Darius Slade signs with Ohio State over Michigan State

After announcing earlier that he would visit Ohio State, one-time Nebraska and Michigan State commit Darius Slade has signed with Ohio State, as first reported by Stephen Spiewak, who spoke with Slade's head coach. 247Sports' Steve Wiltfong and others ultimately confirmed the inevitability of Slade joining Ohio State's 2014 class as well, before Ohio State finally confirmed the news before Urban Meyer's 3 p.m. ET presser.

Having a great relationship with newly hired defensive line coach Larry Johnson played a huge role in Slade receiving an offer from the Ohio State coaching staff just weeks ago.

In Slade, Ohio State adds another New Jersey prospect, this one from Montclair. The strong-side defensive end checks in at 6'5, 238 pounds. Slade is the 873rd-ranked player in the class of 2014 per the 247Composite rankings, the 40th strong-side defensive end, and the 24th-best player from the state of New Jersey.

Our Christopher Jason watched tape of Slade and had this to say on the final prospect in OSU's 2014 class:

Slade has good size for a pass-rushing defensive end at 6'5, 238 lbs. He explodes off of the line of scrimmage but he needs to keep his pad level lower on contact. Slade will be a redshirt candidate with definite pass-rushing upside after getting the proper coaching and technique down from expert line coach Larry Johnson

A three-star prospect, Slade is just another of the great talents Ohio State welcomes to the Dream '14. Check out his senior film below: