David Perkins is a Buckeye!

The Buckeye recruiting momentum keeps on rolling today in a big way with another commitment in the 2012 class (the third in four days).

Indiana linebacker David Perkins has announced he will be a Buckeye, becoming the 22nd verbal commitment in 2012 and, once again, filling a major area of need.

At 6’2″ 209 lbs. Perkins fits the linebacker profile Urban Meyer is targeting. While he is clearly a little leaner than Ohio State fans are used to (Hawk was 6’1″ 247 lbs.), Perkins is athletic, explosive, and can cover a lot of space from sideline to sideline with ease.

There is still room for the bulkier linebackers on the roster (think Curtis Grant), but unlike Tressel, Meyer is targeting two very distinct players for the outside (think Ryan Shazier) versus in the middle (Grant).

Perkins seems destined to play on the edge at this point in his career.

This commitment comes after Perkins’ official visit to Ohio State over this past weekend. Following the visit, he had nothing but rave reviews for Ohio State and things looked good for the Buckeyes.

Despite this, many observers felt that Perkins would take his remaining official visits before deciding on a school, making this early announcement somewhat of a surprise.

However, the 2012 class is obviously filling up quickly for the Buckeyes, and with the addition of Tim Hinton (Perkins’ main recruiter at ND, where he was formerly committed), Ohio State’s staff put on the full court press, leading to today’s announcement.

Following this commitment, I still expect the Buckeyes to take at least one more linebacker in 2012, but with MA LB Camren Williams visiting Columbus with his mother today, that spot is likely to fill up sooner rather than later as well.

The Silver Bullets were in desperate need of some speed and athleticism in the linebacking corps, and they took another step towards addressing that need today with that addition of David Perkins.

Here are some highlights to drive that point home.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_2RdpJ2Pkw

Welcome to the Ohio State family, David!