National Signing Day 2017: DL Haskell Garrett signs with Ohio State

After being committed to Ohio State since February 2016, Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, NV) defensive tackle Haskell Garrett signed his national letter of intent today, ending his recruitment, and becoming the latest highly touted prospect to officially join the Buckeyes’ stacked 2017 recruiting class.

The addition of Garrett gives Ohio State the nation’s 6th ranked defensive tackle (per 247Sports), and another top-100 recruit to help further bolster a position group already stocked with talent. He’s joined by Cincinnati, Ohio’s Jerron Cage, and Hyattsville, Maryland’s Chase Young as the next wave of contributors for the Buckeye defensive front in this class.

Most notably, Garrett will be the second Bishop Gorman product to become a Buckeye in 2017, reuniting with early enrollee quarterback Tate Martell. The signing of both not only gives the Buckeyes two excellent players, but will help establish a pipeline between Columbus and one of the best high school football programs in the country, as well as a recruiting presence in the western United States.

With nearly every defensive lineman from last year’s team set to return — including the injured Tracy Sprinkle — Garrett will have his work cut out for him to see the field in 2017, but the talent is certainly there to avoid a redshirt and become a contributor in certain defensive packages.

Before we get to what Garrett can do on the field, here he is belly-to-belly suplexing some poor running back for your enjoyment:

Garrett — like most other recruits — joined Ohio State because he felt it was where he could best reach his potential:

Scouting Report

Garrett will join high school teammate Tate Martell with the Buckeyes. Unlike Martell, Garrett has the size to potentially contribute immediately on the defense. His size was regularly utilized in high school as he often lined up in a zero technique directly over the center for his defense. This spot is normally reserved for a player that is able to eat up blockers and free up linebackers, but Garrett’s impressive athleticism for his size allowed him to also make plenty of splash plays. He’ll likely be asked to line up as a one or three technique at Ohio State which is great news for his skill set.

Garrett’s game is reminiscent of Adolphus Washington. He’s a finesse defensive linemen, but this is more of a compliment to his pass-rushing skills and screen recognition ability than an indictment of his physicality. Garrett displayed solid rip and swim moves in high school, though he was at times slow to get off the ball and was high coming out of his stance. The latter point is common among most taller defensive linemen, as getting low on a play-by-play basis doesn’t matter as much against inferior high school competition.

The best attribute that Garrett regularly displayed was hustle. The guy consistently finishes the play and his relentless pursuit of the ball is a great complement to his athletic ability. Garrett may struggle to get reps as a true freshman behind a stacked Buckeyes defensive line, but it shouldn’t take long to see him around the football once he finds his way onto the field. — Ian Hartitz

Highlights