Notre Dame offers Ohio State commitment
Plymouth (Minn.) Wayzata linebacker James Laurinaitis originally committed to the Minnesota Gophers. He then made an official visit to Ohio State the weekend of Dec. 10 and committed to the Buckeyes.
However once he returned from his trip to Columbus, the possibility of him making an official visit to Minnesota the weekend of Dec. 17 existed. But Laurinaitis decided against visiting the Gophers and leaves no doubt who he plans to sign with.
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"Minnesota, UCLA, and Notre Dame have offered me a scholarship," Laurinaitis said. "But I won't visit anyone else.
"Notre Dame called and offered, but I said I'm going to Ohio State, it's too late."
Asked if it was hard to turn down his home state school, Laurinaitis said, "It was and it wasn't. It just felt right when I was at Ohio State. And my parents are going to buy a condo in Columbus so they can see me play."
Asked why he chose Ohio State, Laurinaitis said, "I just felt it was a comfortable situation. With the guys they have there I could learn a lot, with the great linebackers there. Then after next year they lose something like five linebackers.
The 6-foot-2 and 230 pound Laurinaitis made 193 tackles including 28 for losses during his senior season. He is the No. 27 inside linebacker prospect in the Rivals.com player rankings and the No. 5 prospect in the state of Minnesota.