Ohio State has pursued Duncanville, Texas defensive end Omari Abor for a very long time and their persistence paid off. The Rivals250 defensive end announced his commitment to the Buckeyes during the Under Armour All-America Game, picking the Big Ten program over Texas and many others.
MORE UA ALL-AMERICA: Commitment predictions | Five biggest questions for UA game | Travis Hunter goes in-depth on shocking decision | Five things we've learned | Friday's top performers | Midweek progress report | Thursday's awards | Stock rising | Takeaways from opening practice | Latest on Under Armour All-America standouts | Video of skill players' 1-on-1s | Video of OL vs. DL | Domani Jackson feature | Javontae Barnes discusses finalists | Mathews breaks down top schools
*****
CLASS OF 2022 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State | JUCO
CLASS OF 2023 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State
TRANSFER PORTAL: Stories/coverage | Message board
RIVALS CAMP SERIES: Info/coverage on 2021 camp series
*****
IN HIS OWN WORDS
"Looking at the history at Ohio State and the defensive ends that coach (Larry) Johnson has coached," Abor told Rivals.com. "He's sent a lot of them to the NFL and they're performing at a high level. I've watched videos about how he trains his defensive ends. I like the system.
“Really just the relationship that I have with Larry Johnson," he said. "It be the little stuff that catch my eye at each school.”
*****
WHAT THE BUCKEYES ARE GETTING
Abor is an outstanding talent at defensive end and he should see plenty of playing time at the next level if he continues to develop on the same trajectory. He checks all the boxes physically and has shown elite explosiveness off the edge. Abor's week of practice in Orlando started slowly but he got better and better as the intensity of the practices increased. Abor has a good understanding of proper technique and plays with the right energy and intensity most of the time.
*****
WHY IT'S BIG FOR OHIO STATE
Ohio State is loaded at defensive end and Abor helps secure the future of that group. Larry Johnson, one of the very best assistant coaches in college football, keeps stock piling talent at defensive and he's done an outstanding job of developing players with similar traits to Abor's. Credit Ohio State for sticking with their pursuit of top defensive ends even though they didn't announce their commitments until late in the recruiting cycle. Abor's commitment also helps Ohio State keep a strong presence in the state of Texas.