Sam Hubbard has reportedly decided to decommit from Notre Dame, where he was committed to the lacrosse team, so how is this good news for Ohio State football?

Hubbard is also a 4-star athlete in the world of college football recruiting. He can play safety or even outside linebacker, and instead of playing lacrosse, he has reportedly decided to focus on football, according to Brad Bournival of ESPN.com:

The 6-foot-5, 225-pound outside linebacker had been a longtime commit to Notre Dame in lacrosse, but after a weekend away with family the junior has decided his future is in football. 

“It was such an early process,” Hubbard said. “I made my decision in January of my sophomore year and that’s not really giving much thought to football. I hadn’t heard from many schools. 

“Now that I have all those offers -- I love both sports -- but football is a lot bigger stage and is a full scholarship as opposed to a partial scholarship. It was a really tough decision because I love Notre Dame and Notre Dame lacrosse, but I feel like I made the right decision for me.” 

He does not have a scholarship offer from Notre Dame in football. 

Back to Ohio State...

The Buckeyes may be able to capitalize on Notre Dame lacrosse's loss. Ohio State has made an offer to Hubbard, and he's going to visit Columbus this Friday, according to Bournival's report. He also has an older sister who is a senior at OSU, so he has family ties to the school. Here are Hubbard's thoughts on his upcoming visit, per Bournival:

“Ohio State has mentioned the opportunity to set up a meeting with the lacrosse coach, but I’ll probably just play football and see how my grades are doing from that point,” Hubbard said. “My mom hasn’t been on an [unofficial] visit to yet. The last time I went it was just me and my dad. 

“My sister is a senior at Ohio State. She’ll tag along, too. I’ll be sitting down with Coach [Urban] Meyer and watching practice. I’m meeting with the president of the university, which will be cool, and getting to know everything better. It’s real exciting. I have a lot of people interested in me. I’m weighing all options.” 

For all intents and purposes, it seems as if OSU is set up very nicely in the recruiting process with Hubbard, and he would be a very good, versatile pickup for Urban Meyer's squad if he were to eventually commit to the Buckeyes.

Hubbard has terrific size at 6'6'', 225 pounds, and he's ranked as the No. 32 athlete in the 2014 class, according to 247Sports. He plays at Moeller High School in Cincinnati, Ohio, and the 247Sports Composite ranks him as the No. 19 player from the state.

Now that his focus has shifted to football, he couldn't ask for a better program (not named Alabama) to be interested in than Ohio State. Meyer is putting together a championship-caliber program, and an athlete like Hubbard could really excel at OSU.

With that said, it's also worth noting that Stanford, Michigan and Notre Dame (no offer) are all listed as "warm interests" as well on Hubbard's 247Sports interest list, so it's not as if he's a Buckeyes lock. One has to wonder if if Brian Kelly and the Fighting Irish will consider making him an offer now that they know his main interest is football, but that remains to be seen, and I can only offer speculation at this point.

It's hard to deny what Ohio State would have to offer Hubbard now that he wants to focus on football, though, and that plus the family ties and proximity gives OSU a very strong pitch.

Hubbard choosing football is bad news for Notre Dame lacrosse, but it could end up being good news for Ohio State football.