National Signing Day: Ohio State loses longtime verbal commitment

Ohio State began the traditional National Signing Day 0 for 1.

Doug Nester, a four-star offensive lineman from Huntington (W.V.) Spring Valley, told the Huntington Herald-Dispatch he will sign with Virginia Tech rather than Ohio State.

He also considered Penn State before settling on making Blacksburg his home for the next 3-5 years.

"Ohio State is always the best of the best and they continue to get great talent and great guys, but it's a big city and I don't know if I would fit in well there," Nester said. "Penn State is a great place - a small kind of town that is a city built around its campus. The town life is great and the guys are great, but it's a little too far. I feel like Virginia Tech is that happy medium. It's three hours away and only an hour away from my sisters."

Nester committed to Ohio State in August 2017, but he had been reconsidering that decision since December when Urban Meyer announced he would retire, giving way to offensive coordinator Ryan Day to become head coach of the Buckeyes.

>>RELATED: Analyzing Urban Meyer’s recruiting at Ohio State | How Meyer’s recruiting compares to Jim Tressel, John Cooper

Nester is one of three offensive line prospects set to announce decisions today.

Enokk Vimahi, a four-star prospect from Kahuku, Hawaii, will announce his choice between Ohio State, Oklahoma and USC at 12:30 EST.

Dawand Jones, a three-star prospect from Indianapolis Ben Davis, will announce his decision at 6:30 p.m. at his high school.

Jones has set a top five of Ohio State, Indiana, Florida, Penn State and USC.

>>RELATED: Where do the area’s top 2019 prospects rank? | An early look at 2020

Restocking the offensive line is a priority for Day, who has just 11 scholarship offensive linemen set to be on the 2019 roster at this time.

About the Author