Indiana beats Ohio State, Michigan State for coveted 4-star DL Reinaldo Perez

Four-star Columbus Academy (Ohio) defensive lineman Reinaldo Perez has committed to Indiana, he tells Rivals’ Hayes Fawcett.

Perez chose the Hoosiers over Ohio State, Michigan State and Stanford — all of whom he had either taken official visits with or was set to this month. The Hoosiers got him on campus in April for a visit, a trip that he told Rivals’ Greg Smith set the pace in his recruitment.

After seeing other campuses and having time to mull his decision, he was ready to jump on board with the Hoosiers.

“I mean just everything really,” he told Smith on Wednesday of why he made the decision to commit. “It felt so right, and they checked off all the boxes for my family and I.”

Perez was fresh off a visit to the Spartans over the weekend when he made the call to the Hoosiers. It’s another big notch in the belt for Curt Cignetti and Co. coming off their the national championship season last year.

Hoosiers land one of the country’s premier defensive linemen

“I’m looking forward the most to getting on campus, be coached by the best coaches, and be apart of the best team,” he told Smith.

The 6-foot-5, 240-pounder is the No. 317 overall prospect and No. 32 defensive lineman in the 2027 class, according to the Rivals Industry Ranking, an equally weighted average that utilizes all three major recruiting services.

Rivals, however, is much higher on him than both 247Sports and ESPN. In the recently updated Rivals300 rankings, he was tabbed as the country’s No. 180 recruit and No. 19 defensive lineman.

He is the 10th commitment of the cycle for the Hoosiers, who also added blue-chippers Mason McDermott and Myles Smith to the class last month. Indiana’s class currently ranks No. 30 nationally in the Rivals Industry Team Recruiting Rankings.

As a sophomore, Perez broke out with 73 tackles, 11 sacks, and 15 tackles for loss.