Linebacker Tommy Eichenberg sent in his Letter of Intent to Ohio State on Wednesday, officially making him a member of the Buckeyes’ 2019 recruiting class.
Here’s a look at what he could mean for the future of the program.
Height: 6’3″
Weight: 235 lbs
Position: Linebacker
Hometown: Cleveland, Ohio
247 Composite Rating: 4-star, No. 324 player overall
Position Rank: No. 260 inside linebacker
When He Committed: December 2018, flipping his commitment from Boston College.
Projection: However his collegiate career ends up, Tommy Eichenberg will go down in history as the first commitment of the Ryan Day era.
He actually told the OSU coaching staff he wanted to be a Buckeye the night before Urban Meyer announced his retirement. However, Eichenberg didn’t make that news public until Day had been named the next head coach.
The younger brother of offensive lineman Liam Eichenberg, who chose Notre Dame over OSU, Tommy looked like he might leave the state as well.
He was committed to Boston College for nearly five months, but his recruitment changed after he received an offer from his home-state Buckeyes in September.
He decommitted from BC in mid-November, and officially flipped to OSU on December 6. He chose the Buckeyes over Michigan.
Eichenberg will likely slot in as a MIKE linebackers at Ohio State, the position currently occupied by Tuf Borland, Baron Browning, and Teradja Mitchell, among others.
Nothing like some good ol' midwestern grit ?@tommyike41 is staying home. O-H! #LBU#GoBucks #Dynasty19 #NSD19 pic.twitter.com/9csyic10cE
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) December 19, 2018
He won’t enroll at OSU until next summer, and with that kind of depth ahead of him, he will have a season to play on special teams and learn the defense.
Borland will be a redshirt junior in 2019, Browning will be a true junior, and Mitchell will be a sophomore.
He should be ready to battle for a starting job by 2020.
In the meantime, Eichenberg has a chance to be a standout on special teams. Linebackers like Pete Werner, Teradja Mitchell, and K’Vaughan Pope have all stood out on kick coverage units in recent seasons.
Eichenberg could be the next player in that line of succession. That would be a great start to what should be a very solid Buckeye career.
Tommy Eichenberg’s Highlight Reel
