Detroit Cass Tech offensive tackle Joshua Alabi has verbally committed to Ohio State. Alabi has surprised recruiting pundits by becoming the latest Cass Tech star to announce that he is taking his talents out of state.

Having made a total of ten visits to Ann Arbor over the past few months, Alabi was widely expected to commit to the Brady Hoke's Michigan program, but he has elected to join Urban Meyer's Buckeyes instead. He took just one official visit to Ohio State, but will now become the fourth Cass Tech star to head to Columbus since 2000.

Alabi was considering offers from a number of Big 10 schools, including Michigan State, Wisconsin, Nebraska and Illinois, and had been linked with Tennessee and Miami too, but tweeted his commitment to Ohio State during the school's Friday Night Lights recruiting camp.

Speaking with the website Land Grant Holy Land, Alabi praised the Buckeye program's family atmosphere and said that he felt at home on the campus. He reached his decision after speaking with the Ohio State coaching staff and praying on the issue.

Alabi had kept his cards close to his chest, refusing to be drawn on his impending decision when interviewed at the Sound Mind Sound Body Football Academy in June, saying only that he had spoken with a number of coaches. Despite that, the news of his commitment will come as a great surprise and disappointment to Michigan Wolverines fans, who had been confident in predicting that Alabi would end up wearing the maize and blue.

ESPN rate Alabi as a four star recruit, and the fifth best player in Michigan. 247sports.com rank him as the 539th best player in the nation for 2015, and eighth best prospect in the state. Scouts note that he has outstanding speed and explosiveness for his size, and believe that his 6ft 5in 270 pound frame is more likely to feature at defensive tackle or defensive end at the collegiate level.