Pocatello, Idaho defensive tackle Tommy Togiai committed to Ohio State Tuesday night, giving the Buckeyes a third interior lineman in their already No. 1-ranked 2018 recruiting class. OSU offered Togiai back in February, and he made the long trek to Columbus this past summer for Friday Night Lights. Obviously, the OSU coaches have been working to land him for a long time, and everyone’s hard work — Togiai included — paid off this week with a verbal commitment.
Player: Tommy Togiai (Highland High School/Pocatello, Idaho)
Position: Defensive Tackle
Ranking: 247Sports Composite 4-Star, No. 9 Defensive Tackle, No. 126 Player Overall
Tommy Togiai (6-3 290) is the best player in the state of Idaho, and was also the state’s defensive player of the year as a junior. Urban Meyer will go wherever he has to for talent, and Togiai’s skill set brought the the Buckeyes’ head coach 1,800 miles west.
Ohio State already has two defensive tackles in the class, so another wasn’t necessarily a need, but that didn’t stop the Buckeyes from continuing to pursue Togiai. An in-home visit this week sealed the deal and Togiai committed with everyone gathered in his living room.
Togiai is already college big and college strong and he uses both to complement his ability to burst at the snap and pursue. He is stronger than anybody he plays against at this stage, so he is able to stall an entire section of the opposing offensive line. Running away from him is the lesser of two evils, but he has tremendous pursuit down the line of scrimmage and is quick enough to tackle stretch or toss plays in the backfield.
As a pass rusher, he is a bad matchup for guards, who are slower footed than tackles. He gets leverage inside quickly and knifes through blocks to blow up the pocket. He doesn’t stop there, however, as he will continue to chase the quarterback until the play is dead. In college, he may not be able to catch up with the quarterback, but there will certainly be times when he chases somebody right into a defensive end’s bad intentions.
The Comparison
A comparison to current Buckeye freshman defensive tackle Haskell Garrett is an easy one because both were “big kids” in high school. They didn’t have to grow into the position like Dre’Mont Jones or Tracy Sprinkle or Adolphus Washington did. That being said, there is a bit of each of the aforementioned Buckeyes in Togiai’s game.
Like Garrett in high school, Togiai can completely ruin the line of scrimmage. Neither were as quick as Malik Barrow in high school, but they carry more mass behind them and can make a pretty solid wall. Where the comparisons to the former defensive ends Jones, Sprinkle, and Washington come in is with Togiai’s pass rushing and ability to move his feet. He chops and has directional quickness. He is also very good in recognizing screens and not getting sucked in. His quickness allows him to make plays after the recognition as well.
The Fit
Tommy Togiai could end up at either tackle spot, which makes him a good fit regardless. He’s not some 340-pound behemoth who can only play the nose. He has the explosion to be a three technique and the strength to play the nose. Wherever he ends up, defensive line coach Larry Johnson loves his ability to get upfield, which is required of all Ohio State defensive linemen regardless of position or role.
The Future
The Buckeyes are losing at least two defensive tackles after this season, and possibly three. There will be needs and opportunities at both defensive tackle positions. The fact that Togiai is one of three defensive tackles in this class will make things a little tougher to get on the field, but that’s life in the big city, as Urban Meyer likes to say.
Next year there will be three tackles with freshman eligibility — Jerron Cage, Taron Vincent, and Tommy Togiai, three with sophomore eligibility — Malik Barrow, Haskell Garrett, and Antwuan Jackson, and at least three with junior eligibility in Robert Landers, Davon Hamilton, Jashon Cornell, and possibly Dre’Mont Jones.
That’s nine or 10 defensive tackles looking for snaps in a defense that rotates a lot of defensive ends. The good news for the tackles next season, however, is that OSU is struggling to find enough defensive ends to even fill out a rotation at this point.
Tommy Togiai Highlights
[Tommy Togiai photo courtesy Idaho State Journal]