Written by David Regimbal

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The last 11 months have been long and painful for the Ohio State football program. Everything from tat-gate to Tressel’s fall from grace to the 6-5 record the team currently boasts, it seems as though there’s a dark cloud hanging over Columbus.

None of that bothers Cincinnati Taft’s Adolphus Washington, a five star defensive end recruit and the top rated player in Ohio, who committed to play his college football for the Ohio State Buckeyes this afternoon. Washington fills a huge need for the Buckeyes along the defensive line by becoming the 15th member of the 2012 recruiting class.

Washington was an absolute monster in high school. As a junior, the 6’4, 245 pound defensive end racked up 119 tackles and 17 sacks while adding 90 tackles and 23.5 sacks his senior season. Many think he’ll jump right into the rotation of d-lineman next year, even with the presence of John Simon, Nathan Williams (pending a medical redshirt and full recovery), Jonathan Hankins, Adam Bellamy and Michael Bennett.

The big man also addressed the current uncertainty for the coaching staff at Ohio State. When asked for his thoughts on playing for Urban Meyer, he simply replied, “I hope so.”

The Buckeyes did miss out on Cincinnati Taft’s other big recruit, Dwayne Stanford. Stanford is a three-star wide receiver recruit with some big offers including Michigan, Alabama and LSU -- but in the end Stanford chose to play for Chip Kelly and the Oregon Ducks.

Even with Stanford's defelection, Tuesday was a huge day for Ohio State.

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