Trey Depriest ended months of suspense Friday when he announced his verbal commitment to Alabama.
DePriest, the nation’s No. 57 player, chose the Crimson Tide over Ohio State. He joins a recruiting class that already features the likes of Brent Calloway and Hasean Clinton-Dix.
Tom Lemming photo
Trey DePriest
"I think Trey is special because he is an amazing athlete for his size," said Mark Porter, director of ScoutingOhio.com. "He carries 220 pounds like some kids carry 175 pounds. He is very explosive to the ball which lets him make big plays."
As a junior, he registered 101 tackles as
Springfield (Ohio) finished 7-5.
According to CBS and MaxPreps recruiting analyst Tom Lemming, DePriest exhibits great range at the linebacker position. On film, he displays tremendous lateral movement coupled with the ability to shed blockers.
DePriest is the seventh-best linebacker in the nation and the third-best recruit from the Buckeye State.
Outside of DePriest, Ohio State has done a nearly-flawless job of keeping top targets in state, already securing commitments from
Braxton Miller,
Ron Tanner, and
Michael Bennett, all Top 100 players from Ohio.
It marks the second Buckeye State commitment for Alabama for the class of 2011; Lakota West center
Ryan Kelly verbally pledged to the Crimson Tide on July 19.
Alabama is well on its way to another top-five recruiting class, something Crimson Tide fans have grown accustomed to under head coach Nick Saban.
MaxPreps Ohio correspondent Mike Dyer contributed to this report.