Boardman, Ohio, offensive lineman Corey Linsley was using two things to figure out where he would go to college: his mind and his heart. On Monday, those two things gave him the same answer and he pulled the trigger, issuing a verbal commitment to the Buckeyes.

“We sat down for a second and figured out that Ohio State was the best place for me on paper and it was No. 1 in my heart,” he told BuckeyeSports.com. “I just felt that I had to seal the deal right now and get it over with.”

A three-star offensive guard as ranked by Scout.com, Linsley is ranked as the No. 4 prospect at his position in the country. A versatile athlete who also throws the shot put for his school’s track team, the 6-4, 285-pound Linsley also mans a tackle spot in high school.

Linsley was first offered by OSU on March 7 and he followed that up with a trip to Columbus for a junior day event. While there, he nearly wound up issuing a verbal commitment but opted to hold off and contemplate visits to other schools such as Illinois and Stanford. He has visited the Fighting Illini unofficially and took part in a combine at Pittsburgh as well.

He can bench press 415 pounds, squats 585 and has been timed at 5.2 seconds in the 40-yard dash.

With Linsley’s commitment, the Buckeyes now have 13 members for their class of 2009. He becomes the sixth player to commit to the program since the school’s spring game April 19, a figure that includes the transfer of former Michigan offensive lineman Justin Boren into the program.

OSU now has verbal commitments from two linemen for its class of 2009 in Linsley and Toledo St. John’s tackle Jack Mewhort.