Notestine commits to Ohio U

The Ohio University Bobcats added a road grader along the offensive line recently with the commitment of Pickerington (Ohio) North offensive lineman Adam Notestine. Notestine, a 6-foot-3, 323-pound lineman who could play at any position along the line when things are said and done, picked Ohio U over an offer from Ball State and strong interest from schools like Pittsburgh, Yale, and Northwestern. He says it's the feeling of comfort and being at home that made Ohio the school for him.

"Ohio U's proximity to home is a huge advantage and a huge plus. It's only about an hour away from my house, so it's not too far and it's not too close. The biggest thing though was the coaching staff honestly," Notestine explained. "They treated me like family and they seem like great, genuine guys. Coach Dave Johnson, the offensive line coach, is very knowledgeable and his style of coaching just really clicks with me."

Notestine followed up his recent commitment to Ohio U with another visit to Athens, where he was able to embrace his role as a committed prospect and recruit some future Bobcats to become his teammates at the next level.

"I was down in Athens for one of the prospect camps and a junior day right afterwards. That was my second time down there as a committed prospect. It feels good to be the 'big man on campus' as a committed prospect, and I am a pretty big guy after all," Notestine joked. "It feels good to wear OU gear around campus and it just feels like home."

With his commitment out of the way, Notestine's attention has turned fully to embracing his role as a team leader as a senior at Pick North, but he also has bigger plans on the immediate horizon.

"I'm now focusing on my senior season and making sure I have fun my last year, but I'm also going to be graduating and enrolling early at Ohio University this January, so that's also playing in the back of my mind," said Notestine.

"There's four seniors on the offensive line that are going to be leaving after this upcoming season, so I think enrolling early could help me a lot with starting to be one of the guys and going through spring practice and conditioning and the spring game. I think it could help me potentially crack that starting rotation," he said. "Starting as a freshman is one of my goals."

And what has he been doing to achieve that goal and prepare himself for college football?

"I've stepped up my conditioning recently and I've lost about 15 pounds. I'm working on getting faster and stronger and critiquing down my technique with my coaches," Notestine said.

Big things are certainly in store for this well-rounded and dynamic offensive lineman.