Ohio State is continuing to stay within the state to add offensive lineman, securing a pair of commitments on Monday from Lakewood (Ohio) St. Edward four-star offensive linemen Devontae (6-5, 288) and Deontae (6-6, 280) Armstrong.
Deontae is the No. 313 overall prospect and No. 25 offensive tackle in the class, while Devontae is the No. 353 overall prospect and No. 23 interior lineman. Outside of Ohio State, the pair had also been considering Kentucky, and held additional offers from Georgia, Michigan, Michigan State and Penn State, among others.
The identical twins camped at Ohio State last summer and have made several visits to Columbus in the months since, both for game day visits and spring practices. Ohio State and offensive line coach Justin Frye formally offered the duo in January, making them the first in-state offensive lineman offered by the Buckeyes for this cycle, and the offer was a long time coming for the pair.
“Being a Buckeye fan all my life, looking at it from the outside in and now from the inside out with working with the coaches, talking to Ryan Day, it means even more knowing the coaches and the coaching staff,” Deontae said last summer.
Deontae lined up at right tackle for St. Edward this past season while Devontae played at left guard, but both feel they have positional versatility, and they said that was one factor that was important to Frye.
“We really can flip flop back and forth as need be,” Devontae said last summer. “We’re really good at both left guard and right tackle. It’s just being able to play inside and out, (and it) is really important that coach Frye really liked (that).”
And while their commitment was never inherently a package deal, both expressed excitement at the idea of getting to play together at the next level, and that will be a reality now.
“Maybe he sees something in a school that I don’t, so I’m not going to compromise and go to a school he goes to,” Deontae said. “But it would be pretty nice playing with my brother.”
Ohio State’s current recruiting class now skews heavily in favor of the offensive line, with the Armstrong brothers joining New Palestine, Ind., four-star Ian Moore (6-5, 295) and Toledo Central Catholic three-star Marc Nave Jr. (6-5, 315).
