There are a handful of really outstanding wrestlers still on the board in the Class of 2021, and Ohio State just earned the commitment of one of the top lightweights in the country. Andre Gonzales, the fourth-ranked 113-pound prospect in the country according to FloWrestling, announced via Instagram that he would wrestle his collegiate career for the Buckeyes.
Gonzales chose Ohio State over Cornell, Wisconsin and Missouri. He won a California high school championship at 106 pounds last year for Poway high school, a major wrestling program in the San Diego area.
The future Buckeye burst onto the scene last summer, as he won both the Greco-Roman and Freestyle championships at Junior Nationals in Fargo. He'll be the second man on the roster to be a 2019 double-Fargo champion, as Anthony Echemendia accomplished the same feat at 145 pounds.
Ohio State badly wanted a top-shelf lightweight in this recruiting class to succeed current 125-pounder Malik Heinselman. The Buckeyes were also actively pursuing Arizona State commitment Richie Figueroa, the No. 1 overall prospect in the class. Gonzales may not be the top-ranked guy in the class, but he's a guy with an incredible amount of upside potential as evidenced by his Fargo success, and by the fact that finished the season as the No. 2 ranked 106 in the country.
He fills a major area of need for the Buckeyes; Heinselman is a rising junior this season, so a Gonzales redshirt year will coincide with the current starter's final go-round. The Koontz brothers and Jacob Decatur are the three other Buckeyes currently listed on the roster at 125.
Gonzales is the second commitment in this class, joining 2020 Ohio Most Outstanding Wrestler Paddy Gallagher, who committed in December. Tom Ryan and his staff also have a big-time commitment in the Class of 2022 from Ohioan Seth Shumate.
