up his mind by Wednesday, the first day that national letters-of-intent can be signed. He is considering OSU, Michigan, Oregon and Penn State.
Two other blue-chip prospects with whom OSU is going down to the wire are offensive lineman Josh Jenkins of Parkersburg, W.Va., who is scheduled to announce at 9 a.m. Wednesday between the Buckeyes and West Virginia, and defensive back Brandon Harris of Miami, Fla., who likely will choose between OSU and Miami on signing day.
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