'Leave a Legacy!' Ohio State Buckeyes Land Commitment From Four-Star LB Tarvos Alford II

The Ohio State Buckeyes have landed their second major defensive commitment of the week.

Matt Galatzan | Mar 30, 2024

Sep 23, 2023; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day celebrates Chip / Kyle Robertson/Columbus Dispatch / USA

The Ohio State Buckeyes are on a roll on the recruiting trail.

Just one day after landing a commitment from four-star IMG Academy (Bradenton, FL) defensive end London Merritt, the Buckeyes were back at it on Saturday, snagging the pledge of four-star Vero Beach (Port Saint Lucie, FL) linebacker Tarvos Alford II.

“You come to Ohio State to leave a legacy," Alford told On3's Hayes Fawcett.

Sep 23, 2023; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day celebrates Chip / Kyle Robertson/Columbus Dispatch / USA

Alford picked the Buckeyes over heavy pursuit from the Miami Hurricanes and Florida Gators, becoming the ninth commitment of the 2025 class.

As of Saturday, Alford currently ranks as the No. 72 player nationally, No. 8 linebacker and No. 9 player in Flordia, per the On3 Industry raning. He is also ranked as the No. 9 linebacker in the nation by Rivals.com, with On3, 247Sports and ESPN all ranking him as their No. 7 linebacker.

Last season for Vero Beach, Alford had 114 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, four sacks, six pass breakups and one interception, and finished the year as the TC Palm's Defensive Player of the Year.

Alford now joins a class that already holds a bevy of stars on defense, including the two top-ranked corners in the 2024 class in five-stars Na'eem Offord and Devin Sanchez. The Bucks also hold commitments from four-star corner Blake Woodby, the aforementioned Merritt, four-star edge Zahir Mathis, and three-star linebacker Eli Lee.

The Buckeyes already held the No. 1 ranked class in the nation, per On3. And with Alford now in tow, that lead only continues to grow over the rest of the field.

Published Mar 30, 2024

MATT GALATZAN

Matt Galatzan is the Publisher of LonghornsCountry.com, AllAggies.com, and the Managing Editor of BuckeyesNow.com and TheGroveReport.com He is also the Editor-In-Chief of RamDigest.com and TexansDaily.com. Galatzan graduated from the University of Mississippi, where he studied integrated marketing communications, with minors in journalism and business administration. Galatzan started in the sports journalism industry under Mike Fisher at DallasBasketball.com in 2014, which at the time was part of the 247Sports network. He also spent two years covering the SMU Mustangs for PonyStampede.com on the 247Sports network. When DallasBasketball.com and CowboysCountry.com moved over to Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation network in 2020, Galatzan followed suit, eventually being taking over as the Managing Editor and Publisher of LonghornsCountry.com and AllAggies.com a year later. Through the years, Galatzan has conducted a handful of high-profile one-on-one interviews to add to his resume — in both writing and podcasting. Some of his biggest interviews have been with Mavs owner Mark Cuban, former Longhorns players Dan Neil and Phil Dawson, and many other recruits, and current/former players for each of the teams he has covered. Galatzan is also a full-time employee in the digital media department for Audacy and KRLD FM's 105.3 The Fan in Dallas, which is the official radio home of the Dallas Cowboys. You can find Galatzan on all major social media channels, including Twitter on @MattGalatzan For any inquiries, please email matt.galatzan@gmail.com