Ohio State football: Why J.T. Tuimoloau would choose Washington

With the recruiting dead period extended until June, J.T. Tuimoloau will not be able to visit the Ohio State football program. This now increases the chances that he will go elsewhere for college.

The Ohio State football program has the second-best recruiting class for 2021. While it can’t rank any higher no matter what, they would really like to get J.T. Tuimoloau as well. Tuimoloau is the third-best player in the country and has been linked to Ohio State for months.

Tuimoloau stated that he wanted to visit Ohio State before committing anywhere. Now that clearly can’t happen. The other school that seemed to be closest to landing him is Washington. That is his home school and they have been pursuing him hard as well.

The case for Tuimoloau to go there is just that; it’s his home school. He is from the state of Washington and actually lives just 11 miles from the campus of the University of Washington. He would be close to home and his family would be able to come and see him play anytime.

Tuimoloau would also be the best player that Washington has landed in a long time. In fact, he would be the highest-rated recruit that the school has ever had. He would be the big man on campus as soon as he arrives and would immediately start.

Being close to home is really the only reason he would choose Washington over a powerhouse like Ohio State. The Huskies don’t really have a path to the College Football Playoff and will never be the favorites to win the Pac-12. Adding him wouldn’t be enough to change those prospects.

Ohio State is still hopeful that Tuimoloau will choose to come to Columbus. They may have to recruit a little harder than usual to make that happen, but they have the track record with the defensive line to bring him to a new home.