November 14, 1999 Linebacker Darrell Reed (6-3, 235, 4,75 from Freehold Burrell High School in New Jersey made an official visit to Ohio State this weekend. Reed was actually first contacted by the Buckeyes this past Monday, and he quickly sent out a tape to Ohio State. The Buckeyes liked what they saw and asked him to make an official visit. Reed brought an additional tape with him on the official visit to Ohio State, and the Buckeyes were even more impressed. He is a middle linebacker with a 2.9 GPA and scored a 1010 on the SAT. Reed told me that as he put it, it's beautiful at Ohio State. He said that Ohio State is "really, really nice." He said the Buckeyes told him that they do not have much depth at middle linebacker, and that they might even have to move Cortland Bullard inside if Na'il Diggs would go to the NFL. Reed said that Coach Cooper said that he liked the film that Reed brought along, and said that the Buckeyes are going to offer a scholarship. Reed said that he told Coach Cooper that he has to take some other official visits before he makes a decision, but he will have a decision before Christmas. Reed also mentioned that Ohio State is, as he put it, "his dream school", and that is where he wants to go, but he just wants to make absolutely sure of things before he picks a college. Reed says the has official visits scheduled to Minnesota for December 3rd, and for Maryland for December 10th. Reed is also looking at Syracuse as well as North Carolina State, but that Ohio State is definitely the big leader for Darrell Reed. WR Ronnie Roedemer from Morgantown, West Virginia is a player the Buckeyes have offered a scholarship to, and he is currently on an official visit to UCLA. Roedemer is on a Saturday, Sunday, Monday visit with the Bruins. Another player that the Buckeyes are pursuing is DE Will Smith (6-4, 220) from Utica Proctor High School in New York. He has been visiting Virginia Tech this weekend. The Buckeyes are hoping to schedule Smith for an official visit. The Buckeyes would love to land OL Andy Christopfel (6-4, 275) from Cincinnati Elder High School. His stock has consistently been on the rise and he is without question one of the top prospects in the state of Ohio this season. Christopfel has already made official visits to both Nebraska and Boston College, and he also says he will likely make official visits to Michigan and Michigan State in December. The other school that he is very highly considering is Ohio State and then North Carolina State and Notre Dame are in the picture as well. All but Notre Dame have offered a scholarship. At one point he was strongly leaning toward committing to Nebraska, but he did not, and now Nebraska has now told him that they have five commitments from offensive linemen and they were only planning on taking five. They have told him that if he really wants to commit, they can probably find a space for him, but because of that Christopfel says that he is no longer looking at Nebraska, and says that things are now very, very wide open between Boston, College, Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State, those are his top choices. He has not scheduled an official visit to OSU, but I think there is a pretty good chance that he will do so. DL John Lumpkin from Warren Harding High School in Ohio is another lineman from the Buckeye State that Ohio State has offered a scholarship to. Lumpkin had told me that he was hoping to make it down for an official visit to the Ohio State/Illinois game, but as of shortly before the game he was not there. However, Lumpkin did make it late to the OSU game for an unofficial visit with the Buckeyes. Lumpkin is looking at Indiana, who he has scheduled for a visit December 3rd, Syracuse December 10th, and Michigan January 7th. The other schools he is considering are Ohio State, Florida, Maryland, Wisconsin and Pitt. All of those schools except for Florida have offered Lumpkin a Scholarship. The news is encouraging with a super prospect that the Buckeyes would like to land. LB Marco Cooper from Detroit Cass Tech High School in Michigan. Linebacker is a huge priority since the Buckeyes have so little depth at middle linebacker, and Cooper says that he is definitely planning to visit official visits to Ohio State and Tennessee. He says he might want to visit Minnesota as well, and he is also looking at Purdue, Florida State and Wisconsin, but Cooper says he is definitely not looking at Michigan State any more. He says he is going out of state for college. He also says that his two favorites are Ohio State and Tennessee, and I think the Buckeyes have a pretty good shot at landing Marko Cooper and he would he be a great addition, as he is an impact middle linebacker, though he still does need to qualify academically. Another player that the Buckeyes have a great shot at is running back Chris Perry from Fork Union Military Academy in Virginia. Perry has run wild this season as he has rushed for over 2200 yards in 10 games and has scored 23 touchdowns. His team is still in the playoffs, so he has not finalized any of his official visits yet, but one will be to Ohio State. He is looking at the Buckeyes as well as Michigan, Virginia Tech and North Carolina, but he is favoring Ohio State, and in fact one of the coaches at Fork Union told me that the word is that Perry is going to go to Ohio State, but to this point he has not committed to the Buckeyes. Another running back that the Buckeyes have offered a scholarship to is Tyrell Dortch (6-0, 190, 4.4) from Hoboken, New Jersey, and Dortch has now scheduled and official visit to Ohio State. He has rushed for over 1700 yards in just eight games and his team is 8-0. He already had official visits scheduled for Michigan State December 3rd, and Michigan December 10th, and he has now added Ohio State for January 6th. Another school that he is planning to visit is North Carolina State, most likely in mid to late January, and he is also looking at Boston College, Florida State and Florida. Dortch has been offered a scholarship to all of those schools except for Florida State and Florida. He says he does not have a favorite. A player that does have a favorite is WR Joseph Bruce (5-9, 165) from Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Florida. He is the younger brother of St. Louis Rams wide receiver Isaac Bruce, and has already made his official visit to Ohio State and was very, very impressed. He does not have any other official visits set up right now, though he is looking at West Virginia, Boston College, Maryland and Tennessee. Ohio State and Tennessee have not yet offered him a scholarship, but the other three schools have. Bruce says that coach Conley calls him every week and says that Ohio State is his favorite, with Boston College second. The Buckeye have now offered another Ohio quarterback a scholarship. Ben Roethlisberger (6-5, 190, 4.8) from Findlay, Ohio has been offered a scholarship by John Cooper. Roethlisberger has a 3.0 GPA and is awaiting his test results. He also averages 20 points per game in basketball and this has been his first year as a varsity quarterback. He moved to quarterback this season and led Findlay to a 10-0 record. He has thrown for 3600 yards this season and 51 touchdowns. Chuck Stobart, Buckeyes assistant coach, recently went to one of his games, and came back so impressed that after the Ohio State staff thought things over, John Cooper called Roethlisberger and offered him a scholarship. Roethlisberger said he was shocked and couldn't believe it, but he was very happy, however he did not commit to Ohio State. He said from there on when coach Cooper and he talked, they talked about when he would make an official visit to Ohio State as he has to schedule around basketball. He is looking at Ohio State, Duke, Miami of Ohio, Ball State and Akron, and all of those schools have offered him a scholarship. He said he is talking to Michigan State as well, and that as of now, he does not have a favorite. The Buckeyes have now also offered a scholarship to DB Brandon Childress (5-9, 175, 4.45) of Bedford Channel High School in Ohio. He has led his team to an 11-0 record. Childress is looking at Ohio State as well as Minnesota, USC, North Carolina, Michigan State and Washington. Thus far, Minnesota, Ohio State, USC and North Carolina have offered him a scholarship. Childress said that he is not sure when he will make a decision, but did say it could be in the next several weeks, or he could wait and take official visits. Right now he does not have any scheduled. Childress said he is leaning toward three schools in no particular order, Ohio State, Minnesota and USC. He is being recruited as a defensive back as well as a punt return man, and perhaps even could play some wide receiver in college. Speaking of wide receivers, Gary Haeggans (6-2, 185, 4.5) from Kansas City made a official visit to Ohio State the weekend of the Illinois game. Hagens has a 3.2 GPA and an 18 on the ACT. After catching 32 passes as a junior, he caught 23 more this season and averaged almost 20 yards per catch. Hagens visited Purdue back in September and committed to the Boilermakers, and says he is still committed to Purdue, but wanted to take a look at Ohio State. The Buckeyes have not offered him a scholarship. Hagen said that he enjoyed his visit to Ohio State. After his visit, Haeggans said that he is still committed to Purdue, but it is not a definite that he will end up there. He said that he will be waiting to see if Ohio State would offer, but right now Purdue is where he is going. He also mentioned that he might visit Kansas State this coming weekend for an official visit. Hagen has already made his visit to Purdue. DE/TE Billy Palmer (6-4, 255, 4.85) from Orlando Lakes High School in Florida has now been offered a scholarship by the Buckeyes. Palmer could play on either side of the ball in college, but the Buckeyes are recruiting him as a tight end. Palmer is the younger brother of Florida quarterback Jesse Palmer, and he told me the Buckeyes called him just recently and offered him a scholarship. He said that coach Heacock offered to him. Palmer has an official visit scheduled to Georgia Tech for December 3rd, and Michigan for December 10th. He said his other three visits are open, but he is still interested in Ohio State and is also looking at Syracuse, Virginia, Virginia Tech and Florida. Thus far, Georgia Tech, Michigan, Ohio State, Virginia and Virginia Tech have all offered Billy Palmer a scholarship. He said he does not have a clear favorite, and there's a pretty good chance that he will make an official visit to Ohio State. A player the Buckeyes had had some interest in has committed elsewhere. DL Jordan Stockwell (6-4, 305( from Worthington Kilbourne High School has committed to Boston College. The Buckeyes had not offered Stockwell a scholarship. A player the Buckeyes have offered a scholarship to is RB Walter Reyes (5-11, 200) from Youngstown Struthers High School, however, the Buckeyes interest in Reyes has cooled. He had waited and waited on the Buckeyes offer. He said that he has now not heard from Ohio State in two weeks, and says that the thinks the Buckeyes have now decided to look elsewhere for a running back. Reyes is still scheduled to visit Indiana the weekend of November 3rd, and Syracuse December 10th, and then he said he still is interested in Ohio State as well as Michigan State, Pitt, Tennessee and West Virginia. He said he is not particularly close to making a decision, and he does want to see if Ohio State picks up their interest in him once again. Reyes had had the Buckeyes as one of his top two choices for quite some time, but since the Buckeyes' interest has cooled, Reyes now says that Indiana is his leader. The Buckeyes' interest in tight end Eric Knott (6-4, 235) has absolutely not cooled one bit, and Eric Knott has told me that the next time the Buckeyes call him, he is planning to schedule an official visit to Ohio State. He is without question one of the country's premier tight end prospects. Knott finished the season with 42 catches for over 700 yards and ten touchdowns. He has scheduled two official visits thus far, Michigan State December third and Miami December 17th. Knott says that he also is going to schedule visits with Ohio State, Tennessee, and Florida State the next time each one of those schools calls. He has narrowed things down to those five and all five have offered him a scholarship. Knott says that at this point, he does not have a favorite. The Buckeyes are still interested in landing a kicker in this recruiting class, and one from the state of Alabama that might be making an official visit to Ohio State is Philip Yost (6-1, 180) from Auburn, Alabama. Yost connected on four of seven field goals as a junior with a long of 45 yards. This season he has connected on 11 of 15 field goals, with a long of 50 yards. He also has made 21 of 21 extra points and 87% of his kickoffs have either gone into the endzone or out of the endzone for touchbacks. Yost has a 3.75 GPA and a 23 on the ACT. Yost tells me that his top four schools are Florida State, Ohio State, Clemson and Florida. He also has a small degree of interest in hometown Auburn, and Auburn has offered him a scholarship. However, Yost wants to see if the other schools offer a scholarship, as he says he would prefer to go out of state for college if possible. Yost does have one official visit set up, Clemson the weekend of January 7th and says he is very interested in scheduling an official visit to Ohio State as well. Michael Munoz' (6-7, 310) Cincinnati Moeller High School team has been eliminated from the state playoffs, so Munoz has begun scheduling official visits. On the other hand, Antonio Hall's Canton McKinley team is still alive in the playoffs so they continue on. Munoz has scheduled an official visit to Ohio State for the weekend of December 3rd. That is going to be a big recruiting weekend for the Buckeyes, particularly with instate prospects. I expect a number of the Buckeyes' current instate verbal commitments to make their official visits to Ohio State that first weekend of December. The Buckeyes are hoping to capitalize on those commitments in helping them to land Michael Munoz. In addition to having OSU scheduled for that weekend, Munoz has also scheduled Texas for the weekend of December 17th. He says that he is also still considering Tennessee, Florida State and Michigan as well. All five schools have offered Munoz a scholarship and Munoz continues to say that he does not have a favorite. As far as Antonio Hall goes, he has not yet begun to schedule his official visits as his team continues on in the playoffs. Hall says that he is planning on making official visits to at least Ohio State, Michigan and Florida State, and then he continues to consider Penn State, Tennessee, Michigan State, Notre Dame and Maryland as well. Hall says he does not have a favorite, but I tend to think his decision may well come down to either OSU or Michigan. On the other hand, I think Munoz' decision may well come down to OSU and Tennessee. There have been plenty of rumors that Munoz may be leaning toward Tennessee, but he has in no way shape or form indicated that to me, and says that he does not have a favorite at all, nor does his dad. There had been rumors that Anthony Munoz might be favoring Tennessee, but he has not indicated that in any way, shape or form either. One prospect that is definitely favoring Ohio State is running back Sam Maldonado (6-2, 215, 4.5) from Harrison Central High School in New York. He rushed for 2300 yards as a junior, and has rushed for over 2200 yards this season. Maldonado has changed his official visit to Ohio State. It had been scheduled for the weekend of December 3rd, but that has been moved back to the weekend of December 10th. That is the only official visit that Maldenado has scheduled now, and says that in addition to Ohio State, he is also looking at Florida State, Syracuse, Penn State, Arizona, Colorado and Tennessee a little bit. Maldonado has been offered a scholarship by all of those schools except for Penn State and Ohio State, however he says that OSU is his leader. If Ohio State were to offer a scholarship the weekend of December 10th, I wouldn't be at all surprised if Maldonado were to commit to Ohio State. Keep in mind however that Ohio State is also the leader for Chris Perry from Virginia and Walter Reyes certainly is a possibility as well. Offensive lineman Larry Kinnard from Alliance, Ohio remains committed to the Buckeyes, however the one question mark on Kinnard is whether he will qualify academically. Kinnard has a 2.8 GPA but has not yet passed his test. Kinnard did retake the ACT on October 25th, and is awaiting the results. November 8, 1999 7:00 PM One of the top juniors in Pennsylvania says that Ohio State is one of the schools that he is very interested in, and the Buckeyes have already indicated to the player's coach that they are likely to eventually offer a scholarship. DL Charles Rust (6-3, 275, 5.0) from Erie Cathedral Prep in Pennsylvania is a defensive tackle that will be one of the top prospects in the state of Pennsylvania next season. He has led his team to a 9-0 record, and says that some of the schools that he will definitely consider are Penn State, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Colorado, Oregon, Pitt, Boston College and Michigan. The Buckeyes also look to be in good shape with running back Chris Perry from Fork Union Military Academy in Virginia, and of course they have offered him a scholarship. Perry is averaging about 170 yards per game rushing this season. He has not yet scheduled his official visit, but one of them will certainly be to Ohio State. In fact, after talking to Chris Perry's coach at Fork Union Military Academy, it certainly looks very, very encouraging for Ohio State. Perry has said all along that Ohio State is his leader, and his coach said last night that all the talk around Fork Union is that Perry is eventually going to commit to Ohio State. Perry is also considering Virginia Tech, as well as North Carolina and Michigan, but it certainly looks good for the Buckeyes. On the other hand, linebacker Shawn Price from New Jersey who committed to Ohio State last recruiting season but did not qualify academically was going to be going to Fork Union, but he never made it there. The Fork Union coaches said that they thought he would be at Fork Union this season, but it just could not be worked out. As far as where he is right now, when it did not work out at Fork Union, it looked like he was headed to a prep school in Connecticut, but he did not end up there, either. According to the Fork Union coach, the word is that Price might be a Rutgers, sitting out the season. TE Alex Holmes from California, one of the country's finest, is possibly going to make an official visit to Ohio State. Holmes was going to make an official visit to USC this past weekend, but the visit was postponed. He is still scheduled to visit UCLA this coming weekend, though that could be changed. Holmes also is scheduled to visit Michigan the weekend of November 20th for an official visit, the weekend that Michigan plays Ohio State. Holmes says the UCLA and Michigan are still his top two leaders, with USC next, but says that he is also considering Stanford as well as Ohio State and Cal. All of the schools have offered him scholarship. At the top of the list of offensive linemen that Ohio State is looking to land to shore up their offensive line problems are Antonio Hall and Michael Munoz, and the good news for Buckeye fans is that Ohio State most definitely has a realistic shot at landing both of these tremendous offensive line prospects, and both are good enough to perhaps have an impact quickly at Ohio State. In fact, I feel both are good enough to at least come in and be first line backups right away, in not, perhaps even start if they did end up choosing Ohio State, and I mean start as a true freshman, Hall and Munoz are that talented. Hall continues to say that Ohio State is one of the schools on his list, and he is planning to schedule visits to Ohio State, Michigan and Florida State, and then there is a host of others that he is taking a look at, including Kentucky, Tennessee, Penn State, Michigan State, Notre Dame and Maryland. As far as Munoz goes, he continues to have the same five schools in the running, Ohio State, Tennessee, Michigan, Texas and Florida State. Munoz plans to make official visits if at all possible to all five schools. He continues to say that he doesn't have a favorite at all between the five, but I continue to think that Munoz' decision will ultimately come down to Ohio State or Tennessee. As far as the Buckeyes' chances at these two, I would say that the Buckeyes have a 50-50 shot at Munoz, and better than 50-50 shot at landing Antonio Hall. Another standout offensive lineman that I feel could perhaps have an impact right away next season at Ohio State if he commits to the Buckeyes would be Shane Olivea from Long Beach, New York. Olivea says he is going to visit Ohio State the weekend of December third, however he has an official visit scheduled to Tennessee before that, the weekend of November 26th. He also is planning to visit Syracuse December 10th, Iowa December 17, and then may make a decision. The Buckeyes are hoping that they can land him before that, and I fell the Buckeyes have at least a 50-50 shot at landing Shane Olivea, and those three would go a long way to shoring up the Buckeyes' problems on the offensive line. DB Stewart Schweigert continues to say that he is considering Michigan State, Purdue and Ohio State, and has not yet made up his mind. All three of those schools have offered Schweigert a scholarship. Notre Dame and Wisconsin have also offered him a scholarship and he is interested in those two schools as well. MSU and Purdue are his top two choices at this point. Another player the Buckeyes have offered a scholarship to, WR Ronnie Roedemer from West Virginia, has made an official visit to Tennessee. Roedemer has UCLA scheduled for November 13th, and the other schools he is looking at are Ohio State, Michigan State, Michigan, Notre Dame, West Virginia and Clemson. All of those schools except Clemson have offered him a scholarship. Linebacker Robert Reynolds from Bowling Green Kentucky, a super player that the Buckeyes would dearly love to land, made an unofficial visit to Tennessee last weekend to see the Notre Dame at Tennessee game. Reynolds now says that he might schedule an official visit with the Vols. He also says that he is planning to schedule official visits to Ohio State, Michigan and Virginia, and he might schedule an official visit to Florida to see the Florida State at Florida game. Reynolds has been offered a scholarship by all of the schools that he is considering except for Florida, however he has a top three right now of Ohio State, Michigan and Virginia in no particular order. Linebacker Bret Hughes (6-3, 210) from Upper Arlington High School has decided that he will attend Virginia. Ohio State had been interested in Hughes, but had not offered him a scholarship. Hughes is most likely to end a lacrosse player at Virginia, but might play football as well. Another central Ohioan the the Buckeyes are taking a look at is TE Matt Hines (6-3, 225) from Grove City. He is having an outstanding senior season and has played a big part in Grove City going undefeated during the regular season and being ranked number one in the state among big schools. Hines is currently looking at Ohio State, Illinois, Maryland, Duke, Miami of Ohio and Wake Forest. Miami of Ohio has offered him a scholarship, and he will make an official visit there either December 3rd or December 10th. Miami as well as Maryland and Illinois are his favorites, but that could change if the Buckeyes were to offer a scholarship. Ohio State has not yet done so, but they are showing interest in him. The Buckeyes have now offered OLB/TE/DE prospect Marcus Harrison (6-4, 210, 4.6) from Columbus Mifflin. He is arguably the fastest rising prospect in the state of Ohio. Harrison is definitely considering Ohio State, though he says he does not have a favorite. Harrison played both tight end, wide receiver and defensive end this past season, starting on both sides of the ball, and he says he would feel comfortable at DE, OLB or TE in college. He has not as yet set up any official visits, but is in the process of doing so now. He is looking at Ohio State, Purdue, Pitt, Minnesota, Michigan State and Tennessee, and all of those schools have now offered him a scholarship. Offensive lineman Roderick Eason (6-6, 290, 5.1) from Jacksonville Raines High School in Florida says that he would like to make an official visit to Ohio State. Eason says that he is currently looking at Ohio State, Florida, Virginia, Alabama, Miami and Wake Forest. Wake Forest and Virginia have offered him a scholarship. He says it is too early to name a favorite, but he says that he would like to make an official visit to Ohio State. The Buckeyes are showing interest in him, but have not offered him a scholarship or asked him to make an official visit. Rick McFadden (6-7, 205), the quarterback from Youngstown Struthers, tells me that he has now settled on his exact date to make an official visit to Ohio State. McFadden now confirms that December 10th will be the weekend of his official visit, and he will probably visit West Virginia the weekend of December 3rd rather than Duke. He will still visit Duke, but doesn't have an exact date scheduled. All three of those schools have offered him a scholarship. As of right now, he is not particularly close to making a decision and will probably make all three of those official visits before making a decision. The Buckeyes have made the top five for tight end Quinn Sypniewski from Iowa, and they have offered him a scholarship. He tells me that he is going to soon be scheduling his official visits, and he does now have a top five. That top five is Colorado, Purdue, Iowa State, Michigan and Ohio State. All five schools have offered him a scholarship. He does say that his top three as of right now are Colorado, Purdue and Michigan. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (6-5, 190, 4.8) from Findlay, Ohio, is a fast rising prospect that the Buckeyes are now calling. He is also a fine basketball player and is being looked at for that sport as well. He played at wide receiver as a junior, but moved to quarterback this season and is putting up spectacular numbers. He is now drawing interest not only from Ohio State, but from some other big time programs. He told me last night that Duke as well as Miami of Ohio and Akron have offered him a scholarship, and that the other schools that he is interested in are Ohio State, Michigan State, Michigan and Purdue. He says that all of those schools are calling him, though none of the Big Ten schools have offered him a scholarship yet. He says that right now, Duke and Miami of Ohio would be his top two choices. He has not yet begun to set up any of his official visits. Another quarterback from the Buckeye state that the Ohio State staff is calling is Ben Bair (6-3, 200) from Poland, Ohio. He has led his team into the playoffs by throwing for over 1600 yards this season. Baer tells me that he is looking at Ohio State, West Virginia, Northwestern, Miami of Florida, Michigan State and Illinois. Baer says that West Virginia and Northwestern would probably be his top two choices. 11/03/99 10:00 AM OL Shane Olivea (6-5, 305, 5.1) from Long Beach, New York is another super prospect the Buckeyes would love to land, has added an official visit to Tennessee. He had previously scheduled visits to Ohio Ohio State December 3rd, Syracuse December 10th, and Iowa December 17th. He also had January 7th scheduled for Georgia Tech. He had been thinking about possibly visiting Nebraska if he took a 5th official visit, but was concerned that perhaps Nebraska is too far away and he has now decided that he is no longer considering the Cornhuskers at all. Olivea has now considered a 5th official visit with Tennessee on November 26th, so he will visit Tennessee on that date. All five schools have offered Olivea a scholarship, and the Buckeyes have a pretty good shot at landing Olivea. I think his decision will ultimately come down to Ohio State and Syracuse. DL Calvin Barrett (6-2, 300) from Spring Valley Monta Vista High School in California is also filling up his official visit schedule. He will visit Arizona December 10th, Wisconsin December 17th, Ohio State January 7th. He has had the Buckeyes scheduled for some time and is an outstanding prospect that is going to visit Ohio State the weekend of January 7th. Barrett has also scheduled Nebraska for January 14th. Barrett has two other schools under consideration, Arizona State and San Diego State. All six schools have offered Barrett a scholarship. Barrett says that he doesn't have any one clear cut leader, but that Ohio State might still have a slight edge, and I still feel pretty good about the Buckeyes' chances of landing Calvin Barrett. Barrett is from the same high school as current OSU running back Michael Wiley. Speaking of running backs, Deaunte Farrell (5-10, 185, 4.5) from Macedonia Nordonia High School in Ohio says that he could visit Ohio State even though he has committed to Purdue. Farrell committed to the Boilermakers long ago, and says he is still committed to Purdue, but he says he is still hearing from Ohio State and Wisconsin, and said that if the Buckeyes ask him to make an official visit, it is a possibility. Farrell has rushed for over 1400 yards and he is one of the better running back prospects in the state of Ohio. The Buckeye have the lead for one of the top targets for this recruiting class. WR Johnnie Morant (6-4, 220, 4.5) from Parsipani Hills, New Jersey, is one of the county's top wide receiver prospects, and he told me last night that he would be seriously considering committing to Ohio State right now if it wasn't for the fact that his parent want him to visit some other schools before he makes a decision. Morant has already made his official visit to Ohio State back on October when the Buckeyes played Purdue. Morant remains very, very impressed with the Buckeyes. In fact, he says that Ohio State is his favorite, and that one of the big reasons for that is that coach Shawn Simms, the Buckeye coach that is recruiting him, and he get along so well. Morant said that if it wasn't for his parent thinking that he should visit at least one or two other schools before making his decision, he might commit to Ohio State right now, but he is expected to at least visit Purdue before making a decision. Morant has Purdue scheduled for an official visit the weekend of December 3rd, and other schools he is considering are Florida State, Tennessee, South Carolina, Georgia and Minnesota, and all of those schools have offered him a scholarship. DB Brandon Childress (5-9, 175) from Bedford, Ohio says Ohio State is one of his top two choices, and while the Buckeyes have not offered him a scholarship, they are definitely interested. Childress says he is looking at Ohio State, USC, Michigan State, Minnesota, Washington, Penn State and North Carolina. He says he is going to narrow things down to five schools in the not too distant future, but he says that Ohio State and USC are his two favorites. Thus far, USC and Minnesota have offered him a scholarship. Childress has helped lead his team to a 10-0 record and a birth in the state playoffs. He is starting at cornerback, as well as wide receiver and returns punts and kickoffs too. Childress says that he is more than likely going to make an unofficial visit to Ohio State to see the Ohio State/Illinois game. A running back from the state of Illinois says that the Buckeyes are his top choice. Tyjuan Hagler (6-1, 190) from Kankakee MacNamera High School in Illinois has 1400 yards this season, despite playing only 7 games at running back. The other three games, he started at outside linebacker. Hagler will be a running back in college, and has not yet begun to set up any official visits, but said he is looking at Ohio State, Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan and Purdue. None of the schools at this point have offered a scholarship, however Hagler says that Ohio State is his favorite, he has just always liked the Buckeyes. Super tight end Eric Knott (6-4, 235) from Detroit Henry Ford High School in Michigan is a huge, huge target of Ohio State, and tells me that he will be scheduling an official visit to Ohio State. Knott has one official visit scheduled thus far, that being to Michigan State the weekend of December 3rd. Knott tells me that he is also going to visit Ohio State as well as Tennessee, Miami, and Florida State. Knott said that his decision is not down to those five schools. He said that Purdue and Minnesota as well as all the other schools he thought about at one time are now out of the running. Knott has led his team to the second round of the state playoffs, as his team is 9-0, and he has caught 38 passes thus far for over 600 yards. Knott says that right now, he doesn't have a favorite at all. Another outstanding prospect the Buckeyes would love to land is defensive back Matt Grootegoed (6-0, 200) from Santa Anna Mater Dei High School in California. Grootegoed is still considering Ohio State, but he has expanded his list. At one time, he wanted to make a decision between Ohio State, Michigan, UCLA and USC, and he made unofficial visit to all four schools. However, he simply couldn't make the decision, and he is now not only looking at those four, but four other schools as well. He is now kind of taking a look at the scoreboard and watching to see how each school does, and that in addition to the four he was previously looking at, he is also now looking at Washington, Stanford, Texas, Texas A&M, and Notre Dame. He as been offered a scholarship by all of those schools. He says he want to go to a place where he can play very quickly, and he want to go to a top notch program. He does not have any official visits set up and he says he does not have any one clear cut leader. Groetegood's father has family in the Columbus area and says that he wouldn't mind seeing his son go to Ohio State, but says that that decision will be up to his son. LB Carlton Baker from Belle Glade Blades High School in Florida is a very talented prospect, but the one question mark will be academics. If Baker can manage to qualify academically, he is going to have plenty of scholarship offers. Baker tells me that he will likely make an official visit to Alabama in January, and he says the other schools he is considering are Ohio State, Arkansas, West Virginia, Central Florida and Miami, but he says he will not make official visits to Miami or Central Florida, he is going to take all his official visits out of state. Baker says that all of the schools are pretty much equal at this point. Another Floridian that the Buckeyes are interested in, in fact this one they would love to land, is William Roberts, the outstanding tight end from Miami Southridge High School. Roberts has already made his official visit to Ohio State the weekend of the Wisconsin game. Roberts is definitely still looking at the Buckeyes, but he is also looking at Auburn, Georgia Tech, Miami and Purdue. He says that he doesn't have any one clear cut favorite, but if he had to pick leader right now, he said it would likely be Ohio State. There is some very encouraging news, especially in light of the Buckeyes lack of depth at linebacker. One of the country's top middle linebacker prospects is going to make an official visit to Ohio State, and the Buckeyes have now moved into his top three choices. Robert Reynolds (6-4, 215, 4.6) from Bowling Green, Kentucky is without question one of the country's premier middle linebackers. Reynolds made an unofficial visit to Ohio State to see one of the Buckeyes home games, and recently told me that he has decided pretty much on three of his official visits. He said he is virtually sure he will make official visits to Ohio State, Virginia and Michigan. Reynolds went to the Florida State at Virginia game on an unofficial visit, and will attend the Notre Dame/Tennessee game to see Tennessee on an unofficial visit. He has not yet begun to set up any of his official visits yet, but he is virtually certain he will set visits with the schools I mentioned. After that, he says he is not certain who else he will visit, but that schools under consideration are Tennessee, Purdue, Louisville, Florida, Miami and Texas. All the schools on his list have offered him a scholarship. He is no longer looking at Kentucky nor Nebraska. He says that right now his top three choices in no particular order would be Ohio State, Michigan and Virginia. DB Stewart Schweigert (6-2, 195) is another player the Buckeyes have offered a scholarship to. He told me that he still has two official visits set up, Michigan State December 3rd and Purdue December 10th. He says that he thinks he will also schedule an official visit to Wisconsin, but after that he is not certain who he will visit. Schweigert says that the other schools he is considering are Ohio State, as well as Notre Dame and Nebraska, but of those three schools the one he is looking at most highly would be Ohio State. He also added that Michigan State and Purdue remain his two leaders. All the schools on his list have offered a scholarship. Schweigert might see the Buckeyes in person this weekend, as he said he might make an unofficial visit to Ohio State to see the OSU/MSU game. As the Buckeyes staff usually does near the end of the home season, they used the Iowa game to concentrate much of their efforts on luring the top juniors in the state of Ohio to their home games, and there were many, many juniors in attendance at the Buckeye win over Iowa, including two of the top prospects in the state of Ohio next season, and you are certainly going to be hearing about these two prospects next year. RB Maurice Hall from Columbus Brookhaven High School and DE Simon Frazier from Upper Arlington High School both were at the Ohio State win over Iowa. Hall will be without question one of the top RB prospects in the Midwest next season, and Frazier will be one of the top overall prospects in the state of Ohio next season as well. Frazier is a 6-6, 225 defensive end who has tremendous potential. Also, RB Kyle Hester from Cincinnati Elder High School in Ohio is another outstanding junior that took in the Buckeyes game against Iowa. Hester is a 6-0, 243 running back who is a load to bring down. Quite often, Hester has racked up over 200 yards rushing in games, and has been a big part of Elder's success this season. Hester is going to be very highly recruited next season. Another top underclassman at the Iowa game was Eric Crisp from Dublin, and all in all, it was an impressive group of juniors that took in the Ohio State win over Iowa. High school seniors in attendance at the Ohio State/Iowa game include DB Webster Jackson (5-9, 175, 4.45) from Toledo Central Catholic High School, as well as Jerome Walker, from Avon Ohio. One outstanding senior that did not make it to the game that had been planning to go is OL Andy Christopfel (6-4, 275) from Cincinnati Elder High School, but the news is actually good concerning the Buckeyes and Christophel. I talked to Chirstopfel after the Iowa game, and it seems that the Buckeyes are actually on the rise. He has already made official visits to Nebraska and Boston College and says his next official visit will be to either Michigan or Michigan State. If his team is not in the playoffs, he will likely visit those two schools in early December, and that the other schools he is looking at are Ohio State, Notre Dame and North Carolina State, and all but the fighting Irish have offered him a scholarship. He had previously been saying that Nebraska was his leader and by a fairly good margin, but he now says that he no longer has a leader, but now is going back and forth between Nebraska, Michigan, Ohio State and Michigan State. Two outstanding prospects that the Buckeyes have offered a scholarship to had been scheduled to make official visits to Tennessee last weekend, but neither OL Jonathan Colon nor RB Willis McGahee, both from Miami Central High School, but neither were able to make it for that visit. Both Cologne and McGahee have made official visits to Ohio State the weekend of the UCLA game, and both had been saying that Ohio State is their leader. There had been some rumors going around that QB John VanCleve (6-5, 220) from Texas may have lost interest in Ohio State because the Buckeyes offered a scholarship to another quarterback, Rick McFadden, a scholarship. I checked with Van Cleve and he said that he is absolutely still very interested in Ohio State. Van Cleave said that he has not begun to set up any of his official visits, but said that he is still planning to schedule a visit to Ohio State. However, things have changed overall. The last time I spoke with Van Cleve, he had said that Ohio State, Louisiana Lafayette, and Wisconsin were probably his top three choices, however, he now says he is not really looking at Wisconsin much any more, but he has expanded his list a bit. He is now looking at Ohio State, Louisiana Lafayette, Miami of Florida, Colorado and Louisiana Tech. All of the schools except for Colorado have offered him a scholarship. He did say that he will certainly schedule an official visit to Ohio State, but said he does not have a favorite, and is not certain exactly which school he will visit. OL Dave Rehker (6-5, 305) from Avon Lake High School in Ohio is an OL the Buckeyes remain interested in, and Rehker continues to have Ohio State as one of his top two choices. He has an official visit scheduled to Wisconsin for December 3rd, and he said he will likely set up an official visit to Pitt December 10th. He is also looking at Ohio State and Indiana, and he said that that is basically it. Those are the four schools he is interested in. Wisconsin and Pitt have offered him a scholarship, but Reager says that Ohio State and Wisconsin are his top two choices. RB/SS Jeramy Fairrow (6-1, 190, 4.5) from Evansville Central High School in Indiana has set up two of his official visits, and one of them is to Ohio State. Fairrow is arguably the most talented prospect in the state of Indiana. He has Ohio State scheduled for an official visit December 3rd, and Michigan is now scheduled for an official visit December 10th. He said he is also looking at Michigan State, Purdue and Indiana and all five schools have offered him a scholarship. Coach Stobart is recruiting Jeramy Fairrow for Ohio State. Fairrow says that even though all five schools have offered him a scholarship, he still has not narrowed things down to the point that he has a favorite. He said that all of the schools have their strong points. Fairrow has led his team into the playoffs despite a 1-4 start. Super running back Marcus Houston (6-2, 207, 4.37) from Denver Thomas Jefferson High School in Colorado told me that he has narrowed his list down somewhat, and Ohio State has made the cut. Houston is without question one of the country's top overall prospects. Thus far in eight games this season, he has rushed for 1200 yards. Houston told me last night that he is looking at UCLA where his brother played, USC, Texas, Florida State, Ohio State, Michigan, Colorado, Arizona State, Washington, Notre Dame and Stanford. All of those schools have offered him a scholarship. Thus far, Houston has one official visit scheduled, that being the weekend of December 3rd. Houston said that he is going to wait until after the season to take all of his official visits, but he said that he might soon set up another visit, but that he doesn't know anyone that he will for sure visit except for Texas. Houston is being recruited for Ohio State by running backs coach Tim Spencer. DB DeShaun Carter (6-1, 190, 4.4) from Oceletua, Louisiana is one of the country's finest defensive back prospects, and Ohio State is one of two schools vying for his last official visit. Carter has already been to Georgia, and will make an official visit to Florida November 20th and Michigan December 3rd. He said he will also visit Texas sometime, but he is not certain when the date of that official visit will be. He mentions that his last official visit is down to either Ohio State or Notre Dame. Carter has been offered a scholarship by everyone on his list, and that of all the schools, Florida would be his favorite, and that he might make a decision soon. QB Bill Liber (6-4, 195, 4.8) from Canton Hoover High School in Ohio told me that Ohio State would be his top choice. Liber has completed 61% of his passes in leading his team to an 8-1 record thus far this season. He has thrown for 1100 yards. Liber said he is looking at Ohio State, Michigan, West Virginia, Western Michigan, Akron, Miami of Ohio and Kent State. Akron, Western Michigan and Kent State have offered him a scholarship. Liber did say that coach Pagac called him recently and told him that they would have to talk about possibly scheduling an official visit to Ohio State, but nothing is definite at this point. Liber has been to an Ohio State home game earlier this season. He will go to Miami of Ohio's game earlier this weekend. 10/07/99 12:15 PM Malcolm Postal (6-2, 200, 4.5) from Keyport New Jersey is a running back that the Buckeyes continue to be interested in. Postal has a 2.4 GPA but needs to raise his SAT which he will take again this weekend. He has rushed for close to 500 yards through the first three games this season. He tells me that there are three schools that he is most interested in, Ohio State, Syracuse, and Georgia Tech. Pitt has offered him a scholarship, but he wants to see who offers him a scholarship between his three favorites. Rob Shirley (6-1 1/2, 218) is a fine fullback prospect from Bloomington South High School in Indiana who might make an official visit to Ohio State. Shirley has rushed for over 900 yards through the first seven games this season. He says that Northwestern will be his first official visit, but he is not sure what exact date that visit will be. He said that he will probably set up a couple more official visits in the next week or so. He said the schools he is considering for official visits are Ohio State, Nebraska, Notre Dame, South Carolina, Georgia Tech, Iowa and Illinois. He mentioned that some of those schools have already offered him a scholarship, though he said he would prefer not to say which ones had offered. Another prospect from the state of Indiana that the Buckeyes are interested in is huge and talented offensive lineman Rufus Sanders (6-7, 295) from Indianapolis Cathedral High School. He is without question one of the top talents in the state of Indiana, but the question mark will be academics. His GPA is near the 2.0 mark and he will be taking the SAT this Saturday. He tells me that he is basically looking at four schools, Ohio State, Georgia Tech, Tennessee and Indiana. Georgia Tech right now would be his top choice. The Buckeyes are in contact though they have not offered a scholarship. Much is going to depend on whether Sanders qualifies academically or not. The Buckeyes may get an official visit out of one of the country's top tight end prospects, Alex Holmes, from California. He is without question one of the nation's premier tight end prospects and has three official visits set up right now. He will visit USC the weekend of November 6, UCLA the weekend of November 13th, and Michigan the weekend of November 20th. Holmes told me that he has decided not to schedule any more official visits until the end of the football season. Holmes said that he might visit Cal, Stanford, and/or Ohio State. Every school on his list has offered him a scholarship. Holmes says that Michigan and UCLA continue to be his two favorites, with the Wolverines now moving slightly ahead of UCLA. DB Jeremiah McLaurin (6-1, 180) from Saginaw, Michigan remains interested in Ohio State. McLaurei is a very talented prospect, but the only question mark is whether he will qualify academically or not. He has a 3.2 GPA but needs to significantly raise his ACT score. McLaurin made an unofficial visit to Michigan State this past weekend and saw the Spartans beat Iowa, but he says he is also still looking at Ohio State as well as Purdue, Florida State and Northwestern. None of the schools have offered him a scholarship yet, but if he does qualify academically, I think that there is a good chance that a number of those schools will eventually offer McLaurin a scholarship. The weekend of December 3rd, OL Shane Olivea from New York as well as RB Jeramy Fairrow from Indiana are scheduled to make official visits to Ohio State, and in January, DL Calvin Barrett from California is scheduled to visit Ohio State the first weekend of January, the weekend of January 6th. The Buckeyes play Purdue this weekend, and the fine wide receiver from Georgia, Kelvin Kite, had been scheduled to visit the Buckeyes on that weekend, but now Kite will not make that visit. Kite is scheduled to take the SAT that weekend and will reschedule his visit to Ohio State. DB/QB/Athlete Stewart Schweigert from Saginaw Heritage High School in Michigan says that Michigan State and Purdue remain his top two choices, but he also is looking at Ohio State, Wisconsin, Notre Dame, Nebraska and Indiana. All of those schools except Notre Dame have offered him a scholarship. He will visit Michigan State December 3rd and Purdue December 10th. Wide receiver Jeramy Battier from Detroit Country Day School in Michigan had been looking at Ohio State, but has now committed to Duke. Battier's older brother Shane plays basketball at Duke and Duke has been his leader all along, and Jeramy has gone ahead and committed to the Blue Devils. Super offensive lineman Kwame Harris (6-6, 320) from Newark, Delaware made an official visit to Michigan last weekend and did not commit to the Wolverines. He says he was impressed with his official visit to Michigan, but says he is not ready to make a decision. Harris is not planning to make any other official visits until after the season because he does not have any more off weeks until the season is over. He is looking at not only Michigan, but Penn State, UCLA, Stanford, Cal, Wisconsin, Ohio State, Miami, Tennessee and other. Three players mad official visits to Ohio State the weekend of the Wisconsin game. Defensive back Bobby Britton (5-11, 175, 4.4) from Jacksonville Raines High school in Florida is a talented two-way performer who will likely play as a corner back in college. He is also a very dangerous runner who can go all the way any time, but I see him as much more valuable with his excellent cover skills. Britton is from the same high school as Maurice Harris and has a 3.3 GPA and should have no problem qualifying academically with a 17 on the ACT and an 810 on the SAT. He told me that he is interested not only in Ohio State, but Michigan, Tennessee and Georgia Tech. He said that he is not really looking at Notre Dame any longer because of possible probation for the Fighting Irish. Britton is an outstanding cover corner and says he was hosted by David Mitchell while at Ohio State and says that he had a great time while at Ohio State. Britton said that Ohio State offered him a scholarship and he is very, very interested, but he wants to probably take two more official visits before he makes a decision. He says he will probably visit Michigan and Tennessee, thought he is not certain and he doesn't have exact dates for those visits. He did say, however, that there is a good chance that he would end up at Ohio State. He said he could come in and play very quickly at corner back because the depth chart looks good, and the Buckeyes talked to him about playing both ways at OSU. Wide receiver Ronnie Roedemer (6-4, 190) from Morgantown, West Virginia was also at the Ohio State vs. Wisconsin game for his second Buckeye game as he was at Ohio State two weeks ago as well. He has two official visits scheduled. He will see Tennessee November 6th and UCLA November 13th. The other schools he is looking at are Ohio State, Michigan, Notre Dame, West Virginia and Michigan State, and most of the schools have offered him a scholarship. Defensive end Nautyn McKay-Loescher (6-4, 245), the top prospect in Canada, from Toronto Central Tech also made his official visit to Ohio State this weekend. He has also scheduled visits to Penn State the weekend that Ohio State plays at Penn State, Michigan the weekend of November 20th for the Michigan vs. Ohio State game, and one to Illinois for the weekend of December third, so Loescher will see Ohio State in action plenty of times this season. He also is going to schedule a November visit to Miami. The other schools on his list are Nebraska, USC and Boston College. Loescher was hosted by Clinton Wayne on his official visit, and had a great time. Loescher said that Ohio State is about "Football, academics, and more football, and that is exactly what he is looking for in a school." He did stop short of committing to Ohio State, and said he won't make a decision for awhile, but that Ohio State is definitely one of his top choices. He has Ohio State, Miami and Michigan on the top of his list, but his next scheduled official visit is to Penn State. Tight end Willie Roberts (6-6, 215) from Miami Southridge High School in Florida made his official visit to Ohio State this past weekend for the Wisconsin game. He also is looking at Miami, as well as Georgia Tech, Auburn and Purdue. All five schools have offered Roberts a scholarship. Roberts was hosted on his official visit by Cortland Bullard who is also from Southridge High School. Roberts was very, very impressed at Ohio State, though he did not commit. Roberts said he liked it quite well at Ohio State, and the Buckeyes are definitely one of his top choices. In addition to the players who made official visits to Ohio State, there were some outstanding big-name prospects from out of state the saw the Buckeyes play Wisconsin on unofficial visits. Among them were linebacker Marco Cooper (6-2, 230) from Detroit, who is a huge target for the Buckeyes and is without question one of the top middle linebacker talents in the country. Cooper continues to look at Ohio State as well as Florida State, Michigan, Tennessee, Minnesota, Wisconsin and maybe even Michigan State. Cooper is unquestionably one of the top linebacker prospects in the country, but the question mark is academics. He has a 2.8 GPA, but needs to significantly raise is ACT score. From Tennessee came Tyson Clabo, and offensive lineman from Knoxville Farragut High School in Tennessee. He is a huge offensive lineman who is looking at Ohio State, Florida, Auburn, Tennessee and Nebraska. All of those schools are showing quite a bit of interest though none have offered him a scholarship just yet. Tyson and his father attended the OSU vs. Wisconsin game, and by the way, his grandfather coached John Cooper when Cooper was in high school. Maurice Harris also attended the Buckeyes' game with Wisconsin, and that is very significant. Of course, Maurice Harris signed with Ohio State last season, but did not qualify academically. He had been planning to enroll at Ohio State in January, hoping to pass his test prior to then. There were some rumors going around that Harris might not actually wait until January to enroll at OSU, that he might head back down to Florida since he is once again drawing interest from both Florida and Florida State, but Harris told me that he definitely is planning to enroll at OSU in January and has recently taken his test and hopes that he has passed it so that he can enroll in January and then be eligible. There were a number of in-state prospects also in attendance at the Wisconsin game for unofficial visits. Dan Taylor, an offensive lineman from Burton Berkshire in Northeast Ohio was on hand, as well as DL R.J. Cameron from Portsmouth. Also on hand were several of the Buckeyes' verbal commitments such as Larry Kinnard, John Hollins and Jason Caldwell. One of the top juniors in the state of Ohio was on hand, running back Maurice Hall from Columbus Brookhaven High School. Running back Walter Reyes continues to say that Ohio State and Syracuse are his two leaders over Indiana, Michigan State, Pitt, Tennessee and West Virginia. All of those schools except for Tennessee have offered him a scholarship. Reyes was scheduled to make an unofficial visit to OSU for the Wisconsin game, but did not because of an injury he sustained in his game on Friday. Reyes' knee injury has turned out to be just a hyper extension of the left knee, and he is already walking on it. Reyes did not have an MRI and it looks like he will miss no more than one game, but should be close to full strength by next weekend. Reyes is scheduled to make an official visit to Indiana December 3rd and Syracuse December 10th. He also says he is going to schedule official visits to both Ohio State and Michigan State. Reyes will be on hand this weekend to see the Buckeyes play Purdue, and I do like the Buckeyes chances of landing Walter Reyes. Offensive lineman Jonathan Colon (6-7, 275)from Miami Central High School in Florida has already made his official visit to Ohio State and has now set up two more official visits. He has Tennessee scheduled for the weekend of October 9th, and has Auburn scheduled for the weekend of November 6th. In addition to Ohio State, Tennessee and Auburn is also looking at Florida, Florida State and West Virginia. The Buckeyes as well as Florida have already offered him a scholarship. At one point he seemed to be leaning to Ohio State after having a great visit with the Buckeyes, and he continues to say that OSU is very much in the running as one of his top choices but now says that he would not necessarily say the Buckeyes are his favorite, just that he continues to have a strong interest in Ohio State. Jonathan Colon's teammate, running back Willis McGahee, remains very interested in Ohio State as well. McGahee made his official visit to Ohio State along with Jonathan Colon. There is some bad news for the Buckeyes. Unfortunately, super wide receiver Chuck Rogers from Saginaw, Michigan has taken Ohio State off his list. Rogers, without a doubt one of the top wide receiver prospects in the nation, had previously named seven schools that he had narrowed things down to and Ohio State was one of the seven. Rogers now says his decision is down to five schools. He has official visits set up to Florida State, Tennessee and UCLA, and the other two schools he is still considering are Michigan and Michigan State. Rogers has eliminated Ohio State and Notre Dame. |