Former Ohio State Defensive Tackle Tommy Togiai Excited To Remain In Ohio With Cleveland Browns

Togiai will continue his football career just two hours north of where he played his college ball.

Author:
Andrew Lind
May 19, 2021 4:00 PM EDT

The Cleveland Browns have drafted just four players from Ohio State since their return to the NFL in 1999, including tight end Darnell Sanders in 2002, wide receiver Brian Robiskie in 2009, cornerback Denzel Ward in 2018 and defensive tackle Tommy Togiai in the fourth round of this year’s draft.

That fact is not lost on Browns director of player personnel Dan Saganey, who believes Togiai – and Ward, for that matter – could help usher in a new pipeline of players from Columbus to Cleveland.

“We’re excited to add an Ohio State guy who we think will be a great fit as a person and a great fit in the room,” Saganey said earlier this month. “Ohio State has really had a lot of great defensive linemen that have come out the last couple years and he’s sat and learned from some of the guys ahead of him.

“That is a heck of a program. Those guys are always great to us every time we go down there. I think it is a very good thing they have going there, and I am sure we will be looking at plenty again next year. We are happy to add another Buckeye to the group here and a guy I think has very good upside for us.”

The 6-foot-1 and 300-pound Togiai came to Ohio State as a former four-star prospect from Pocatello (Idaho) Highland and is now excited to continue his football career in the same state where he played his college ball.

“It’s great,” Togiai said. “I love the state of Ohio, my time at Ohio State and Columbus, and now I get to go to another city in Cleveland. I’m excited to get up there. When I first made that decision to go to Ohio State, I never knew this would happen. I’m just excited to just get back to Ohio and get back to work.”

The Browns viewed defensive tackle as a position of need in this year’s draft, and Togiai will now compete with Andrew Billings, Jordan Elliott, Malik Jackson, Sheldon Day, Malik McDowell, Damion Square and Marvin Wilson for playing time in the interior.

“Tommy is what we consider a very good run player who has kind of come into his own here in the last year,” Saganey said. “Tommy is quick off the ball and that’s what makes him really good scheme fit for us. He may be slightly undersized, but we look for penetrating guys up front. We think he can do that, which is be disruptive in the run game. It’s a trait that we look for.

“Again, he did come into his own this year showing some power and some quickness coming off the ball. When you kind of pair him with the rest of the guys we have in our defensive line group, we are always looking for quick, twitchy and explosive guys, and we think he fits that bill. We’re really looking forward to seeing what he can do.”

The Browns also have two elite pass rushers in defensive ends Myles Garrett and Jadeveon Clowney, which should take some of the pressure off of Togiai, as well.

"I mean, it's exciting," Togiai said. "Especially what those guys have done and their years in the NFL so far, just to be able to go in and learn from them and pick up tips from them and be able to play with them.

“I'm blessed with this opportunity to be able to learn from them, pick up anything that I can and try to soak in all the information I can from them."

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