Bill Kurelic's June Posts June 30, 1999 11:00 AM Of course the other top in-state prospect in West Virginia that the Buckeyes have offered a scholarship to is linebacker/fullback Scott Davis (6-3, 260) from Parkersburg, W.Va. Davis continues to consider Ohio State. He continues to say that his top choices are Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan, Notre Dame and Kentucky, but he also says he is not ruling out some other schools as well, including West Virginia, Michigan State and Georgia. Every school on Scott Davis' list has offered a scholarship, but he says he doesn't have any favorites still, and probably won't decide anything for at least awhile.Davis will likely be a fullback in college, though he certainly could play linebacker or on the defensive line. Garrett Bush (6-3, 260, 5.15), a fine lineman from Canton McKinley High School in Ohio has been offered a scholarship by Michigan, but he has not committed to the Wolverines. Bush has a 3.0 GPA and scored an 18 on the ACT. He made 100 tackles including 11 sacks from his defensive end spot as a junior and also starts at offensive guard. He would prefer to play defensive end in college. He went to Michigan's football came and was offered a scholarship by the Wolverines and tells me that Michigan is his favorite right now, but he wants to wait and take official visits before making a decision. He said that he is looking at Michigan, Ohio State, Florida State, Michigan State, Wisconsin and North Carolina. Michigan is the only one of that group that has offered a scholarship thus far. :Linebacker Brett Hughes (6-3, 210, 4.6) from Upper Arlington High School remains interested in the Buckeyes. He has qualified academically and made 147 tackles as a junior. He has Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue and Duke as his current top choices. The Buckeyes are interested in Brett Hughes but have not offered a scholarship. Running back Sean Lucas (5-11, 175, 4.5) from Cleveland Heights High School says the Buckeyes are his favorite. Lucas started on the Cleveland Benedictine varsity as a freshman and rushed for 1,000 yards, then gained over 1000 yards for Benedictine as both a sophomore and junior as well. Lucas will play for Cleveland Heights as a senior. Lucas has a 2.3 GPA but will not take his tests until the fall. He was at Ohio State's football camp and liked it quite a bit. Ohio State is his favorite, though he is also looking at Penn State, Syracuse, West Virginia, Virginia and Wake Forest. Wake Forest has offered a scholarship. One of the best linebackers in the country, Mike Goulsby (6-4, 225, 4.53) from Joliet Catholic High School in Illinois is and ILB that is planning on being at Ohio State for the one-day Nike camp July 9th. He has qualified academically and made 88 tackles, including 9 sacks, as a junior, tells me that he is highly considering the Buckeyes. He says his top three right now would probably be Ohio State, Notre Dame and Michigan, though he is looking at some others as well including Colorado, Tennessee, Michigan State, South Carolina, Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin and Kentucky. Every school on Goulsby's list has offered. Running back Chris Perry (6-2, 215) from Fork Union military academy in Virginia got back this past weekend from football camp at Michigan. He was at Ohio State's football camp prior to Michigan and he got back with scholarship offers from both schools. Perry did not commit to either the Buckeyes or Wolverines. Perry told me he is still considering Ohio State, Michigan and North Carolina as his top three choices, but he is not ready to make a decision and does not yet have a clear-cut leader. Another running back from the South that the Buckeyes are very interested in is Willis McGahee (6-1, 215, 4.45) from Miami Central High School in Florida. McGahee was originally planning to go to the first session of Ohio State football camp, but was unable to make it. However, he remains very interested in the Buckeyes. He rushed for 1004 yards and averaged 8.5 yards per carry as a junior. He helped lead his team to a 6-3 record. He is one of the top runners in the Sunshine State. Willis has a 2.5 GPA and 850 on the SAT and has also run 10.9 100 meters in track. He is looking at Ohio State, Tennessee, Florida, West Virginia and Miami. He says he likes the fact that Ohio State often has big running backs and he also likes that the Buckeyes are known for a good running game. Another back that the Buckeyes are very interested in is one of the most talented backs in the state of Indiana, Jeramy Farrow (6-1, 190) from Evansville Central High School. Jeramy also plays strong safety and rushed for 1700 yards and 26 touchdown is being named All-State as a junior, but he seems more likely to end up as a strong safety in college. There is no denying Jeramy Farrow's talent. He is outstanding. The one question mark, though, will be academics. Farrow has a 2.1 GPA and will not take his tests until the fall. He tells me that the six schools that he is most interested in are Ohio State, Michigan, Purdue, Illinois, Indiana and Iowa. Offensive lineman Andy Christopfel (6-4, 285, 5.0) from Cincinnati Elder High School is a lineman that the Buckeyes definitely are interested in. He got last Saturday from the state of Michigan where he attended Michigan's football camp last week, then made an unofficial visit to Michigan state Friday afternoon. He has been offered by Michigan State, but not Michigan. He also has scholarship offers from a number of other schools besides MSU. Christopfel was called into U of M head coach Lloyd Carr's office before he left Michigan's camp, and while Carr did not offer a scholarship, he said that the Wolverines were very impressed and are going to be keeping a close eye on Chrisopfel. He has offers from Nebraska, Michigan State, Maryland, Northwestern, North Carolina State and South Carolina, as well as Boston College. He is looking at all those schools and he is looking at Ohio State, Michigan, Notre Dame and Purdue. The Buckeyes have dropped their interest somewhat in WR Andre Henderson (6-3, 200, 4.55) from Dublin Coffman High School. Henderson was at Ohio State's football camp, but the Buckeyes landed a commitment from and in-state wide receiver that they had rated higher, that being John Hollins. Henderson says he is now mainly looking at Northwestern, South Carolina, Michigan State, Purdue, Arizona State, Michigan and Stanford. Purdue, Michigan State and Northwestern have offered him a scholarship. Another WR from central Ohio that the Buckeyes are still looking at that is interested in Ohio State is Mark Minnix (6-3, 185, 4.5) from Hilliard Davidson High School. He caught 42 passes as a junior and averaged almost 19 yards per catch. Minnix was at the OSU football camp, and also was at Purdue's camp as well as Kentucky's. He tells me he is looking at Ohio State, Purdue, Kentucky and Pitt, and he doesn't have any big favorite, but I think if the Buckeyes offered him a scholarship, he would most likely commit. The rumor that blue-chip QB Jeff Smoker from Pennsylvania had narrowed things down to just two schools is false. Smoker and his father had told me that he had narrowed it down to five schools, those being Ohio State, North Carolina, Michigan, Kentucky, and Michigan State. I thought that it would be very unlikely that Smoker would narrow things down to just two schools already. I checked again with the Smokers, and his mother said that there is absolutely no way that her son has narrowed things down to just one or two schools, and that he is still very much looking at all five schools and that he has no favorite. Tight end Billy Palmer (6-4, 255, 4.85) from Orlando Lake Highlands High School in Florida is a good one that is interested in Ohio State. Palmer started as a junior at offensive tackle and defensive end, but will play tight end and defensive end as a senior and could play either one of those positions in college. Palmer has a 3.1 GPA and scored a 960 on the SAT and attended Michigan's football camp where he was offered a scholarship but did not commit. He is looking at Michigan, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Florida and Virginia Tech. He is the younger brother of Jesse Palmer who is a quarterback at Florida, but Billy and Billy's father for that matter say that Jesse being at Florida will have absolutely no impact on Billy's decision. RB/LB Brandon Joe (6-1 1/2, 220, 4.5) from Westerville South High School told me that the Buckeyes are still very much in the running for his services. Joe says he would prefer to play on offense at running back in college, but could also play linebacker. He has a top five of Ohio State, Tennessee, Michigan, Penn State and Notre Dame, and that all five schools have offered him a scholarship but that he does not have a favorite at all. Brandon also said that as of right now he will play his senior season before he makes a decision. The Ohio State kicking camp attracted the top kickers in Ohio, including Josh Huston (6-2, 185) from Findlay and Adam Logan (6-3, 225) from Circleville. I rate the pair as the top kickers in the Buckeye state this year. Huston was fairly impressive at the Buckeye camp, but Ohio State did not offer him a scholarship. Huston said that if OSU had offered, it was likely that he would commit. Huston lists Ohio State as his leader, with Michigan number two, and is still very interested in the Buckeyes even though they have not offered him a scholarship. He is also looking at Penn State, Syracuse, and Bowling Green B.G has offered him a scholarship. Adam Logan made six of eight field goals last year, with a long of 52 yards and made 21 of 24 extra points, with two of the three misses being blocked. He also punted for a 34 yard average. He said he did "OK" at the camp, but that he didn't do quite as good as he had hoped to do, and there are some things he wants to work on now. Logan said that the Buckeyes did not offer him a scholarship, but indicated that they are going to be watching him this season. Logan enjoyed both Ohio State's and Michigan's camps and is looking at those two schools, but also has an interest in Kentucky, Northwestern, Stanford, and anyone else who is interested in him. The Buckeyes have offered a scholarship to TE Alex Holmes (6-3, 310) from North Hollywood Harbor West Lake High School in California. Holmes was at Michigan's football camp, and the good news is that Holmes did not commit to the Wolverines, even though he was re-offered a scholarship. The bad news is that Holmes seems to be leaning to Michigan. Holmes had a very good camp at Michigan. His mother told me that he called her from the airport while he was waiting to go home from the camp at Michigan and indicated that he loved it at Michigan, and he thinks that is where he is going to go. Holmes also camped at UCLA, and those two are his two favorites, though he also has an interest in Ohio State, USC and Cal, and all the schools have offered. Running back Chris Perry (6-2, 215, 4.5) from Fork Union Military Academy in Virginia also attended Michigan's camp after attending Ohio State's camp the week before. Both Ohio State and Michigan have offered him a scholarship. He is an outstanding prospect that the Buckeyes would love to land. A player in the state of Ohio that the Buckeyes had offered a scholarship to has committed, but it is not the Buckeyes he has committed to. Sean McHugh (6-6, 240) from Chagrin Falls, Ohio who played full back as well has middle linebacker had narrowed things down to four schools, Penn State, Michigan, Notre Dame and Ohio State, and all four had offered him a scholarship. He had been saying for quite some time that his top two were Penn State and Michigan and the two were dead even. At one point he seemed to be leaning to the Wolverines, but he has committed to Penn State where he will play tight end for the Nittany Lions. Sam Ruhe (6-5, 240, 4.6) from Cuyahoga Falls Walsh Jesuit High School continues to say he has no favorite between Ohio State, Michigan and Notre Dame, and all three have offered him a scholarship. Ruhe attended the second session of the Ohio State football camp where he got a little banged up, and thus cancelled his trip to Michigan for a couple of days of camp. Ruhe says that the cancelled trip doesn't indicate anything and still has a top three of Ohio State, Michigan and Notre Dame. WR Marvin Allen (5-11, 170, 4.45) was very impressive at the Ohio State football camp and he is definitely considering the Buckeyes.He had a great time at OSU's camp. He is originally from Michigan and played in the state of Michigan as a sophomore but moved to Virginia for his junior season. Allen is back in Michigan for his senior season though he is not sure what high school he will attend. He also attended Michigan's camp and was impressive at that camp as well. He is looking at Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, Northwestern, and Virginia Tech. QB Sean Cassidy (6-4, 200) from Fork Union Military academy has now attended camps at Ohio State, Michigan, and Boston College. He is considering those three as well as Miami, North Carolina and Northwestern. Cassidy has not been offered a scholarship by Ohio State but the Buckeyes are taking a look at him. He is originally from Upper Arlington near Columbus. June 20, 1999 The Buckeyes now have commitments from offensive lineman Larry Kinnard, defensive end Alfonso Townsend, defensive back BJ. Barre, offensive lineman Alex Stepanovich, rb/lb Terry Pogue, wide receiver John Hollins, all from the state of Ohio, and then one from out of state, linebacker Jamaal Muhamaad from Stone Mountain, Georgia. Linebacker Jesse Neumeyer from Pennsylvania has now committed to Penn State. He had previously been considering several schools including Ohio State. Defensive lineman Derrick Robinson from DeLaSalle high school in Minneapolis was at the first session of Ohio State's football camp and performed very well. Robinson was not offered a scholarship by Ohio State but the Buckeyes are most interested in Derrick Robinson, and he says he is most definitely interested in Ohio State. Robinson is also looking at Minnesota and Northwestern who have both offered him a scholarship. The second session of football camp started on Saturday, and some outstanding prospects will be at this session of Ohio State's camp as well. One that the Buckeyes would absolutely love to land a commitment from DE Sam Ruhe (6-5, 240) from Cuyahoga Falls Walsh Jesuit. Ruhe will camp at Ohio State for a couple of days this week, and then will camp at Michigan for a couple of days.Ruhe camped at Notre Dame last week. Another fine lineman that is going to be at Columbus this week though won't be a camper, is OL Jeramy McCorkle from Shreesport, Pa. He is 6-7 and nearly 300 pounds who runs a 5.1 40. He is one of the top line prospects in the state of Pennsylvania, and has been offered a scholarship by West Virginia, Syracuse, Tulsa, Pitt, Virginia Tech and some others. However, McCorkle says his favorite schools are Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan and Notre Dame. He is going to make an unofficial visit to Ohio State on Wednesday and the Buckeyes certainly could offer him a scholarship though the have not done so to this points. June 19, 1999 Linebacker Jesse Neumeyer (6-2, 215, 4.5) from Pennsylvania from Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania who had Ohio State as one of his five finalists and had been offered a scholarship by the Buckeyes has taken Ohio State off his list. Neumeyer had previously said that he would decide between Penn State, Virginia, Ohio State, Boston College, and Pitt, and all five schools had offered him a scholarship. Neumeyer is going to officially announce a decision this morning, but he told me last night that his decision is down to either Penn State or Virginia, and he will announce which one of those two schools he has selected this morning, but unfortunately the Buckeyes are out of the running. Tight end Jason Caldwell from Mentor, Ohio was very impressive at Ohio State's football camp, but the Buckeyes have not officially offered him a scholarship yet. The 6-4, 265 pound Caldwell, who ran a 4.7 40 at the Ohio State football camp, told me on Friday afternoon that the Buckeyes did not offer him a scholarship, but he said the coach Conley wants him to call Ohio State, to call coach Conley, the beginning of this coming week, and he said that at that point, he is hoping that Ohio State offers him a scholarship. Conley indicated to Caldwell that the coaching staff wants to talk things over, and that Ohio State could possibly offer a scholarship when Jason call Conley early this coming week. Caldwell says that if a scholarship offer is given to him by the Buckeyes, that he probably would go ahead and accept. Caldwell went out for football for the first time as a junior and played mostly on special teams, but he was ready to move into the starting lineup at tight end part way through the season when he dislocated his shoulder. However, Caldwell is an outstanding looking athlete who the Buckeyes are very very interested in. He really opened some eyes at the Buckeye football camp. Caldwell had a GPA of close to 3.0, and has scored a 24 on the ACT. He is also a fine track athlete who was second in the state last year in the discus, and 7th in the state in the shot. Caldwell would like to pursue both football and track in college. Chris Perry, a fine running back from Fork Union Military Academy in Virginia, is a 6-2, 215 pounder who runs a 4.5 40, had a very good time at Ohio State's football camp, but did not commit to the Buckeyes. Perry was offered a scholarship by Ohio State and he was very excited about the offer, but he told me that he was going to be going to Michigan's football camp next and is not ready to make a decision. Perry is still here in Columbus. He is with his teammate at Fork Union, QB Sean Cassidy, who is from Columbus Ohio. The two are staying at Cassidy's parents house in Upper Arlington until the two leave to go to Michigan's football camp on Sunday. Perry says that Ohio State, Michigan and North Carolina are three schools that he is mainly focusing on. He says right now, however, he does not have a favorite, and he is anxious to see if the Michigan staff offers him a scholarship as well. Two Outstanding prospects from Minnesota, Dominique Simms (6-2, 195) and and Derrick Robninson (6-5, 260), as well as a another teammate, linebacker Jarred Newberry, all were at Ohio State's football camp. As of late Friday night, I was unable to contact them. I will try to get in touch with them later tonight to find out if Ohio State has offered any of those three players a scholarship. Robinson currently has scholarship offers from Minnesota and Northwestern and is also looking at Ohio State, Notre Dame, Stanford, and UCLA. Simms has Ohio State, Notre Dame and Minnesota as his top three choices, though he is also looking at Nebraska, Colorado, Northwestern and Stanford. Thus far Nebraska Colorado, Northwestern and Minnesota have offered Simms a scholarship. Quarterback Jeff Smoker from Pennsylvania also attended the Buckeye camp, and the Buckeyes would have loved to land a verbal commitment from him, but that did not happen. Smoker actually left Ohio State's camp after Thursday after arriving on Wednesday. He stayed overnight at some relatives who live in Plain City, not far from Columbus, and he is now going to Michigan's football camp for two days this coming week. Smoker was very impressed with his camp session at Ohio State, but did not commit and continues to say that Ohio State, Michigan, Notre Dame, North Carolina, Kentucky and Michigan State are all in the running. Notre Dame is the only school of that group that has yet to offer Jeff Smoker. A couple of in-state quarterbacks that did well at the Buckeye football camp were Rick McFadden (6-7, 205) from the Youngstown area, and Bill Leiber (6-4, 215) from the north Canton area. Neither player was offered a scholarship by Ohio State, but the Buckeyes are definitely interested in both. McFadden has been offered a scholarship by Indiana. They are also interested in Fork Union QB Sean Cassidy, but Cassidy also was not offered a scholarship. Cassidy is a 6-4, 200 pound quarterback who is looking an North Carolina, Ohio State, Michigan, Boston College and Miami. A player that will be at the Buckeye's next camp session is defensive end Sam Ruhe from Cuyahoga Falls Walsh Jesuit, a player the Buckeyes would love to land. Ruhe attended Notre Dame's football camp last week but did not commit to the Irish. He has been offered a scholarship by his top three choices, which are Ohio State, Notre Dame, and Michigan. Ruhe will also attend Michigan's football camp as well. A player that the Buckeyes were definitely interested in has committed elsewhere. Linebacker/Fullback Rick Rozzanno Jr. from Milford Ohio, a 6-0, 220 pounder, has verbally committed to Pitt. Roszanno had been offered a scholarship by Pitt, as well as Virginia Tech, Ole' Miss, Bowling Green and Temple, and he was also looking at Ohio State, Michigan and Indiana. Earlier this week, the Buckeyes landed verbal commitment number 5 in the person of Jamaal Muhammad, a 6-1, 230 pounder from Stone Mountain Georgia. Muhammad runs a 4.55 40. He doubles as a fullback but was recruited as a linebacker by the Buckeyes. He is a big-time hitter who made 128 tackles as a junior, including 6 sacks and picked off one pass. Muhammad has a 2.7 GPA and scored a 1000 on the SAT. He had told me some time back that Ohio State, Florida State and Maryland were his three favorite schools, with Ohio State as his top choice. However at that time, he had not been offered a scholarship by the Buckeyes. He received a letter from Ohio State saying that scholarship offer was on the table, and Jamaal Muhammad called John Cooper with the good news that he was committing to Ohio State. June 2nd Defensive back Jeremiah McLaurin (6'1 180 4.5) from Saginaw (MI) gets a bit overshadowed by super teammate Chuck Rogers, but McLaurin is a fine prospect as well. He made 35 tackles last season and picked off six passes. However academics are a question mark at this point. McLaurin has a 3.2 GPA, but needs to raise his ACT score. However plenty of schools are still very interested. "I like MICHIGAN STATE, OHIO STATE, FLORIDA STATE, and NOTRE DAME," McLaurin said. "None of them have offered me a scholarship yet, but I get mail from all of them. I think they've all called me too. I might go to Michigan State's camp." On the other hand, quarterback Brock Berlin (6'2 200 4.7) from Shreveport Evangel Christian (LA), who at one time had said he had an interest in Ohio State, now says he is no longer looking at the Buckeyes. "I'll have it narrowed down by the end of the summer," Berlin said. "FLORIDA, LSU, KENTUCKY, UCLA, GEORGIA, ARKANSAS, those are some schools I'm looking at. I'm not really looking at the schools in the Midwest like OHIO STATE or MICHIGAN anymore." Kwane Harris (6'6 320 5.2) from Newark (DE) is without question one of country's top offensive linemen. He just dominates people. Harris led Newark to a 12-0 record last season which culminated in a state championship. He has the entire package of size, strength, agility, and all-around athletic ability. Harris is outstanding in the classroom as well. He has a 3.7 GPA and scored an 1180 on the SAT. "I have no idea who I'm most interested in right now," Harris said. "Everybody who is interested in me, I'm interested in them. Until I actually make my visits I just can't say who I like best. NOTRE DAME, MICHIGAN, PENN STATE, OHIO STATE, UCLA, MIAMI, CAL, STANFORD, MICHIGAN STATE, FLORIDA STATE, NEBRASKA, HARVARD, YALE, KENTUCKY, I'll look at all of them. Yale and Harvard can't offer a scholarship, but just about all the others have." Linebacker Ryan Palmer (6'1 235 4.7) from Arvada West (CO) is not as tall as the prototype linebacker prospect, but he is very productive and recruiters are definitely interested. Palmer made 119 solo tackles last season and had 68 assists. He picked off three passes. Palmer bench presses 360 pounds. He has a 3.0 GPA and scored a 19 on the ACT. "I like OHIO STATE, KENTUCKY, NOTRE DAME, NEBRASKA, COLORADO, UCLA, and PENN STATE. Some of the schools are talking about offering me, but nothing official yet. I'm going to make a trip to the Midwest sometime in June. I'm going to visit Notre Dame, Ohio State, and Kentucky, and maybe Nebraska." Defensive end R.D. Montgomery (6'7 225 4.8) from Wilmington Laney (NC) had a fine junior season, registering 13 sacks. He has the frame to gain plenty of weight and runs pretty well for a big guy. R.D. bench presses 280 pounds. He also averages 17 points and 10 rebounds per game in basketball, but says he will likely go the football only route in college. "Right now I like NORTH CAROLINA, GEORGIA, CLEMSON, WAKE FOREST, SYRACUSE, NOTRE DAME, OHIO STATE, NAVY, and GEORGIA TECH, those are the main one's," Montgomery said. "Notre Dame wants us to send them a tape and Ohio State has been writing me a lot for over a year." Tight end Peter Murray (6'5 230 4.8) from Islip Terrace East Islip (NY) caught 17 passes last season for over 400 yards. He averaged over 20 yards a catch and scored five times. Murray was also his team's second leading tackler from his inside linebacker spot. He has a 2.5 GPA. "I like MICHIGAN STATE, OHIO STATE, IOWA, BOSTON COLLEGE, GEORGIA TECH, and WEST VIRGINIA," Murray said. "An Ohio State coach was at my school about a week ago. I think it was coach Simms." Defensive back Bryant McFadden
(6'1 180 4.45) from Hollywood McArthur is one of the top
prospects in the state of Florida. He has good Tre Orr (6'2 190 4.4) from Lake City Columbia (FL) is one of the top defensive back/wide receiver prospects in the state of Florida. Orr has been a varsity starter since his sophomore season. This past season he played cornerback, wide receiver, and running back. He made 75 tackles and intercepted three passes. Orr also caught 17 passes and rushed for 540 yards. He has a 3.2 GPA and scored a 20 on the ACT. Orr has run a 10.7 100 meters and track. "FLORIDA, FLORIDA STATE, MIAMI, ALABAMA, GEORGIA, MICHIGAN, OHIO STATE, NOTRE DAME, those are some of the schools I'm definitely looking at," Orr said. "Florida State said I have a scholarship, and a few others offered." Offensive lineman Sean Young (6'7 290 5.05) from Tunnel Hill Whitfield (GA) is one of the top line prospects in the South. He is an outstanding left tackle who plays defensive end as well. Young bench presses 365 pounds and has a 28 inch vertical jump. He has a 3.1 GPA. "I liked TENNESSEE, FLORIDA STATE, GEORGIA, ALABAMA, ARKANSAS, NOTRE DAME, and OHIO STATE," Young said. "Tennessee, Florida State, Georgia, Arkansas, and Alabama have offered me a scholarship. Coach Salem from Ohio State called me the other day. I've watched Ohio State on. T.V., but I don't know too much about them yet." This Month's Bill Kurelic Post's |