Ohio State needed to have a strong offensive line class during the 2019 recruiting cycle, but they didn’t really get there until signing day when they landed 4-star Hawaii prospect Enokk Vimahi and 3-star Indiana prospect Dawand Jones. Those two joined 5-star center Harry Miller and 4-star tackle Ryan Jacoby.
The addition of Vimahi — who was the No. 7 offensive guard in the class — was key, especially after losing a commitment from Doug Nester, who was the No. 6 guard in the nation.
“Yeah, O-line was an area of concern for us,” Buckeye head coach Ryan Day said on the February 6 signing day. “We had to go out there and kind of uncover all the stones. Flying out to Hawaii, staying for three hours, getting on a redeye back to Columbus was part of that plan.”
What did they find underneath the stone in Hawaii?
“Enokk is a very good athlete,” Day said. “He’s a guy that we think can put on a lot of weight, get stronger. He’s super athletic. His father is one of his coaches. He from a young age has trained him to be an offensive lineman, but has done a lot of things with flexibility, body weight stuff. He’s very, very athletic, very agile. With his lower half, we think he’s got the ability to put on a lot of weight.”
Once they get him on campus this summer, they will begin the process of building him the way they want him built. After the season, however, Vimahi will have a decision to make regarding a 2-year church mission.
“The communication about the mission, it’s something that he and his family will decide kind of at the end of this year and go from there,” Day said. “If they decide they want to go for a two-year mission, we’ll support that. He’d go away for two years, then come back.”
There are some programs who wouldn’t have worked so hard to sign a player they may only get one year out of before letting him leave for two years. One of the reasons Day was willing to do so was because the fit between Vimahi and Ohio State was so good.
“It started honestly in the All-American game when he got around some of our guys, including Garrett Wilson, Harry [Miller], and Zach Harrison,” Day said. “The feedback we got about him was through the roof, he and his family. That proved to be true. We thought he’d be a great fit here.
“We wouldn’t just go over to Hawaii if it wasn’t a good fit. It was. Then he came up for a visit, we all hit it off. That was great. Then we were able to spend some time out at school with he and his parents. We all hit it off. There were some connections with some of the guys on our team, too, that knew each other. That was really good.”
