Metarie, LA Archbishop Rummel DT Nader Abdallah has decided to attend Ohio State, according to a report in today's New Orleans Times-Picayune.
Abdallah (6-5, 300) is expected to announce publicly today during a 4 pm EST
ESPN.com chat that he has selected the Buckeyes over Tennessee. He had also
visited and received scholarship offers from Florida State, Colorado and
Michigan State. Several other schools extended offers as well.
Abdallah is rated as one of the top 20 players in Louisiana by SuperPrep and
the #43 DT in America by theInsiders.com, but his stock rose considerably
throughout the year. He had 76 tackles and 11 sacks as a senior despite missing
three games due to injury and was selected to play in the U.S. Army All-American
Bowl.
After his visit to Ohio State in early January, Abdallah said "I really
liked the people (at OSU). Everybody was very cordial. They did a good job of
making all of us feel wanted. Plus, I saw they have a great business school.
"You can really feel the tradition there. We got to see the stadium and
it is real nice. Overall, it's just a great place."
Abdallah took his visits to Tennessee and Florida State after his OSU visit.
When asked about his feelings about OSU last night, Abdallah told
Bucknuts.com staff reporter Dave Biddle, “They’ll be competing for the
national championship every year. They’re the No. 1 public university in my
eyes and they have a lot of great things to offer."
Abdallah would be the first Louisiana player to sign with Ohio State since
Jonathan Wells in 1998.