Ohio State received a commitment from 4-star Florida defensive end Andrew Chatfield Thursday night. He committed to the Buckeyes over offers from LSU, Notre Dame, Wisconsin, Oklahoma, Mississippi State, Oregon, Tennessee, and Virginia Tech.
Chatfield (American Heritage High School / Fort Lauderdale, FL) made the announcement via Twitter.
“First off, I would like to thank God because I wouldn’t even be here without him!” he wrote. “I want to thank the entire staff and administration at American Heritage for everything they do for me on and off the field. I want to thank my whole family for the love and support they’ve always given me. I want to thank every school that has offered me an opportunity to be a part of their school. It’s been a long ride and a tough decision, but I’d like to announce my commitment to Ohio State University!”
Ohio State now has 11 verbal commitments in the 2018 class. Chatfield is the second defensive end committed, as he joins 5-star Georgia prospect Brenton Cox (6-5 247). The Buckeyes are still in on a number of other defensive end targets, including 5-star Pennsylvania prospect Micah Parsons and 4-star Ohio prospect Tyreke Smith.
Andrew Chatfield (6-2 221) is rated the No. 15 weakside defensive end in the nation by the 247Sports Composite. Some view him as an outside linebacker. A familiar comparison for Buckeye fans may be current sophomore Jonathon Cooper, who was also a bit undersized in high school. It will be interesting to see if Chatfield moves up the rankings as Cooper did during the camp and combine circuit.
An invitee to July’s The Opening, Chatfield finished with 44 tackles and six sacks last season. As the Buckeyes experiment more with a stand-up defensive end, it makes sense that they would begin to target players who can rush the passer or drop into coverage, as Sam Hubbard will be asked to do this season. Chatfield is athletic enough to do a number of things for a defensive front.
Ohio State offered just nine days ago, so this situation escalated very quickly. Andrew Chatfield has not yet received an offer from Florida, and that may be a situation to watch. His cousin Corey Bell is the new defensive backs coach with the Gators. Florida also signed three players from American Heritage in the 2017 class, so there is plenty of familiarity on the Gainesville campus.
Buckeye fans may not have anything to worry about, however, as he capped his commitment tweet with, “My word is bond.”
In film, Chatfield gets up field quickly, but doesn’t get lost in his pursuit. He’s also a finisher who doesn’t appear to be satisfied with simply grasping for the ball carrier or quarterback.
[…] Friday night. Mitchell’s commitment comes on the heals of Thursday night’s commitment from Florida defensive end Andrew Chatfield. The recruitment of Mitchell was one that was back and forth until the very end, with the decision […]
[…] a surprise Thursday night when 4-star defensive end Andrew Chatfield out of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida committed to Ohio State. The Buckeyes did not offer Chatfield until two weeks ago, so this recruitment escalated quickly. […]