Five-star Hawaii (St. Louis HS/Honolulu) defensive tackle Faatui Tuitele announced his Top 5 on Monday and the Buckeyes made the cut. Joining the Buckeyes were Clemson, Washington, Alabama, and Texas.
Tuitele (6-4 299) is the No. 2 defensive tackle in the nation and the No. 24 player in the 2019 class overall per the 247Sports Composite.
The Buckeyes might be a long shot here, but Tuitele did take an unofficial visit to Ohio State last month. He also visited Alabama and Texas. He visited Washington and Clemson last year as well.
He explained what intrigues him about Ohio State and the rest of his finalists in a conversation with 247Sports’ Blair Angulo.
“The people there are down to earth,” he said of OSU. “Talking and hanging out with Coach Urban Meyer really opened my eyes to a lot of things. He is a great coach but an even greater person. He was at Utah before, so he understands how Polynesians act and feel. Coach Larry Johnson has also developed a lot of NFL talent and understands the game well.”
On the field, Tuitele plays mostly defensive end in a 3-4 alignment, but would project to defensive tackle in a 4-3 front. For as big as he is, he is an effective pass rusher. Just as effective is his recovery when quarterbacks read him on option plays and he ends up making the tackle anyway.
You can see some of that in his highlights below.
Ohio State has offered seven 2019 defensive tackles. Four-star North Carolina prospect Joshua Harris put the Buckeyes in his top group three weeks ago.
Ohioan Jowon Briggs (Walnut Hills/Cincinnati) is the No. 5 defensive tackle in the nation. The Buckeyes would love to add him to the 2019 class, but Notre Dame is heavily involved as well.
Apopka, Florida tackle Tyler Davis has been to Ohio State a number of times. He is the No. 10 defensive tackle in the nation and holds offers from Ohio State, Georgia, Clemson, the Florida schools, and plenty of others as well.
