Hermitage High School senior linebacker Curtis Grant – rated the No. 2 prospect in the nation by at least one ranking service – announced today that he will play for the Ohio State University.

Grant's decision ended months of speculation about where he would play collegiately and dashed the hopes of University of Virginia fans, who hoped he would select the Cavaliers. Grant had narrowed his choices to Ohio State, UVA, Florida and North Carolina.

At Ohio State, he joins a recruiting class ranked by some experts as the best in the nation. The Buckeyes have played in the BCS national championship game three times under head coach Jim Tressel, winning the national title in 2002.

Grant was named to the U.S. Army All-American team and the Parade magazine high school All-American Team. He helped lead the Panthers to the Virginia Division 6 state title game, where they lost to Battlefield, 26-7.

Today is national signing day – the first day high school football players are permitted to commit in writing to a college.