Ohio State lands another Boom

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South Bend (Ind.) Washington athlete David "Boom" Perkins did not commit to Ohio State during his official visit to Columbus this past weekend, but the thought definitely crossed his mind. When the feeling continued to persist even after he returned home, Perkins knew he was meant to be a Buckeye.

"They were pushing a commitment this weekend, but I kept holding off," Perkins said. "I felt I had to take my visits, but if you have to fight not committing, then that's probably the place you should be."

Perkins called the Ohio State coaching staff not long after returning home from his official visit, and pledged his services to head coach Urban Meyer.

"I went out there for a visit and I just fell in love with it," Perkins said. "They say when you get on campus you'll know, and when I got to [Columbus] I just thought, 'This is the place; this is what I want to do.' I didn't want to leave."

Heading into his official visit with Ohio State, Perkins had two main points of interest he wanted to explore: academics and playing time.

"Talking with the coaches, they told me I am going to be expected to come in and compete for playing time instantly," Perkins said. "No special teams, no redshirt… he said I will be coming in to play and I just have to be ready. It was real cool that they expressed I was their guy for the linebacker position."

Prior to his official visit to Ohio State, Perkins had narrowed his choices to a final five of Missouri, Ohio State, Illinois, Oregon and Cal. He had taken an official visit to Missouri in December, and was scheduled to see Illinois, Cal and Oregon later this month. Whether or not he will go through with those official visits was a topic Perkins discussed with Meyer when he phoned in his commitment.

"I don't even think I am going to take anymore visits," Perkins said. "We talked about it and he said if I want to, it's fine with him. It's up to me ultimately."

The road that led Perkins to Ohio State was not always smooth. He originally committed to the hometown Notre Dame Fighting Irish back in the summer, but backed off that commitment in the fall. Several teams jumped onto and off of his list in the last several months, but the strong, late push by Ohio State has given the Buckeyes one of the Midwest's most unique talents.

Ohio State will bring Perkins in at the linebacker position, but the four-star prospect could have also projected to several other positions on both sides of the football. He was the primary ball carrier in South Bend Washington's offense this past fall, and also has played defensive end and safety during his career. Having timed 4.4 in the 40-yard dash on several occasions, Perkins will certainly add to the Buckeye's team speed on defense.

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