Alex Williams, a lengthy and still growing prospect at Ohio’s Pickerington North, committed to West Virginia’s 2018 recruiting class Tuesday. This development is both surprising and not that surprising.

For the latter, consider that Williams is the third defensive line commitment for 2018. There are five players in that group today, and the Mountaineers really want and have a healthy chance with Fairmont’s Dante Stills, who has four stars and a lot of pub now to go along with his invitation to The Opening this summer.

Clearly, though, WVU wants to grab a collection of defensive linemen in the class.

The surprise, though, is that Williams was an offensive line recruit who was committed to Iowa State. He committed in April 2016! That cooled off over the summer, but the Cyclones weren’t out of the picture. There may have been some optimism that Williams would change his mind and choose the Mountaineers — his body is exactly what WVU wants, and he projects as someone who’s able to play outside early and the inside and/or outside as he adds weight and muscle — but there wasn’t much warning.

While he had not given any indication that a decision was coming, Williams said he just couldn’t fight the feeling anymore.

“It was close to home,” he said. “My family loves the school and I can’t see myself being at another school anymore.”

The two-way lineman holds a three-star rating from 247Sports as an offensive tackle project, but West Virginia likes him as a defensive end. Williams spent some time with defensive line coach Bruce Tall during a Junior Day in Morgantown in March, and the two reconnected last week when Tall swung by his high school. Tall, who also happens to be Williams’ lead recruiter, was thrilled when he got the news.

“Coach Tall was very excited and made me feel even better about my choice,” said Williams. “[He sees me] being another long-limbed pass rusher filling past roles.”