| Return to Bill Kurelic's Current Posts | Bill Kurelic's April Posts April 28th, 1998 Certainly, the Spring game turned out to be an exciting recruiting weekend for the Buckeyes as they landed four more verbal commitments. LB Fred Pagac Jr. (6-2, 220, 4.6) from Dublin Coffman High School, DL/OL Tim Anderson (6-4, 270, 4.95) from Clyde, Ohio , WR/return man Maurice Lee (5-10, 170, 4.4) from Cleveland South High School and OLB Matt Wilhelm (6-5, 240, 4.6) from Elyria Catholic High School, all gave the Buckeyes great news at the Spring Game that they were announcing commitments to Ohio State. Perhaps the most interesting prospects in this group is Wilhelm. He has gone from 6'4, 225 pounds last season to 6'5 240 presently. His stock has risen faster than any other player in the state of Ohio. In fact, Wilhelm went to the Michigan Spring Game on April 18th and was personally offered a scholarship by Lloyd Carr at that time. However, he held off and went to Ohio State's Spring Game which turned out to be great for the Buckeyes. Wilhelm has indicated that it was very close between Ohio State and Michigan, but that he just felt more comfortable with Ohio State. His mom told me that she was very happy he decided to stay in-state though Matt's parents didn't put any pressure on him as to which school to pick. Wilhelm played tailback as a junior and rushed for 1200 yards, but will be an OLB for the Buckeyes. With the four new commitments Ohio State's total has risen to eight. Those four join RB Kelton Lindsay, DB Curtis Crosby and DB Michael Doss , all Ohioans, as well as QB Craig Krenzel from Michigan, to give Ohio State a super start to this recruiting season. The four new commitments are also signifacant in that the Buckeyes have a legitimate shot now at landing every in-state player that they offer a scholarship to. RB Richard Hall from Cincinnati Wyoming High School (5-11, 194, 4.5) was offered a scholarship by Ohio State some time ago and is very highly considering the Buckeyes, and the same goes for RB Jesse Kline (6-2, 210, 4.5) from Upper Arlington High School. OL Adrien Clarke is another one from the Buckeye State (Shaker Heights High School) that Ohio State has offered a scholarship to, and Clarke is also highly considering Ohio State . ILB Pat O'Neill (6-4, 215, 4.7) is another in-state player the Buckeyes have offered a scholarship to who is highly considering Ohio State, and OL Matt Zahn (6-7, 330, 5.4) from St. Henry High School told me he too has been offered a scholarship by Ohio State. In fact O'Neill and Zahn could become commitments numbers 9 and 10 for Ohio State in the not too distant future. In the case of O'Neill, he tells me he is strongly leaning to Ohio State and could be close to a decision, and on Monday night, Zahn told me that his current top five are Ohio State, Indiana, Penn State, Michigan and Notre Dame. Zahn said that Ohio State and Indiana have offered him a scholarship and it may not be too long before he makes a decision. He indicated that Ohio State is his leader. Zahn did attend the Buckeyes Spring game on Saturday as did RB Jesse Kline. Speaking of players that attended the Buckeyes Spring Game, WR Tyrece Butler (6-4, 195, 4.55) from Indianapolis Decatur Central High School in Indiana was one of the top out-of-state players in attendance at the Buckeyes Spring Game on Saturday. I spoke with Butler on Sunday and he said that he was very impressed with Ohio State. In particular, he mentioned that he likes Ohio State's tradition. As Tyrece put it, "It was cool at Ohio State". Butler says that Ohio State and Indiana remain his top two choices and he may go back to the Ohio State football camp this summer (he attended Ohio State's football camp last summer). Shifting gears, Ohio State was not the only school to have their Spring Game this past weekend. Notre Dame and Penn State, two of the Buckeyes chief rivals in the recruiting wars, also held Spring Games on the 25th. One very, very notable player that attended the Notre Dame Spring Game but is very interested in Ohio State is "Blue-Chip" quarterback Chris Simms from Franklin Lakes Ramapo High School in New Jersey. Chris Simms is the son of former NFL great Phil Simms. Simms (6-5, 210, 4.7), a left-handed quarterback, is arguably the country's top prep QB prospect. Simms told me on Sunday that it was very nice at Notre Dame and he is very interested in the Irish, but he did not commit to the Notre Dame. Simms told me that his current top four, in no particular order, are Ohio State, Penn State, Notre Dame and Michigan. He also mentioned that Florida State would be very close to those four and is interested in Miami (Fl.) as well. Simms has scholarship offers from virtually everyone across the country. Thus far Simms has made unofficial visits to Penn State, Miami, and Notre Dame, and will go to Ohio State's football camp this summer. He also mentioned that he will probably make an unofficial visit to Michigan this summer. Simms did say, though, that he is not close to making a decision. He told me that he is definitely planning to go though the recruiting process and take his official visits. A few other prospects that the Buckeyes are interested in that attended the Notre Dame Spring Game on Saturday are RB Brandon Miree (6-2, 225, 4.5) from Cincinnati Winton Woods High School, DE Matt Birdseye (6-5, 240, 4.8) from Cincinnati Turpin High School, and LB Tim Olmstead (6-5, 245, 4.6) from Kankakee Bishop McNamara High School. Olmstead told me on Sunday that his current top five are Ohio State, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Purdue and Nebraska. Purdue has offered him a scholarship, but he is really hoping that the Buckeyes also offer in the not too distant future. Olmstead and his father went to one early Ohio State Spring practice session which is why he decided to go to the Notre Dame Spring Game instead of the Buckeyes'. However, if the Buckeyes do end up offering him a scholarship, they certainly have a very realistic shot at landing Olmstead as well. Penn State hosted RB Deryck Toles (6-1, 200, 4.5) from Warren Harding High School at their Spring Game Saturday. Toles did not commit to the Nittany Lions, but is still leaning to them. Toles did tell me on Sunday that his decision is pretty much down to Penn State, Notre Dame, Michigan, Northwestern, and Indiana. He said that he will make a decision sometime mid to late May. Toles said that he really is not looking at the Buckeyes any more, perhaps because the Ohio State is in great shape at running back and has not offered him a scholarship. Toles does want to play running back in college rather than DB. April 25th, 1998 The Spring game today turned out to be a huge recruiting day for the Buckeyes. Going into today, the Buckeyes had verbal commitments from RB Kelton Lindsay from Ohio, DB Curtis Crosby from Ohio, DB Michael Doss from Ohio, and QB Craig Krenzel from Michigan. Today at the Spring game, they added four more verbal commitments. Linebacker Fred Pagac Jr. (6-2, 220, 4.6) from Dublin Coffman High School announced a verbal commitment today. Pagac, whom I regard as the number two prospect in the state of Ohio, chose OSU over Notre Dame, Michigan State, Pitt, Duke and many other schools who offered scholarships. Pagac is not a huge surprise, as it seemed only a matter of time until he made a commitment to Ohio State, but it is certainly great news that he now has done so. Two-way lineman Tim Anderson (6-4, 270, 4.95) from Clyde, Ohio also committed to the Buckeyes today. Anderson, whom I regard as the number five prospect in the state, has been heavily leaning to the Buckeyes, though he had told me that he would probably wait awhile longer before committing. However, that is all academic now as Tim Anderson has committed to Ohio State over Purdue, Michigan State and Illinois, all who also had offered, as well as Michigan who had been very interested. A third verbal commitment today came from WR/return man Maurice Lee (5-10, 170, 4.4) from Cleveland South High School. Lee accounted for over 2000 yards of total offense this past season. He is an option type quarterback and return man but will move to wide receiver and probably be a return man at Ohio State. Other schools that Maurice Lee had been interested in include Nebraska, Notre Dame, Michigan and West Virginia. The fourth verbal commitment today came from Matt Wilhelm (6-4, 225, 4.6) form Elyria Catholic High School in Ohio. Wilhelm started as a sophomore at tight end before moving to tailback last season. He rushed for 1200 yards, scored 20 touchdowns and averaged 5.8 yards per carry. Wilhelm had been recruited by just about every school in the Big Ten and had been offered scholarships by Michigan, Michigan State, Indiana, Purdue and Pitt. Wilhelm was recruited by Ohio State as an outside linebacker. With these commitments today, Ohio State not only is off to a great start for this season's recruiting class, but they have a legitimate chance of landing every in-state player they will offer a scholarship to this year. At this point, they have landed seven of the in-state players they have offered, and there is only a handful of other in-state players that they have offered that have not committed. OSU is either the leader or one of the top choices with every one of those other players that they have offered but remain uncommitted. April 24th, 1998 Speaking of Ohioans, RB/DB Deryck Toles (6-1, 200, 4.5) from Warren Harding High School did make and unofficial visit to Notre Dame on Thursday. Toles, as of very late on Thursday night, was not back home from South Bend, and was not due home until approximately 2:00 AM on Friday morning. However, before leaving Notre Dame, Toles called home and spoke with his grandmother. I also spoke with Toles' grandmother late on Thursday night and she indicated that Toles had not committed to the Irish. In fact, she says that he was still planning on making his unofficial visit to Penn State on Saturday to see the Nitanny Lions Spring game. Toles has now made unofficial visits to Penn State, Michigan and West Virginia, as well as Notre Dame. He had previously told me that all of those schools have offered him a scholarship. The other two schools that Toles has told me he is interested in are Ohio State and Northwestern. Toles has been planning to visit Northwestern May 17th and then make a decision by the end of May. Another Ohioan to keep and eye on is DE Matt Birdseye (6-5, 240, 4.8) from Cincinnati Turpin High School. Birdseye is planning to go to Notre Dame's Spring game Saturday. Birdseye tells me that his favorite schools, in no particular order, are Notre Dame, Ohio State, Michigan and Tennessee. None of those schools have offered Birdseye a scholarship at this point. Back to the Buckeyes Spring game. A couple of outstanding out of state prospects that had previously told me that they were going to make it to the game but will not be able to attend are RB/DB Chris Yura (6-1, 190, 4.5) from Morgantown West Virginia and LB Tim Olmstead (6-5, 245, 4.6) from Kankakee Bishop McNamara High School in Illinois. Yura was the West Virginia state player of the year as a Junior. He rushed for 2018 yards and scored 38 touchdowns while also intercepting 2 passes.Yura, who has a 2.9 GPA, has been offered a scholarship by Notre Dame and West Virginia. Those are his two favorites. However, he is also interested in Ohio State and Penn State. Yura had previously told me that he would go to the Ohio State Spring game but since he has been to Ohio State before, now tells me that he will go to Penn State's Spring game instead. However, his interest in Ohio State has not changed. In fact, Yura seems more interested than ever in the Buckeyes. He told me that if Ohio State offers him a scholarship, they would be right up there along with Notre Dame and West Virginia. Yura did say that he wants to make his decision on a college by the end of July. Tim Olmstead, who also had been planning to go to Ohio State's Spring game on Saturday will go to Notre Dame's instead. Olmstead that he decided to see the Irish rather than the Buckeyes this weekend because he made an unofficial visit to Ohio State during one of the Buckeyes' early Spring practices. Thus far Olmstead has made unofficial visits to not only Ohio State, but Michigan, Michigan State and Iowa. He is looking at all of those schools, as well as Notre Dame, Purdue, Illinois, Kentucky and Pitt. Olmstead told me that Purdue, Illinois and Kentucky have offered him as scholarship, but he quickly added he really likes Ohio State and is hoping they offer as well. OL Shane Lehman (6-5, 270, 5.0) from Corona, California is one of the top line prospects in the State of California and is very interested in Ohio State. Lehman, who has a 3.1 GPA says that he has been a Buckeye fan since he was very little. He has Ohio State right at the top of his list, but is also looking at Michigan, UCLA, Colorado, USC and Stanford. Lets now return to our top 25 prospects in the state of Ohio. At number 16 is DL Terrence Dawson (6-5, 280, 5.05) from Warren Harding High School. Dawson is a solid defensive lineman who excels against both the run and rushing the passer. He led the Steel Valley in sacks with 7 last season. Dawson had named Ohio State, Michigan and Indiana as his three favorites, but when the Hoosiers offered him a scholarship, he committed to Indiana. At Number 17 is Ben Timmons (6-5, 250, 5.2) is a fine two-way lineman from Chagrin Falls Kenston High School. He is a two way starter and had over 20 tackles for losses as a junior. However, look for Timmons to play on the offensive line in college. He has a 3.0 GPA. Timmons tells me he will go to the Ohio State football camp, and has the Buckeyes as well as Michigan State as his two favorites. Other schools he is looking at include Kentucky, West Virginia, and Pitt. At number 18 is Ryan Brewer (5-11, 200, 4.45) from Troy High School. Brewer is one of the most productive running backs in the state of Ohio. He gained 800 yards as a freshman, and over 1600 more as a sophomore. As a junior, Brewer gained 2,337 yards and averaged almost 10 yards per carry. He scored 40 times. Brewer has a 3.7 GPA. and indicates that he is looking at most of the schools in the Big Ten, as well as West Virginia, Notre Dame, and some MAC schools. At number 19, Matt Zahn (6-7, 330, 5.4) is an offensive lineman from St. Henry High School is yet another outstanding prospect from the tiny school in Northwest Ohio. Zahn is a mammoth young man who has a chance to be an outstanding offensive guard or tackle in college. He has 2.5 GPA. Zahn has already made a number of unofficial visits, including trips to Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State and Indiana. He is interested in all those schools as well as Purdue. At number 20 is RB/DB Deryk Toles (6-1, 200, 4.5) is yet another outstanding prospect from Warren Harding High School. He played outside linebacker as a sophomore and also played running back as a junior. Toles wants to be a running back in college, and he rushed for 1127 yards and 11 touchdowns this past season. He has a 3.8 GPA. Toles has now made unofficial visits to Penn State, Michigan, West Virginia and Notre Dame. He is looking at all those schools, as well as Northwestern, Ohio State and Indiana. Toles favorite is Penn State, though he will wait until a mid-May visit to Northwestern before making a decision. Toles says that sometime between his visit to Northwestern and the end of May, he will pick a college. At this point, Ohio State has not offered a scholarship. April 14th, 1998 As expected, linebacker Carl Diggs (6-2, 220, 4.65) from Warren Harding High School in Ohio committed to Michigan. Diggs made an unofficial visit with the Wolverines on Saturday and as he told me he was likely to do, he committed to Michigan at that time. The Buckeyes had been interested in Diggs, but had not offered him a scholarship. Diggs had been looking at Michigan, Indiana, West Virginia and Pitt, all of which had offered him a scholarship, as well as Ohio State and Notre Dame. Diggs' teammate, RB/DB Deryck Toles (6-1, 200, 4.5) is in the process of making a number of unofficial visits. Toles has already been to Penn State, West Virginia and Michigan, visiting the Mountaineers this past Monday. All three schools have offered him a scholarship. Toles will visit Notre Dame this Thursday, April 16th. He will go to Penn State again for the Nittany Lions spring game on April 25th, and will visit Northwestern on May 17th. Toles is looking at all of those schools, as well as Ohio State. Most of those schools have offered Toles a scholarship, though the Buckeyes have not. Toles says that he is very heavily leaning to Penn State at this point and will make a commitment to one of those schools shortly after his May 17th visit to Northwestern. Part of the reason that the Buckeyes have not yet offered him a scholarship might be that they already have a commitment from the top running back in the state of Ohio, Kelton Lindsay, and are one of the top two for running back Richard Hall of Cincinnati Wyoming High School. I have Hall as the secondbest running back in Ohio this year. While Toles is also a fine strong safety prospect, he does prefer running back. Speaking of Ohioans, in our last update we looked at my pre-season top 5 prospects in the state of Ohio. Let's now look at prospects 5 through 10. At number 6, I have DB Michael Doss (6-0, 195, 4.5) from Canton McKinley High School. As a sophomoreDoss made 97 tackles and had 7 interceptions from his strong safety position . This past season he made 100 tackles and picked off 5 passes. Doss has a 2.5 GPA and scored a 17 on the ACT. He is one of the Buckeyes four early verbal commitments, having committed to Ohio State in February. The other two schools he had had an interest in were Michigan and Penn State. At number7 is running back Jesse Kline (6-2, 210, 2.5) from Upper Arlington High School. Kline rushed for 2310 yards, averaged 7.8 yards per carry, and scored 33 times this past season. He is in great shape academically with a 3.7 GPA. Kline has been offered a scholarship by Ohio State, as well as some others, and is definitely interested in the Buckeyes. However, Kline is looking at some other schools too including Penn State and Michigan. At number 8 is offensive lineman Adrien Clarke (6-5, 305, 5.2) from Shaker Heights High School. Clarke is the top pure offensive tackle prospect in the state of Ohio. His GPA is just above the 2.0 mark, but he scored an 1100 on the PSAT. Clarke has made unofficial visits to Michigan and Michigan State. He is interested in both of those schools, but also likes Ohio State as well as Nebraska. The Buckeyes have offered Adrien Clarke a scholarship. He would like to go to the Buckeyes spring game, but will probably not be able to make it because of a track meet on the same day. At this point, he does not have any clear-cut leader between his top choices of Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State and Nebraska. At number 9 is RB/FB Brandon Miree (6-2, 225, 4.5) from Cincinnati Winton Woods High School. Miree rushed for 1,343 yards last season, averaged an outstanding 10 yards per carry, and scored 18 times. Miree has an outstanding combination of size and speed (10.8 100 meters) and could play running back, fullback, or even linebacker in college. Miree has a 2.4 GPA. He has been offered a scholarship by Michigan State, Boston College and Pitt, and is looking at those schools as well as Ohio State, Michigan, Notre Dame, Penn State and Tennessee. He says he will try to get to as many spring practice sessions as he can, with Ohio State and Michigan being two of his top priorities for attendance. At number 10 is QB/Athlete Brian Camp (6-2, 225, 4.6) from Dublin Coffman High School. Camp started at linebacker as a sophomore before moving to quarterback last season. He has good size, an excellent arm, and is a fine all-around athlete. Camp passed for close to 1,000 yards last season and rushed for another 600. He has a 4.0 GPA. Camp has been offered a scholarship by Michigan, and has Michigan and Florida as his top two choices. Camp will go to the Florida football camp this summer and if offered a scholarship by Steve Spurier will likely decide between the Gators and the Wolverines. He says that he wants to make his decision shortly after attending that Florida football camp, and definitely intends to decide by the end of June. Other schools that Camp has an interest in include Georgia Tech, Duke, Boston College, Purdue, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Stanford and UCLA. Now moving out-of-state, an outstanding OL that is interested in Ohio State is Robbie Doane (6-7, 270, 4.9) from Coppell, Texas. Doane, who has a 3.6 GPA, was an All-District selection as a freshman for Coppell High School. He will be a four year varsity starter at offensive tackle. Doane also will be a four year varsity starter in baseball (first base/pitcher). However, he does want to go the football route in college. Doane has heard from over 50 schools already, a number of which have offered him a scholarship. Among the schools he has an interest in are Texas, Michigan, Ohio State, Kentucky, SMU, Stanford, Notre Dame and UCLA. At this point he does not have a clear-cut leader. The Buckeyes summer football camps will be held as usual in June. As we get closer to that time, I will be talking to many of the prospects that will be in attendance at the various sessions. One prospect that I spoke to last night that is planning on attending one of those sessions is Maurice Lee (5-10, 170, 4.4) from Cleveland South High School in Ohio. Lee is a fine all-around athlete who is an option type quarterback for South. He rushed for 1030 yards last season and average 11.7 per carry, while also passing for 945 yards. Lee totaled well over 2000 yards of total offense. He tells me that Ohio State, Notre Dame, Nebraska and West Virginia are his favorite schools. Lee has a 3.0 GPA and will attend the first session of the Ohio State camp this summer. April 8th, 1998 The Buckeyes have received verbal commitment number four, the latest coming from QB Craig Krenzel (6-4, 190, 4.85). Krenzel, from Uticca Ford High School in Michigan has selected Ohio State over Michigan State, Boston College, Northwestern, Wisconsin, Stanford, Duke, and others. Krenzel called Ohio State head coach John Cooper on Wednesday and gave him the good news. Krenzel completed 114 of 220 passes (52%) for 1,350 yards. He connected for 10 TDs with 5 interceptions. Krenzel has a 3.7 GPA and is also a starter in basketball and baseball. He made an unofficial visit to Ohio State along with this parents last Friday. However, he waited until today to give the Buckeyes the good news. Krenzel is the top QB prospect in the state of Michigan and one of the best in the Midwest. Attendance at the Buckeye's Junior Recruiting Day on Saturday, April 4th, was held down by the ACT. Saturday morning April 4th was a big ACT testing date, and many prospects both in Ohio and across the country were taking that test. Thus the Buckeyes had approximately a dozen players in attendance at the Junior Recruiting Day. A couple of noteworthy names that were in attendance include DB Curtis Crosby from Columbus Eastmoor who has of course committed to the Buckeyes, as well as TE Aaron Lumpkin from Trotwood-Madison High School. Aaron is the the younger brother of current Buckeye TE John Lumpkin. The Buckeyes have been interested in three fine prospects from Warren Harding High School, though they have not offered any of them a scholarship. It looks like all three are headed elsewhere. One that definitely says he is headed elsewhere is defensive lineman Terrance Dawson (6-4, 280, 5.05). Dawson had Indiana, Ohio State and Michigan as his three favorites, and made unofficial visits to both Michigan and Indiana. The Hoosiers offered a scholarship, and Dawson has now committed to Indiana. One other school that had offered Dawson a scholarship is West Virginia. Another prospect at Warren Harding that the Buckeyes have been interested in is linebacker Carl Diggs (6-2, 220, 4.65). Diggs looks like he will commit to Michigan this weekend. Diggs names Michigan, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Indiana, Pitt and West Virginia as the schools he is most interested in. All of them except for Ohio State and Notre Dame have offered a scholarship. Diggs told me on Tuesday night that he will go to Michigan on Saturday, April 11th to watch the Wolverines practice session. He says the he is almost sure he will commit to Michigan at that point. The third prospect at Warren Harding High School that the Buckeyes have had an interest in is RB/DB Deryck Toles (6-1, 200, 4.5). Toles told me on Tuesday night that he is leaning towards committing to Penn State. Toles names Penn State, Notre Dame, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio State, Northwestern and West Virginia as the schools he is most interested in. He has made unofficial visits to Penn State and Michigan, and will be making an unofficial visit to Notre Dame either on Thursday, April 9th or Thursday April 16th. Toles will also visit West Virginia on Monday, April 13th, and will visit Northwestern sometime in May. He tells me that Penn State has offered a scholarship, and that is his top choice right now. Toles adds that after his visit to Northwestern in May, he then wants to make his decision. Let's look at my current top 5 prospects in the state of Ohio. The number one prospect is running back Kelton Lindsay (6-1, 190, 4.4) from Lebanon, Ohio. Lindsay, who runs a 10.5 100 meters, rushed for 1462 yards as a sophomore, and 2194 yards this past season. He averaged 8.9 yards per carry, and scored 41 touchdowns. Lindsay has of course already committed to Ohio State. My number two prospect in the state of Ohio is linebacker Fred Pagac Jr. (6-2, 220, 4.6) from Dublin Coffman High School. Pagac played for Dublin Scioto High School as a freshman and sophomore before transferring to Coffman High School for his junior season. As a junior he made 114 tackles and had 2 interceptions from his middle linebacker spot. Pagac has a 3.6 GPA. He has been offered a scholarship by Ohio State as well as Notre Dame, Michigan State, Pitt and Duke. He is looking at all those schools as well as Northwestern, Purdue, Kentucky, Florida and perhaps a few others. Pagac's father is Ohio State defensive coordinator Fred Pagac Sr. My number three prospect is DB Curtis Crosby (5-11, 175, 4.4) from Columbus Eastmoor High School. Crosby rushed for more than 1500 yards as a junior, but will be a cornerback at Ohio State. He committed to the Buckeyes in February. Crosby has a 2.5 GPA. My number four prospect in the state of Ohio is running back Richard Hall (5-11, 190, 4.45) from Cincinnati Wyoming High School. Hall is from the same high school as current Buckeye defensive back Ahmed Plummer. Hall rushed for 2200 yards as a sophomore and 2300 yards as a junior. He has a 2.3 GPA and names Ohio State and Michigan as his two favorites. The Buckeyes have offered a scholarship. My number five prospect in Ohio is DL/OL Tim Anderson (6-4, 270, 4.95) from Clyde High School in Clyde, Ohio. Anderson could play on either side of the ball in college, but the Buckeyes seem to be recruiting him a little bit more for defense. Ohio State has offered Tim Anderson a scholarship. He has a 2.5 GPA and was 46-0 as a heavyweight wrestler and won the Division II state championship. Anderson's three favorite schools are Ohio State and Illinois, who have both offered scholarships, as well as Michigan. He is not sure at this point when he will make a decision, but does say that he might go to football camps at Ohio State and Michigan this summer to get a better look at both programs. April 2nd, 1998 One of the Midwest's finest quarterback prospects will be leaving on Thursday night for an unofficial visit to Ohio State. Craig Krenzel (6-4, 195, 4.85) from Utica Ford High School in Michigan will be visiting the Buckeyes. Krenzel will leave on Thursday evening for Ohio State and watch the Buckeyes' Friday spring practice session. Krenzel complete 114 of 220 passes as a junior (52%) for 1350 yards. He connected for 10 touchdowns with 5 interceptions. Krenzel is a drop-back type quarterback who has been offered a scholarship by Ohio State, Michigan State, Boston College and Duke. Krenzel is interested in those 4, as well as Northwestern, Wisconsin and Stanford, but he says that Ohio State and Michigan State are his top two choices. Krenzel will be leaving Columbus Friday night so he can get back to Michigan and take the ACT on Saturday morning. As to whether Krenzel might commit to the Buckeyes while in Columbus, he does not rule out that possibility. Krenzel tells me that he definitely plans to make a decision by the start of his senior season, and all indications point to him selecting either the Buckeyes or the Spartans. Another player that Ohio State has now offered a scholarship to is lineman Adrien Clarke (6-5, 305, 5.20 from Shaker Heights High School in Ohio. Clarke, who was a teammate last season of OSU signee Nate Clements, is the top offensive line prospect in the state of Ohio. Clark told me on Wednesday night that Ohio State has joined Michigan State in offering him a scholarship. Clarke says that his top four choices remain Ohio State, Michigan State, Michigan and Nebraska. He has been invited to Ohio State's spring practice sessions and spring game, but he is not sure if will be able to make it down to Columbus. He did say that he has a track meet the same day as the Buckeye spring game, so he will not likely be able to take in the game. Yet another player from Ohio that the Buckeyes have offered a scholarship to is linebacker Pat O'Neill (6-4, 215, 4.7) from Cuyahoga Falls Walsh Jesuit High School. O'Neill made 90 tackles, including 5 sacks, from his inside linebacker position this past season. He has a 2.3 GPA. O'Neill told me on Wednesday night that Ohio State, Pitt and Bowling Green have offered him a scholarship. He is interested in those three as well as Michigan and Florida State. O'Neill, however, said that he is leaning very heavily to Ohio State, and might go to the Buckeyes spring game. He also added that he is very seriously considering committing to Ohio State in the not too distant future, but is not quite sure just yet. I rate O'Neill as the second best linebacker in the state of Ohio behind only Fred Pagac Jr. The Buckeyes have now offered scholarships to the following players from the state of Ohio.
The Buckeyes will be having a junior recruiting day on Saturday afternoon as a number of fine prospects will be in attendance to watch spring practice that day. Attendance will be held down a bit because Saturday morning is an ACT testing date, and many prospects unfortunately will not be able to make it to Columbus because they will be taking the test. Now moving out-of-state, two outstanding prospects from Ft. Thomas High Highlands School in Kentucky that the Buckeyes are interested in are tight end Derek Smith (6-6, 235, 4.7) and quarterback Jared Lorenzen (6-4, 235, 4.75). I spoke to both Smith and Lorenzen, and both are very interested in the Buckeyes. Smith caught 38 passes this past season and averaged 23.4 yards per catch. He also averaged 20 points and 10 rebounds per game in basketball, and is not sure which sport he will play in college. When I spoke with Smith again on Wednesday night, he told me that for football, Ohio State and Kentucky are his top two choices. He is also looking at Penn State, Michigan and Florida State at this point. For basketball, his top two choices are Kentucky and Xavier, though he is also looking at Georgia, South Carolina, Northwestern and Vanderbilt. Smith had hoped to go to the Buckeyes spring game, but he has a prom that night so he will not be able to make it. Jared Lorenzen tells me that his top four choices are Ohio State, Michigan, Kentucky and Tennessee. He is going to go to a Kentucky spring practice session and might make it up to Columbus for an Ohio State spring practice session. Lorenzen passed for 2746 yards this past season, completing 58% of his passes. He connected for 37 touchdowns, with 12 interceptions. |