Oswego (Ill.) senior to be three star ranked offensive tackle recruit Otto Hess (6-foot-7, 285 pounds) told me last night that he was very close to announcing his college decision, and this afternoon he made it official and gave Boston College his verbal commitment.

"I was on a Zoom call today with the Boston College coaches and I gave them my verbal commitment," Hess said. "I have also been calling the other schools in my Top 5 and they have been really good with my decision. Those calls went better than I expected and I'm just happy and excited about my commitment to Boston College."

Hess, who earlier narrowed down his list of favorite schools to Arizona, Boston College, Illinois, Minnesota and Virginia pointed towards his relationship with the Boston College coaches in particular as a key factor in his college decision.

"A lot of the big selling points for me with Boston College all seem to be relationship based. When Coach (Jeff) Hafley and his staff says that we will win the ACC and beat Clemson, I believe them. Boston College also has so much to offer on the field and also academically. I've gotten to talk with some of the other BC recruits about why they decided to commit to them and I heard a lot of the same reasons why I wanted to commit to Boston College as well. I feel like I was able to find a school that fits me in so many ways including just personality wise. It's exciting and I feel great about my choice."

Did the overall distance from home ever play a factor at all in his college choice?

"I've always wanted to go away to college ever since I was a kid. My family is on board with my decision and going to school away from home. As a family we already travel quite a bit already. We definitely talked about it before I made my decision but it was never a factor at all."

Hess, who was recruited by Boston College Eagles as an offensive tackle recruit is also open when it comes to an eventual position to call home.

"We've talked all along about me playing tackle with Coach (Matt) Applebaum. I'm a pretty versatile linemen and I feelI can play at all five spots on the offensive line. If they needed me to play tackle, guard or center I'm open to it."

Hess is also thrilled to put his recruiting process behind him and is hoping to make a visit to Boston College as soon as possible.

"It's a big weight off my shoulders for sure. I'm sure as soon as everything gets cleared up with COVID-19 I'll get out to make a visit to Boston College as soon as I can."

Otto Hess is verbally committed to Boston College