Basil says 'Yes' to the Buckeyes

If the Buckeyes do not sign a kicker and/or punter in their 2010 recruiting class, they would have just one scholarship specialist on the roster after the 2009 football season.

That is now a moot point.  Drew Basil from Chillicothe, Ohio, the top kicker/punter prospect in the state of Ohio, visited Ohio State today and has committed to the Buckeyes.

"It was amazing," Basil said of his visit to Ohio State.  "The whole visit was great.

"I went with my mom and dad.  We toured the Horseshoe.  We saw the recruiting room and the game-day locker room.  We went down on the field.  It was amazing."

Of course academics was a big part of the visit too.

"We went to the Fisher College of Business," Basil said.  "We went to the academic center.  We saw William Bufford and Boom Herron there.

"Then we went to the dorms.  I was very impressed with them."

After all the tours, Basil and his parents sat down with Jim Tressel.

"We talked to coach Tressel for about an hour," Basil said.  "It just all felt right.  It felt like it was the place for me.  I just felt like I was at home."

And with that, Basil told Tressel he was ready to be a Buckeye and committed.

The 6-foot-2 and 190-pound Basil was the Cavaliers kicker his freshman year and has handled both his teams' kicking and punting duties the past two seasons.

During his junior season Basil made eight of 14 field goals with his long coming from 50 yards.  He was 35 of 37 on extra points.  He booted 23 kickoffs that were touchbacks.  Basil averaged 40.2 yards per punt.

Basil had scholarship offers from Ohio State, Kentucky, Purdue, Cincinnati and Air Force before he selected the Buckeyes.

Basil has visited Ohio State a number of times and worked out at their punting and kicking camp last month.  He will go into OSU as a kicker.

Check out Basil in action courtesy of our friends at ScoutingOhio.com: