James Clark commits to Ohio State over Florida, Clemson

Up until the night before National Signing Day, it appeared as though Ohio State would miss out on '13 4-star WR James Clark. Then, late that night, the rumor mill began churning out the notion that even though Clark had just come off of an unofficial visit to Florida, Ohio State was predicted to be his school of choice. Up to that point, both Florida and Clemson were neck and neck with the Buckeyes, but officially as of National Signing Day 2013 morning, Clark is committed to Ohio State, giving the 25th commitment in the class of 2013.

In his senior season, Clark had 49 receptions for 1,112 yards and eight receiving touchdowns. The burner hails from the state of Florida, a state well-known for its top-notch athletes and overall speed. Clark himself was clocked at a ridiculous 4.39 in the 40-yard dash, which is impressive at any level of the sport. As for his actual commitment process, Clark waited for a ceremony at his school that he had scheduled at 9 a.m. National Signing Day morning before making his commitment public.

In the past, Clark had said Ohio State, Nebraska, Clemson, Northwestern and Florida were the schools in his top five, but ultimately, we believe it was really down to Ohio State and Florida by the end of the weekend before NSD '13.

247Sports Composite ranks Clark as the nation's No. 225 prospect overall, the 25th best receiver in the country and the 31st best prospect in the state of Florida. If you think those are low numbers for the 5'10", 170-pound receiver, we would have to agree with you. In fact, a big reason as to why they are lower than expected would be because Clark actually got a late start on promoting his recruitment.

Similar to fellow '13 commit Dontre Wilson, who committed Monday night, Clark brings some much-desired speed to the Buckeyes' depth chart. When Clark gets to Ohio State, we expect him to try and earn some playing time at receiver, but we wouldn't be surprised in the slightest if he also competed for a spot on special teams. Whether that means returning kickoffs or punts, there's some wiggle room to work with when it comes to getting Clark on the field.

Clark's commitment marks National Signing Day's first commitment on the Ohio State front, with a couple of targets/soft verbals yet to announce, including Vonn Bell and Ezekiel Elliott. Stay tuned as Land-Grant Holy Land continues to keep you covered throughout National Signing Day.

As for Clark himself, check out the highlights of his senior season below: