4-star 2018 APB Jaelen Gill commits to Ohio State

Ohio State, who already held pledges from three prospects in this year’s recruiting class coming into today, has just added their fourth member to the fold. Moments ago, '18 APB Jaelen Gill of Westerville South (OH), a long-time target for the program, finally announced his commitment and has gotten on board with the Buckeyes.

Gill is a 6-foot-1, 192-pounder who selected the Scarlet and Gray despite offers from programs all across the country. The Wildcats standout playmaker reeled in over 30 offers throughout the recruiting process. Universities such as Florida, LSU, Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Penn State, Tennessee, Texas, UCLA, USC, and many more were hoping to add Gill. Ultimately, the Buckeyes were the winners in this battle and that comes as no surprise. 100% of the 247Sports Crystal Ball predictions for the in-state prospect were in favor of Ohio State. It is pretty rare that the Buckeyes miss out on a Columbus area prospect they really want, after all.

Gill is commitment No. 4 for the Buckeyes 2018 class joining QB Emory Jones of Georgia, RB Brian Snead of Florida, and S Jaiden Woodbey of California. He's also the fourth blue-chip pledge for Urban Meyer. Gill currently holds the 32nd highest grade of all prospects in the 2018 class. Furthermore, the newest Ohio State verbal is ranked as the third best player at his position and the second best player in the state of Ohio just behind '18 OT Jackson Carman — another major target for the Buckeyes. In what may come as a surprise to many, Gill is actually the first in-state player in the class to commit to Ohio State.

The addition of Gill, who was primarily recruited by running backs coach Tony Alford, now moves the Buckeyes past Kansas, BYU, Alabama, and Wisconsin in the team rankings. Ohio State now stands just inside of the top ten at ninth overall, moving up four spots from where they initially started coming into Wednesday. Gill will also now reunite with '17 CB signee Marcus Williamson, who was once a teammate of Gill's at Westerville South before transferring to IMG Academy in Florida.

While Gill's junior season was cut short because of a week one ankle injury, you can still check out what the newest pledge to Ohio State will bring to Columbus and even get a preview of what he may do for his senior campaign: