Curtis Grant Commits to Ohio State

Consensus five star linebacker Curtis Grant has committed to Jim Tressel and the Ohio State Buckeyes. Grant is the second ranked prospect in the entire country on Rivals.com, and his commitment is the biggest Signing Day success for Ohio State in the Jim Tressel era.

Signing Day has been rough for the Buckeyes with the loss of Aundrey Walker to USC, but Grant's commitment more than makes up for the disappointment. He's potentially an instant impact player and his ability just leaps off the screen. He is now the second star linebacker recruit Ohio State has stolen from under the Gators' nose. Will Muschamp lost one commitment, Ryan Shazier, to Jim Tressel, during the transition period from Urban Meyer, and has now lost another heavy lean to the Buckeyes

Grant was linked to almost as many programs as he had offers during the recruiting process, but much of his recruitment centered around the Florida Gators. When Urban Meyer left, it opened up an opportunity for others to jump in, and jump in they did. After Meyer's retirement, Grant took four official visits to his four final suitors, Ohio State, Florida, Virginia, and UNC. Ohio State impressed Grant enough on his first official visit to set the bar for his future visits, and Jim Tressel continued to build a relationship with Grant over the two months that Ohio State heavily recruited hi

Grant joins Connor Crowell, Ryan Shazier, and Ejuan Price in forming one of the strongest Ohio State linebacker classes in history, and bumps Ohio State's class up in both Scout and Rivals' rankings. Please help us in welcoming Curtis Grant and his family to the program!

Hit the jump for an extensive breakdown of Curtis Grant as a prospect.

School
Hermitage HS
Richmond, VA

Measurements

Ht: 6'3"
Wt: 225 lbs
40: 4.5 secs
VJ: 36"
Bench: 315 lbs
Squat: 525 lbs

Stats & rankings

Finished the 2010 season with 154 tackles and 5 sacks for his 10-2 Virginia Division 6 state runner-up Hermitage team.  Accolades he's earned since the end of the season include being named the American Family Insurance National DPOY, as a US Army All American, and to the Parade All American team.

Positives

- Football player. It's a cliche, but some players just make plays. Watch Gran'ts highlight film and you'll see him pull off incredible feats in play after play. He's tough and he fills a gap quickly in run support, yet maintains the ability to drop into coverage and mirror offensive players. Grant's physical tools are obvious but its his innate ability that makes those tools so special.

- Athleticism. Grant's a chiseled 6''3, 223 and runs a 4.5 forty yards dash. He's impressed everyone at combines with his numbers and passes the look test easily. In terms of pure physique, Grant may be the most impressive Ohio State linebacker recruit since Andy Katzenmoyer.

- Speed. Grant has enough speed to play wide receiver. He's a true sideline-to-sideline linebacker, and will be a great fit in the middle for Ohio State.

-Blitz ability. Along with Ryan Shazier, Grant is one of the premier pass rushers in the country. Shazier does his work on pure speed off the edge, but Grant combines his speed with size to be a threat up the A and B gaps (Center and Guard).

- Leadership. It's hard to measure from afar, but Grant's leadership has been cited by both his high school coach and analysts who followed the U.S. Army All-America game. Grant had a great week of practice and was a vocal leader for his teammates in San Antonio.

Questions

- There aren't many questions that we have specific to Grant. He will have to make an adjustment to the college game, like any player, but he's more prepared athletically than most.

College Outlook

It would be quite a surprise to see Curtis Grant redshirt his freshman season. There are plenty of players ahead of him on the depth chart at Ohio State, but he's such a great prospect that it will be difficult to keep him off the field. He has the ability to be an early entry guy in the NFL, and you don't want to waste one of those years with a redshirt.

He reminds us of current Buckeye linebacker Etienne Sabino, and we expect him to follow a similar first year path. He will play on special teams and sub in on goal line packages, where his size is a huge asset, and perhaps more. Grant is a huge pull for Ohio State.

ATO Rating

As you can see by the graphic above, Curtis Grant is very highly thought of.  Whether he's viewed as a better fit on the inside or the outside, few linebackers are held in higher esteem by any of the national recruiting services.  Though we differ slightly from the opinions of many of these services, his talents are still highly regarded Along the Olentangy. 

Grant is an absolute monster in the middle, of that there's no denying.  He'll be in his element and you'll be hearing his name called repeatedly when Ohio State faces teams like Wisconsin, Nebraska, Iowa, and the Hoke led Wolverines (who are soon to re-discover the I formation). 

However, his shortcomings in coverage limit his versatility and possibly even his time on the field in passing situations.  These aren't glaring weaknesses nor do we feel he will be unable to overcome them at least somewhat as he develops.  They do affect his rating a bit and would keep him reaching for that 5th and final star.  It's hard enough for a player locked into the middle linebacker spot to rate that highly.  When there's a player with better quickness, versatility, & coverage abilities like a Tony Steward in the same class, listing Grant as a 4 star and the number 2 middle linebacker seems like the right choice.

Video