May 30,
2001
Super quarterback Justin
Zwick from Massillon Washington High School,
6-4, 205, who is one of the country's top QB
prospects is going to formally announce a decision at
noon today. Zwick is expected to announce that he has
committed to Ohio State, picking Ohio State over
Michigan as well as Tennessee and Miami, all of whom
also offered a scholarship. Zwick's press conference
is slated for 12:00 noon. Zwick is the top
quarterback prospect to come out of the state of Ohio
since Art Schlister. He has excellent size, a good
arm, makes plays and is very productive. He is also
an outstanding student with a 3.9 GPA and a 23 on the
ACT. He is already the most prolific quarterback ever
in the state of Ohio as he has already set the career
state passing mark with over 7,000 passing yards
going in to his senior season. He has a been a
varsity starter since his freshman season when he
helped lead Orrville to a state championship.
The Buckeyes
already have a verbal commitment from Maurice
Clarret, and if they could land a commitment
from linebacker Mike D'Andrea 6-3,
230, from Avon Lake, then the Buckeyes would have
swept the top three prospects in the state of Ohio. I
spoke very recently with his father, Bob, and he said
that Mike and Justin Zwick have spoken on the phone a
number of times. When asked what effect Zwick's
expected announcement for Ohio State might have on
his son, Mr. D'Andrea said that Mike is pretty much
his own guy, and is right now just focusing on the
state track meet this weekend where he will try to
win a state championship in both the shot and discus.
He said he thinks his son will make his own decision
in his own time frame, but he also said it is
important for Mike to go someplace where they're
bringing a very good class, and it certainly seems
like Ohio State is doing that. He mentioned that Mike
wants to find out who the Ohio State strength coach
is going to be, that that would be important in
Mike's decision as will the linebacker coach at the
school he chooses. He also mentioned that his son
does like Coach Jim Tressel. D'Andrea is looking at
Ohio State, Penn State, Nebraska, Michigan, Notre
Dame, and Michigan State and all have offered
scholarships. As far as reports that Mike might be
leaning toward Michigan or Nebraska, Bob said he
doesn't think the is leaning to anyone, and that he
as parent doesn't even know where he might be leaning
but as far as he could tell, Mike is not leaning
toward any school right now. He did say that Mike
really enjoyed his trip to Ohio State and reiterated
that he likes Coach Tressel as well as assistant
coaches Tucker and Snyder.
A couple of
prospects from the South that the Buckeyes are
interested in are RB Gerald Riggs
from Chattanooga Red Banks High School in Tennessee
and LB Ahmad Brooks from Woodbridge
Hilton High School in Virginia. Riggs, 6-0, 220, has
been a varsity starter for his school since his
freshman season when he played free safety. He has
played running back the past two seasons and as a
junior rushed for 2,437 yards, averaging 10 yards per
carry and scoring 39 times. As a sophomore, he rushed
for 1,700 yards. Riggs has a nice combination of
power and speed. He is the son of Gerald Riggs Sr.
who played for Arizona State. Gerald Jr. told me that
Tennessee, Michigan and Florida have already offered
him a scholarship. He is looking at those three, as
well as Nebraska and Florida State and said that he
is receiving mail from Ohio State as well. He says he
doesn't have a favorite right now and plans to make
official visits before choosing a college. Brooks
6-3, 230, 4.5 started at linebacker and wide receiver
as a sophomore, making 202 tackles including six
sacks. He missed his junior season, however, when he
fractured his ankle in the first pre-season
scrimmage. He is healthy now and ready for a big year
from his middle linebacker spot. He has a 2.6 GPA and
told me that Florida State, Virginia Tech and
Virginia have all offered him a scholarship, and he
is looking at those schools as well as Tennessee. He
added that he plans to check out some schools outside
the South, mentioning Michigan State, and Notre Dame.
He said Pitt and West Virginia have offered him a
scholarship and that Ohio State and Michigan are
recruiting him as well.
Also in Virginia, a
great prospect that the Buckeyes have offered a
scholarship to is DL Jonathan Lewis
6-3, 285 from Richmond Verina High School. He is a
defensive tackle who runs a 4.8 40. He has been a
varsity starter since his freshman season. Lewis has
a 3.0 GPA and made 101 tackles including 11 sacks the
past season. He led his school to an 11-2 record. He
says that Virginia Tech, Virginia, Florida State,
Penn State, Miami, Florida, Ohio State, Michigan
State, Michigan and Notre Dame have all offered him a
scholarship and he says he has an interest in all of
those schools. He said he will start visiting some
schools in September, and that it really doesn't
matter to him whether he stays in the South to play
his college football or not.
Darnell
Hood, 6-0, 185, and Deshawn Wynn
6-0, 215, 4.35 are two running backs to whom the
Buckeyes have offered a scholarship.
Hood is from Harper
Woods Bishop Gallegher High School in Michigan and
attended the OSU spring game. He has a 2.7 GPA and
has a been a varsity starter since his freshman
season when he rushed for over 1,000 yards. As a
sophomore he rushed for 1,382 yards and scored 24
times. This past season he rushed for close to 1,000
yards. Hood told me recently that he liked it at the
OSU spring game and that Coach Dantonio showed him
around after the game and he was impressed. Hood also
attended the spring game at Michigan. Hood is looking
at OSU, Vanderbilt, Notre Dame, Wisconsin, Purdue,
Michigan and Michigan State. He added that all of the
schools except for Notre Dame and Michigan have
already offered him a scholarship. He hopes to narrow
his list down to five schools or fewer by September
but plans to wait on making a college decision until
he takes official visits. He says he has been to Ohio
State, Michigan and Michigan state and wants to see a
few other schools including Bowling Green who has
also offered him a scholarship.
Wynn is from
Cincinnati Reading High School. He rushed for 2, 116
yards and scored 30 times this past season in ten
games. He sat out four games after transferring from
Lockland High School. At Lockland as freshman scored
36 times, but missed most of his sophomore season
there because of an achilles tendon injury. He says
is looking at a lot of schools and has been offered
scholarship by Michigan, Ohio State, Tennessee,
Florida, Miami, Florida State, Boston College, South
Carolina, Pitt and Cincinnati. He says he will wait
until after his senior season to make a decision on
his college. He said some of his favorites would be
Tennessee, Michigan, Notre Dame, Florida, and Miami,
and added that Ohio State could be one of his
favorites as well.
Eric
Tolbert 6-4, 290, from Shaker Heights High
School is an OL that likes Ohio State. He is from the
same high school as current Buckeye Adrien Clarke and
told me recently that the three schools he is most
interested in right now are Ohio State, Akron and
Wisconsin. He attended spring games at OSU and Akron,
and that OSU is his current favorite. He had planned
on attending OSU's summer camp this summer but had to
cancel because he will be attending summer school.
LB/RB Kyle
Cathcart 6-1, 210, 4.5 a fine athlete from
Clarion Pennsylvania, is interested in the Buckeyes
and plans on going to the Buckeyes' football camp
this summer. He has been a varsity starter on both
sides of the ball since his freshman season. He
played slot back and linebacker that year, and in the
past two seasons has started at running back and
linebacker. He was his team's leading tackler last
season and also rushed for over 1,000 yards. He is a
two-time state champion in wrestling and is on the
Clarion state-qualifying 4 x 100 relay team. He has a
3.6 GPA and is interested in Ohio State, Pitt, Penn
State, Buffalo, Maryland, Boston College and West
Virginia and will probably camp at Ohio State and
Pitt this summer and possibly Penn State and
Buffallo.
Offensive line is a
huge priority for this season's Buckeye recruiting
class. OSU is hoping to get good word from Kyle
Ralph, from Cincinnati St. Xavier High
School He hopes to make his decision in mid-June.
Out-of-state, offensive lineman Adam Tidisch
6-7, 340, from Wisconsin is interested in Ohio State.
He has a 2.3 GPA and starts at tackle on both sides
of the ball but will be an offensive lineman in
college. He says that he likes Wisconsin, Ohio State,
Iowa, Michigan State, Illinois and the Big Ten in
general. Ohio State has not offered him a
scholarship. In Indiana, Omar Murphy
6-3, 315, is an offensive guard from Indianapolis
that is also interested in OSU. He has started at
guard the past two seasons and also will play
defensive tackle as a senior. He has a 2.4 GPA and
says that OSU has been at his school during the
recruiting period this spring and that he likes Ohio
State, Michigan, Notre Dame, Florida State and
Norfolk State. OSU has not offered him a scholarship.
LB/RB Bobby
Carpenter from Lancaster will be one of the
top prospects in the state of Ohio. The Buckeyes
offered him a scholarship long ago and he is still
very much considering OSU but the departure of
strength coach Dave Kennedy won't make the job any
easier for Ohio State to land him. He has already
qualified academically and now has scholarship offers
from Ohio State, Northwestern, Wake Forrest, Michigan
State, West Virginia and Miami of Ohio. He had
previously said that OSU was his probably his
favorite, however, he now says that he likes Ohio
State but it's tough to say exactly who his favorite
is now. He said Notre Dame and Northwestern are up
there now too, and Michigan State is as well. In
fact, he said, Notre Dame and Northwestern might have
a slight edge because he really likes coach Kennedy
and Kennedy's departure has affected him a lot. He
did emphasize that he is very much considering Ohio
State and will probably will not make a decision
until after the season. He also mentioned Tennessee
as a school on his list now.
OSU contuse its
pursuit of DE Tim Schaffer 6-5, 245,
4.9 of Upper Arlington. He is another top Ohioan that
the Buckeyes have offered a scholarship. Schaffer now
says he has offers from Ohio State as well as Boston
College, Northwestern, Michigan, Notre Dame, West
Virginia, South Carolina and Louisville. He says he
is pretty much considering all of those schools, but
that OSU is probably his leader with Michigan, Notre
Dame and Georgia Tech as well as Notre Dame and
Boston College up there on his list as well. He did
say he would not decide in the next few weeks but
added that he would try to decide before the start of
his senior season. He will attend OSU's football camp
this summer and plans to go to a day of camp at Notre
Dame, West Virginia, Michigan, South Carolina and
maybe Georgia Tech.
DB Tyler
Everett from Canton McKinley High School
told me recently that he is still considering a
number of schools. He is looking at Ohio State and
Florida State, and that Indiana is a new one that he
is interested in. He is also interested in Michigan
State, Michigan, Minnesota and Tennessee. He said
that OSU has offered him a scholarship in writing
while Indiana has offered him over the phone. OSU is
recruiting him as DB while Indiana is recruiting him
as a running back. He is not sure when he will
decide, and says that OSU is somewhat his favorite,
but Florida State, Michigan and Indiana would all be
in there now too. He plans to camp at only OSU this
summer.
May 18,
2001
Defensive end Joel
Penton from Van Wert High School in Van
Wert, Ohio announced a verbal commitment to Ohio
State on Thursday. Penton called OSU Head Coach Jim
Tressel at noon on Thursday and verbally committed to
OSU. Penton is a 6-5, 245 pounder who runs a 4.8 40.
He helped lead Van Wert to the state championship
game this past season, making 138 tackles including
11 sacks. Penton is also an outstanding student with
a 3.8 GPA and a 26 on the ACT. Head Coach Jim Tressel
and Assistant Coach Joe Daniels were on their way to
a clinic in Toledo on Wednesday and stopped at Van
Wert High School and offered Penton a scholarship.
Penton did not immediately commit, but did so the
next day. Penton told me that when he talked to
Tressel, that Tressel seemed very pleased as was
happy that Penton was so sure of where he wants to
go. Penton says that he is an Ohio boy, has grown up
in Ohio and it's always been his biggest dream to
play for Ohio State. Penton started on the varsity at
tight end as a freshman, then started at defensive
end and tight end as a sophomore. This past season he
started at defensive end and offensive guard. Penton
will be a defensive end in college. He is very tough
to block and does not stay blocked long. Wake Forrest
and all the MAC schools had offered him a scholarship
and Illinois had indicated that they too would offer
if Penton visited there, and Michigan State and
Purdue had been showing quite a bit of interest
lately as well. Penton's commitment brings to two the
number of commitments the Buckeyes now have. Warren
Harding running Maurice Clarret (6-1, 230) is also
committed to OSU.
With Penton in the
fold, another DE the Buckeyes would love to add is Tim
Schaffer from Upper Arlington High Schools.
He is a 6-5, 245 pounder who played the DE spot
opposite Ohio State signee Simon Fraser. OSU has
offered him a scholarship and is considering the
Buckeyes, but he is also looking at a number of other
schools as well, including Florida State, Florida,
Miami, Michigan, Notre Dame, Boston College and
Northwestern. Ohio State, Boston College and
Northwestern have offered him a scholarship.
Speaking of
defensive ends, Roman Fry from
Ironton, Ohio is a 6-4, 245 pounder who now has six
scholarship offers on the table. Clemson, West
Virginia, Indiana, Wake Forrest, Akron and Ohio U
have now offered him a scholarship. Fry said he is
also looking at Ohio State and Notre Dame. Fry said
that Ohio State, Indiana, Notre Dame and Clemson
would be his top choices. Fry intends to take some
official visits before picking a college.
The Buckeyes
certainly are very interested in QB Tyler
Palko (6-2, 205) from West Allegheny
Pennsylvania. Palko is one of the top QB prospects in
the country. Palko has been a varsity starter since
his freshman season when he threw for 700 yards and
completed 61% of his passes as a junior for 1,440
yards. He is going to wait until early summer before
narrowing his list of colleges. Palko is coach by his
father, Bob, who is the head coach at West Allegheny.
Palko has mentioned Penn State, Pitt, Ohio State,
Wisconsin, Michigan, Iowa, LSU, Michigan State,
Oklahoma, Notre Dame, Miami, Florida State, and
others. Virtually all of those schools have offered
him as scholarship.
Also in
Pennsylvania, DL Ryan Kahanick from
Scranton West Scranton High School is a 6-4, 295
pounder who tells me he is interested in the
Buckeyes. He made 30 tackles including nine sacks on
an 8-3 team this past season. He is very strong,
bench pressing over 300 pounds and has a 2.5 GPA. He
is looking at Penn State, Ohio State, Wisconsin and
Virginia. He said that right now, Wisconsin would be
his favorite.
A fine lineman from
the state of Georgia who has an interest in Ohio
State is Kedrick Gohlstin. He is
from Sandy Creek, Georgia and is a 6-4, 280 pound
lineman who played defensive tackle as a junior but
has played defensive end. He could play either tackle
or end in college. As a junior he made 83 tackles
including 12 sacks. He has a 2.8 GPA. He is looking
at Florida State, LSU, Auburn, Florida, Georgia Tech
and Texas A&M and all of those schools have
offered him a scholarship. He did say that he would
take one or two of his official visits up north and
the three schools he mentioned were Michigan, Penn
State and Ohio State. None of those three schools
have offered him a scholarship to this point. He
added that it will be difficult to get him out of the
South.
On the East Coast
in New Jeresy, a fine defensive lineman that is
interested in Ohio State is Octavius Buggs
from Patterson Eastside High School. He is a 6-4, 280
pounder with 4.95 40 speed. He has been a two-way
varsity starter since his freshman season. He has
played defensive tackle, defensive end, offensive
tackle and offensive guard. Buggs says that he would
prefer to play defensive end in college. He has a 2.8
GPA and told me that he is looking at Maryland,
Virginia, Iowa, Miami and Ohio State, and that all of
those schools are in contact though none have offered
him a scholarship as yet.
May 4, 2001
An outstanding out of state prospect who visited
Ohio State during its spring practice sessions and
has been offered a scholarship by the Buckeyes is
Berkley Hutchinson. He is from Long Branch,
NJ, 6-3, 235 and runs a 4.55 40. He has been a
varsity starter since his freshman season when he
played DB. He played WR and DE as a sophomore and QB
and OLB as a junior. Hutchinson could play LB or SS
or a combination of the two in college. He has 2.8
GPA and made over 100 tackles last year including
five sacks. At QB he passed for more than 1,100 yards
and rushed for another 700 yards. He attended the OSU
junior day to observe the scrimmage and he said that
he had a good time. He did say he likes a few other
schools better than OSU right now. Hutchinson said
Rutgers, Pitt, Penn State, Ga. Tech and probably
Virginia would be ahead of OSU. But he said he might
consider Ohio State as well. He said he had
scholarship offers on the table from OSU, Syracuse,
Iowa, Penn State, Virginia, Boston College, Rutgers
and Ga. Tech. He said it's probably between Rutgers
and Pitt who also has offered him a scholarship.
Another prospect from NJ that has an interest in
OSU is Jim Elliot, an OL from
Basking Ridge, NJ. He is 6-5, 280 with 5.1 40 speed.
Elliot starts at both OT and DE but will be an OL in
college. He has a 2.75 GPA and says that he is
looking at OSU. He said that he was at OSU for a
visit about a year ago. He said that his number one
school right now would be Virginia. He is also
looking at Wake Forest, Boston College, Michigan,
Penn State and Michigan State.
WR Ian Firestone from West Lawn
Wilson High School in Pennsylvania is an outstanding
prospect and the Buckeyes were at his school on
Wednesday. He is a 6-2, 180 WR with 4.4 40 speed. He
has been a varsity starter since his freshman season.
Firestone has a 3.5 GPA and caught 40 passes for 475
yards and scored five times last year. For his career
he caught 102 passes. Firestone attended spring games
at Notre Dame and Virginia. He said that the ND
spring game was great. He said he grew up with Notre
Dame and ND has always been a dream of his. He said
that his top five would probably be ND, Virginia,
Georgia, Michigan and Miami with ND the favorite. He
said that he is interested in other schools as well
and mentioned that coaches from Ohio State, Michigan,
Ga. Tech and Connecticut were at his school
yesterday. He said that Virginia, Duke and ND have
offered him a scholarship. The ND offer is contingent
on clearance by the ND admissions department which
should be no problem he said.
The Buckeye coaches are out on the road
recruiting. They are visiting high schools in Ohio
and across the nation as they prepare what they hope
is another great OSU recruiting class. One Buckeye
assistant that's not out on the road, not all can be
on the road at the same time, is Mel Tucker. He is
off the road this week but he will be out soon.
One prospect OSU would love to land is DL
Quinn Pitcock from Piqua, OH. The 6-4, 285
prospect has a 4.9 40 and is one of the top DLs in
the Midwest. Pitcock has a 3.5 GPA but he wants to
improve his ACT score and will take the test again in
June. He led his team to a 12-3 record last year
where they lost in the state championship game.
Pitcock tells me he was not able to make it to any
spring practices or spring games. He said he is
currently looking at OSU, Vanderbilt, Northwestern,
Pitt perhaps a Florida school and Duke. He said OSU,
Vanderbilt, Northwestern and Pitt have offered
scholarships but he said OSU is his leader. However
Pitcock did say he didn't think he was going to make
a decision in the near future. He said that he is
planning to go through the recruiting process and
doesn't plan to make a decision on his college before
the start of the season.
Moving from Ohio to California, a fine DB is
interested in Ohio State. Darnell Bing,
from Long Beach Poly High School is a 6-3, 210 with
4.5 40 speed. He is a SS at the same high school that
Ken-Yon Rambo attended. Bing made 68 tackles last
year as he helped his team to a 14-0 record. Bing,
who has a 2.3 GPA tells me that he is looking at USC,
Oregon, Washington, Ohio State and Texas A&M. He
said those are really the main schools he's
interested in right now. USC has offered a
scholarship. He said he got interested in the
Buckeyes because Rambo's cousin is a friend of his
and talks a lot about OSU.
Earlier this week, I did the most difficult
television interview I have done. I spoke of Drushaun
Humphrey who died from a heart attack while
playing basketball. Drushaun had committed to Ohio
State. The 6-3, 240 from Toledo Rogers High School
was without question one of the top RB prospects in
the country. Humphrey had a spectacular performance
at the OSU football camp last summer and he was
offered a scholarship contingent on his qualifying
academically and committed to OSU at that time. I
spoke with Dru on April 23 and he told me he was
still committed to OSU as long as he would get a
chance to play RB for the Buckeyes. That was his
dream, to play RB for Ohio State but unfortunately
that dream is lost with Drushaun's untimely death.
DE Joel Penton from Van Wert, OH
is 6-5, 235 with 4.8 40 speed is interested in OSU.
Joel Penton has a 3.8 GPA and a 26 on the ACT. He has
been a varsity starter for Van Wert since his
freshman year. He helped lead his team to the
playoffs last year as he made 138 tackles including
11 sacks. Penton was at the OSU scrimmage on junior
day and he told me last night that he liked it a lot.
He said "I pretty much liked everything about
OSU." He also is planning to make it back to
Ohio State for a visit on May 6. Penton has visited
Northwestern for a spring practice session and he has
offers from Wake Forest, Miami Ohio and Ball State.
He said that OSU, Northwestern and Wake Forest are
the schools he is definitely interested in.
Moving to the state of Michigan, 6-6, 230 Kevin
Murphy from Grand Rapids Forest Hills
Central High School is a fine TE prospect. He will be
one of the top prospects in Michigan. He caught 18
passes for 25 YPC and scored five times last year. He
has a 2.8 GPA and told me last night that he did not
get to go to any spring games because he has been so
busy. He did make it to one spring practice at
Michigan. He said that he is considering Michigan,
Purdue, Ohio State, Penn State and Notre Dame. He
said that Friday a coach from Michigan and a coach
from Purdue were both at his school. Murphy said that
Michigan is his favorite but neither UM nor OSU has
offered a scholarship.
The Buckeyes had an excellent group of recruits in
attendance at their spring game on Saturday. One of
the prospects was RB Tony Franklin
from Bedford Chanel High School. The 5-11, 175
Franklin, who runs a 4.4 40, will be one of the top
RB prospects in the state of Ohio this year. It is a
very good year for RB talent in Ohio. He told me that
it was nice at the OSU spring game. He said that he
got watch the game up close on the sidelines and he
got speak with the OSU coaches. He said he was very
impressed with everything he saw. Franklin said he
was supposed to go to Ga. Tech for a visit but could
not make it because of a track meet. OSU is the only
school he has visited. He said he likes OSU, Ga.
Tech, Pitt and Michigan. The Buckeyes have not
offered Franklin a scholarship.
Another fine RB from Ohio who was at the spring
game was Sean Miller from Solon.
Miller is a 5-11, 205 RB who runs a 4.45 40. He
rushed for close to 1,100 yards and averaged seven
YPC leading Solon to the big school state
championship game which they lost to Upper Arlington.
It was Solon's only loss of the season. Miller told
me that he liked it at OSU. He said OSU and Michigan
are two schools he is definitely interested in. His
only scholarship offer at this point is from Duke. He
also mentioned an interest in Wisconsin but he said
he is keeping his options open.
Speaking of RBs in Ohio, Eric Phillips
from Hilliard Davidson did not make it to the OSU
spring game but he told me on Sunday he is interested
in OSU. He said that the only visit he has made to a
spring game is Ohio U. He said he did visit Penn
State a couple of weeks ago and he has previously
visited OSU and Michigan. Phillips said that right
now he is just going with the flow. There is no
particular leader. Phillips said that he is supposed
to go to the Michigan camp this summer. Phillips is a
5-10, 205 RB who rushed for 1,000 yards as a
sophomore and almost 2,000 his junior year.
OL Doug Dadish from Warren
Howland High School is the top OL prospect in Ohio.
Dadish was among the many prospects at the OSU spring
game. The 6-5, 285 Dadish continues to consider the
Buckeyes very highly but he did not commit Saturday.
He has offers from OSU, Michigan and Colorado. He
also is looking at Nebraska and Miami. He said that
he doesn't have a strong leader at this point. I tend
to think the Bucks have as good a shot as anyone,
perhaps better, at landing Dadish. His father, Mike
Dadish, was on the OSU team from 1973 to 1976. Dadish
says that he is planning to go through the recruiting
process and take official visits.
Another lineman at the OSU game Saturday who OSU
has offered is Eric Fritz from
Dublin Coffman. The 6-5, 300 Fritz is the son of
former OSU OL Ken Fritz. Like Dadish, Fritz did not
commit to OSU Saturday even though OSU offered Fritz
at the OSU-Michigan game last year. Fritz continues
to consider OSU as well as Pitt and Michigan. Fritz
said he is not close to making a decision. He will
take all his official visits before committing.
Yet another OL at the OSU spring game was Rob
Simms, 6-4, 290 from Macedonia Nordonia High
School. Simms, who the son of former Cleveland Brown
Robert Simms, has been a varsity starter at guard
since his sophomore season. Simms tells me that he
now has offers from Duke, Pitt, Kent and Bowling
Green. He said S. Carolina is supposed to offer him
soon. He said that even though Kent and BG have
offered him, he doesn't see himself ending up in the
MAC although he said you never know. Simms told me
that he is obviously interested in OSU and he likes
Michigan and Wisconsin as well. He does not seem
close to making a decision. I think he wants to wait
and see what happens with schools such as OSU,
Michigan and Wisconsin as to whether they will offer
him a scholarship or not.
Justin Zwick the super QB from
Massillon Washington was one of the many other
prospects at the OSU spring game. The 6-41/2, 205 QB
from Massillon Washington was accompanied by his
family including his father and his brother who
played for Jim Tressel at YSU. Certainly Zwick is a
high priority for the Buckeyes to sign this year.
Another player the Bucks have offered a
scholarship to is TE George Cooper from
Westerville North.
DB Tyler Everett from Canton
McKinley confirmed to me previously that OSU had
offered him a scholarship and he attended the OSU
spring game as well.
Moving back to the QB position Denane
Dickson from E. Cleveland Shaw, 6-3, 205,
was at the game. OSU has not offered him but
certainly he is a fine prospect. He said that OSU is
his favorite school.
FB Scott Moody from Westerville
North, was at the game as was WR Jimmy Riley
from Youngstown Ursaline. WR Reggie Corner
a teammate of Tyler Everett at
Canton McKinley was at the game and another WR, Tony
Hoskins from Columbus Northland attended the
game.
Moving to the OL, Rick McDole
from Marysville is a huge player whose stock is on
the rise. He attended the game at Crew Stadium. He is
a name to keep in mind
Eric Tolbert is yet another OL
that made it to the spring game. He is from Shaker
Heights. He is 6-4, 290.
Tyler Toombs, 6-5, 345 from
Waverly and Eric Clackson, 6-8, 320
from Lakewood St. Edward were two more OLs at the
game.
Moving to the defensive side of the ball, Jay
Richardson from Dublin Scioto, 6-5, 240 who
has an offer from Pitt was at the game Saturday. LB Antonio
Reynolds, 6-4, 215 from Akron Buchtel
attended.
Staying at LB, A.J. Hawk from
Centerville, was at the game. From the defensive
backfield, E.J. Underwood from
Hamilton, who did very well at the Purdue Nike camp
last weekend, was in attendance.
Jeff Burns from Dayton Carroll
was another DB at the spring game as well as John
Bowie form Columbus Northland.
One of the top prospects from Michigan was at the
game. Darnell Hood, RB, from Harbor
Woods Bishop Gallegher is a fine prospect who is
considering not only OSU but also the Michigan
schools and some others. Also making the trip to the
game, from PA, Brandon Hall, 6-3, 215 from Oil City
High School. He's a QB/DB prospect.
Another prospect the Bucks have offered and have a
good chance of landing is TE R.J. Coleman
from Clarksburg Bird High School in W.Va. A 6-6, 265
TE with 4.8 40 speed, Coleman went to the OSU-Fresno
State game last year. He went to the OSU junior
recruiting day two weeks ago and watched the OSU
scrimmage. Coleman was offered a scholarship by OSU.
He has a 3.4 GPA and had 13 catches averaging almost
29 YPC. He scored five TDs. He now has offers from
OSU, W.Va., Wisconsin, Northwestern and Va. Tech. I
think the Buckeyes have a pretty decent shot at
landing Coleman.
The Bucks were hoping that WR Roy Hall from
Lyndhurst could make it to the spring game. Hall,
6-3, 200, is the top WR prospect in Ohio. He went to
the Michigan Nike camp last week and might go to the
OSU spring game but it's not a certainty.
QB Jimmy Skinner from
Chillicothe, 6-5, 190, who the Bucks are interested
in, told me that he was planning to go to the spring
game but he said that it may conflict with his prom.
Skinner said that Michigan contacted his coach
yesterday and the Wolverines want him to visit. He is
a fine QB prospect and the Bucks are definitely
interested but Justin Zwick is at the top of that
list.
A fine prospect that recently visited OSU, Tim
Shaw from Livonia Clarenceville High School
in Michigan, is 6-1, 217 with 4.4 40 speed. Shaw
starts at both RB and LB. As a junior he rushed for
2,552 yard and scored 48 TDs. On defense he made 95
tackles including nine sacks and had four INTs. He
has been a varsity starter since his freshman year.
He has a 3.8 GPA and he was very impressive at the
Nike Michigan camp. Shaw told me that he went to UM's
spring game, a Toledo spring practice and has visited
MSU, Indiana and also visited OSU last Friday. Shaw
said that he is looking at all of those schools as
well as Nebraska and Florida. None of those schools
have offered a scholarship but with his impressive
showing at the Nike camp I wouldn't be surprised if
some offers don't come in for Shaw.
April 24,
2001
Linebacker James
Davenport (6-4, 225) from Lima Senior High
School in Ohio was one of the many prospects who
attended junior recruiting day the Saturday of OSU's
scrimmage during spring practice. Davenport will be
one of the top prospects in the state of Ohio this
coming season and certainly is a player that the
Buckeyes are interested in landing. He has a 2.4 GPA
and has been a varsity starter since his freshman
season. Davenport could play outside or inside
linebacker in college and is interested in Ohio State
as well as Michigan, Pitt, Penn State and Miami.
Davenport will attend camps at OSU and Pitt this
summer and may attend Penn State and Michigan camps
as well. His teammates, LB Brian Andrews (6-6,
215), and defensive back/running
back Jeramy Wright are two more
players on the Lima Senior roster the Buckeyes are
interested in as well, however, Andrews and Wright
went to Michigan on Saturday to attend the Nike
training camp in Ann Arbor. Andrews said the camp
went pretty well and he learned some things that he
really hadn't know before and that overall, it was a
good experience. He did say that he is planning to go
to Ohio State's spring game this coming weekend.
Andrews said he is interested in a number of schools,
including Ohio State and Michigan. He says that Ohio
State, Purdue and Michigan State have offered him a
scholarship and the Wolverines have told him that
they want him as well but he is not particularly
close to making a decision. Wright is a 5-10, 180
pounder who has been a varsity starter since his
freshman season. Wright has played both RB and DB but
is being recruited a little bit more as a DB. Wright
told me that he thought the Nike camp was OK and was
pretty informative. He also said that he is
interested in going to the OSU spring game this
weekend, but he is not sure he can make it because
his prom is this weekend plus he has a baseball game
as well.
RB Deshawn
Wynn (6-0, 215) from Cincinnati Reading High
School is a very talented prospect and one of the top
running backs in the state of Ohio this coming
season. Wynn told me that he will try and make to
OSU's spring game this weekend. Wynn visited Pitt's
spring game a couple of weekends ago and he also has
been to West Virginia's spring game. He says that he
has been invited to OSU's spring game this weekend
and will probably make it up to Columbus. He says he
is open-minded on his college choice and that West
Virginia as well as Pitt, Miami of Ohio and
Cincinnati have all offered him a scholarship thus
far. He is also looking at Ohio State, Penn State,
South Carolina, Northwestern, Nebraska, Michigan,
Tennessee, Illinois and Notre Dame.
OL Mark
Farris (6-6, 280) was on hand for OSU's
junior recruiting day last Saturday, and Farris is is
one of the top offensive line prospects this season
in the state of Pennsylvania. Farris is from
Pittsburgh North Hills High School and has a 3.4 GPA
and a 1030 on the SAT. He has been a varsity starter
at defensive tackle since his freshman season and in
the past two session has played offense as well
playing offensive tackle as a sophomore and offensive
guard as a junior. He said this past weekend was his
first time at Ohio State and felt that Ohio State has
nice tradition and a good coaching staff. He has now
visited Ohio State, Pitt, Penn State and Michigan. He
said that those are the schools that he is looking at
as well as Notre Dame. So far, Pitt has offered him a
scholarship.
Tyler Everett (6-0, 190) from
Canton McKinley could well be OSU's next verbal
commitment. Everett told me that he is planning to be
at OSU's spring game. He has played both RB and
safety and is being recruited by the Buckeyes as a
safety. He said he has not been able to make to any
of OSU's spring practices, but that he will be at the
OSU spring game. Everett is looking at OSU, Michigan,
Minnesota, Maryland, Tennessee, Florida State and
Texas A&M and that OSU has offered him a
scholarship in writing. Tyler said he recently talked
to Mike Doss, and Doss told him the OSU coaches have
asked Doss why Everett hasn't called to commit to OSU
yet. Everett said that OSU is probably his favorite
but he is really not sure when he will make a
decision on his college.
The OSU recruiting day held the day of OSU's
scrimmage was very, very well attended. Some of the
out of state prospects inlcuded RB/LB Tank
Tunstalle from West Virginia. Tunstalle is
the number one prospect in the state of West
Virginia. He has offers on the table from West
Virginia, Marshall, and a few others. He is looking
at both of those schools as well as Ohio State,
Michigan, USC and some others. Another West
Virginian, tight end R.J. Coleman was
also in attendance. He is a fine TE prospect that the
Buckeyes are interested in and Coleman seems to want
to go to OSU but as of yet the Buckeyes haven't
offered. If OSU were to offer, I think they would
have a pretty decent chance of landing him. Ohioans
in attendance included QB Justin Zwick
along with his brother Jarod and his father as well
as OL Doug Datish. OL Eric
Fritz from Dublin Coffman was on hand. The
Buckeyes have already offered scholarships to all
three of those prospects. Also in attendance was OL
Mike Donaldson from Mansfield and TE Anthony
Hollins from Cleveland. Roman Fry from
Irontonl, a fine defensive lineman/linebacker, was in
attendance as well DL Joel
Penton from Van Wert. TE Jay
Richardson from Dublin Scioto High School as
well as DL Reggie Woods from Columbus Northland and
RB John Scott from Zainesville were
all in attendance. Scott has a scholarship offer on
the table from not only West Virginia but Georgia
Tech as well.
OL Chris Auletta from Melville
St. Anthony’s (NY) is a 6-6, 310 pounder with
5.2 40 speed visited OSU last week. Auletta and his
father drove to Columbus on Tuesday, spent the night
in Columbus on Tuesday night, then attended the
Buckeyes' spring practice session on Wednesday. They
spent the night in Columbus on Wednesday before
driving back home to New York on Thursday. Thursday
night, Auletta told me that he thought it was very
nice at Ohio State, that he like it a lot, and that
he football facilities are beautiful and he liked the
school very much as well. He said he liked Coach
Tressel and he especially like new Offensive
Coordinator and OL Coach Jim Bollman. Auletta has now
made visits to Boston College and Ohio State. Auletta
said it would be hard to say which one he likes best
right now, he was very impressed with each school.
Auletta plans to make visits to Penn State an Notre
Dame this spring as well. He is looking at those four
schools as well as Michigan State and Wisconsin, and
he would like to visit those two schools as well.
The Buckeyes are looking at quarterback prospect Mike
Leach from Monroe, Michigan. Leach is
interested in OSU and is a 6-4, 190 pounder with 4.7
40 speed. He is a two-year varsity starter and as a
junior completed 80 of 144 passes for over 1,300
yards. He connected for 21 touchdowns with five
interceptions. Leach is a drop back and roll out type
quarterback who helped his team to a 7-3 record last
season. He has a 3.6 GPA. Leach says that he is
interested in Ohio State, Iowa, Notre Dame, Michigan
State, Purdue and Bowling Green. Thus far none of
those schools have offered him a scholarship.
An offensive lineman that had had some interest in
Ohio State has committed to Michigan State. Kyle
Cook (6'4 280 5.1) from Macomb Dakota High
School in Michigan has committed to the Spartans. He
has been a varsity starter since his sophomore
season. OSU had not offered him a scholarship.
In Indiana, TE/DE Mel Bryant
(6-6, 215, 4.8) is interested in OSU. He is from
Muncie Central High School. As a sophomore, he
started at tight end and this past season played both
ways at TE and DE. He caught 31 passes as a junior
and made over 80 tackles. Bryant has a 2.8 GPA and
says that he would feel comfortable playing either TE
or DE in college, though he slightly prefers TE.
Right now he thinks he would like to play in the Big
Ten and mentions his top five as Purdue, Ohio State,
Illinois, Michigan and UCLA. Illinois has offered him
a scholarship. He is also interested in Florida and
Wisconsin. Bryant plans to visit Purdue, Wisconsin,
Ohio State and Michigan this spring and summer, and
might even visit Florida and UCLA this summer as
well.
Speaking of OL from out of state that are
interested in the Buckeyes, Joe Ainslie from
Minnetonka Hopkins High School in Minnesota is a 6-7,
305 pound OL with 5.3 40 speed. He will be one of the
top OL in the state of Minnesota this coming season
and he is very interested in Ohio State. He has a 3.0
GPA and started at offensive guard this past season.
As he put it, "OSU is one of his main
schools." He said he is looking at OSU, Clemson,
Auburn, maybe Minnesota and Northwestern even though
they do not have an architechural program at
Nortwestern. He is looking for a top architecture
program, and that is one of the reasons he is looking
at OSU. Another reason is that his grandparents
attended Ohio State. He is hoping to drive out to
Columbus to take a first-hand look at the OSU program
and that OSU is definitely one of his top choices
though the Buckeyes have not yet offered him a
scholarship.
April 11,
2001
Monday April 16 will be another day of spring
practice for Ohio State and it will also be an
important recruiting day for the Buckeyes. The top
offensive lineman in the state of Ohio, Doug
Datish, plans to visit Ohio State's spring
practice session on Monday. The 6-5, 285 Datish has
already been offered a scholarship by Ohio State.
Datish, from Warren Howland High School is planning
to go to Michigan's spring game this weekend and
Michigan has also offered him a scholarship and then
Datish plans to be at the Buckeye spring practice
session on Monday. Datish continues to look at Ohio
State, Michigan, Colorado, Nebraska and Miami. Ohio
State, Michigan and Colorado have offered Datish a
scholarship. However, Datish now says that he will
likely not make an early commitment to any one. He
says the he will likely wait and take at least a
couple of official visits before he makes a decision.
However, the Buckeyes would certainly like to change
that and land a commitment from him Monday. Remember
that Datish' father Mike Datish played on the Ohio
State teams from 1973 to 1976. The Buckeyes seem to
hold the edge for Datish. I'll be speaking with him
after he visits Ohio State on Monday.
Also scheduled to visit Ohio State on Monday LB Mike
Kudla from Medina Highland High School. The 6-4,
235 Kudla has recently visited Purdue and he plans to
visit Ohio State for the Buckeyes' spring practice
session on Monday and he plans to visit Michigan on
Friday Apr. 20 and then attend the Nike training camp
on Sat. Apr. 21 in Ann Arbor at Michigan. Kudla is
interested in Ohio State, Michigan, Purdue and
Northwestern. Those are the schools he says he is
concentrating on most at this point though thus far
none of them has offered Kudla a scholarship.
RB John Scott from Zanesville, OH is
interested in Ohio State but he could end up
committing to W.Va. this weekend. The 6-0, 185 Scott
who runs a 4.4 40 rushed for 1,382 yards for
Zanesville this past season. He has a 3.0 GPA. John
Scott scored 13 TDs. He has already been offered a
scholarship by W.Va, Ga. Tech and Bowling Green. He
said he is looking at those three as well as Ohio
State, Iowa, Ball State and Notre Dame. Scott,
however, says he is leaning to W.Va. He went to their
camp last year and liked it and he plans to visit
W.Va. this Sat. Apr. 14 and he says there is a chance
he could commit to the Mountaineers this weekend.
LB Billy Beecham, from Marion Harding High
School in Ohio, is a 6-3, 220 LB who is interested in
Ohio State. Beecham, who has a 3.0 GPA, was second on
his team in tackles this past season with close to
90. Beecham already has visited Boston College and
says he is planning Ohio State and Michigan State
sometime this spring as well. Beecham is looking at
B.C., Ohio State, Michigan State and some others. He
does not have a favorite right now.
There are some outstanding LB prospects in the
state of Ohio. In fact this is a tremendous year for
LBs in the Buckeye State. Ohio State has already
offered a number of those LBs a scholarship but in a
group below the ones OSU has already offered, there
are some fine LBs that the Buckeyes and many other
schools are going to take a look at as well. One of
those that the Bucks and others are looking at is LB Noah
Hargrove from Akron Buchtel High School. Noah
Hargrove is a 6-2, 225 LB who runs a 4.7 40. Hargrove
starts at MLB and made close to 75 tackles and picked
off three passes last season. He has a 3.7 GPA. Noah
Hargrove tells me that his favorite school is Ohio
State. He said he is looking at OSU as well as
Syracuse, Penn State, Northwestern and Boston
College. He said that he plans to go to Ohio State's
spring game and he has been at Ohio State's camp
every year since ninth grade.
Of course he is not the only LB prospect at Akron
Buchtel High School. His teammate Antonio Reynolds
is a fine LB as well that I have talked about in
previous updates. Reynolds is interested in Ohio
State.
Moving to the other side of the ball, FB Jaren
Carter from Orange High School is a 6-1,
215-pounder with 4.6 40 speed who is interested in
Ohio State. Carter rushed for close to 800 yards this
past season and also had 10 sacks but expects to play
FB in college. Carter, who has a 2.8 GPA, tells me he
likes Ohio State, Wisconsin, Michigan State, Notre
Dame, Vanderbilt, Virginia and Youngstown State. He
said that he wants to go to the Buckeyes' football
camp this summer and said that OSU is his favorite
school.
DB Anthony Smith from Hubbard, OH is a fine
FS prospect who is interested in Ohio State in fact
he says he will probably go to either Ohio State's or
Pitt's football camp this summer. Smith is a 6-2, 175
safety who also starts at RB. He has started on both
sides of the ball on the Hubbard varsity since his
sophomore season. As a sophomore, Smith picked off
three passes and this past season he intercepted six
more passes. Smith has a 2.8 GPA. He told me recently
that he is interested in OSU, Pitt, Penn State,
Michigan, W.Va., Syracuse and Illinois. He said Pitt
offered him a scholarship about a week ago.
Staying in the state of Ohio, Greg Shelton
is a DL from Vandalia Butler who likes Ohio State.
Shelton is a 6-5, 250 DT. He has started for Vandalia
Butler since his sophomore season. Shelton, who runs
a 5.05 40 could play DT or DE in college. He has a
2.9 GPA. He says he has been getting mail from many
schools since is sophomore season and when I asked
him what schools he is interested in, he said
"Definitely Ohio State" and he likes
Indiana a lot too. Shelton said OSU and Indiana are
his two favorite schools but his is also interested
in Kentucky and Michigan. He said he is going to go
to spring practice sessions at both Ohio State and
Indiana sometime yet this spring.
Also, Cole Wesley is a teammate of Greg
Shelton's. Wesley he is going to go to OSU's football
camp this summer. Wesley is a 6-4, 255 DE at Vandalia
Butler. Wesley runs a 4.9 40 and has a 2.8 GPA. As
both a sophomore and junior Wesley started at DE for
Vandalia Butler. He said the he gets a lot of mail
from schools but he says that the three schools that
are probably his favorites are Ohio State, Indiana
and Louisville. He said that he's really always
wanted to go to Ohio State.
Billy Sullivan is a P/K from Niles McKinley
High School who likes Ohio State. Sullivan is a 6-1,
180 P/K who also plays WR. Sullivan averaged 37 yards
per punt this past season and made four of seven
field goals with a 43-yarder being his longest.
Sullivan also made 28 of 30 PATs and the only two he
missed were blocked. He has a 3.3 GPA and he too
plans to go to OSU's football camp this summer.
Sullivan says that he is looking at Ohio State,
Michigan State, Pitt, Syracuse, Ga. Tech, Indiana and
Vanderbilt. Sullivan went to Ohio State's football
camp last summer and won an award.
Super Jr. QB Justin Zwick from Massillon
Washington High School in Ohio attended the Buckeyes'
spring practice session on Saturday. That practice
was Ohio State's first in full pads. Zwick was there
along with his brother, Jared, who played for Coach
Jim Tressel at Youngstown State. Justin Zwick seemed
to have a good time at the Buckeyes' practice
session. He certainly was very interested in
everything that was going on. Zwick got a close up
look at how things are going and of course the
Buckeye coaching staff paid quite a bit of attention
to Zwick. However, Zwick did not make a decision but
that was to be expected. He has continued to say that
he would go to different spring practices, take a
look at different schools and take his time in making
his decision. He has also said that OSU and Michigan
are definitely two of his favorites if not his two
favorites. He also is looking at Pitt and Kentucky.
All of those schools have offered Zwick a scholarship
but I think his decision will come down ultimately to
either OSU or Michigan.
Another prospect in attendance at the Buckeyes'
spring practice on Saturday was blue-chip RB Maurice
Hall from Columbus Brookhaven. Hall of course is
a senior who signed with Ohio State this past
national signing day.
DB Jeff Burns from Dayton Carroll High
School says that Ohio State is definitely on his
list. Burns is a 6-1, 180 safety from Dayton Carroll
who runs a 4.5 40. Burns has four interceptions this
past season. He has a 4.0 GPA. Burns tells me he is
interested in OSU, Notre Dame, Wisconsin, Purdue,
Duke, Stanford, Harvard and Yale but he says he'd
really love to go to Ohio State. He said that OSU and
Notre Dame would be his top choices and Burns plans
to be at OSU's football camp this summer.
One junior prospect the Bucks are interested in
who, in fact, has OSU as his favorite is LB John
Kerr from Cleveland St. Ignatius High School.
Kerr is a 6-1, 230 LB with 4.7 40 speed. He started
for St. Ignatius as a sophomore which is rare as that
is not easy to do at the fine St. Ignatius program.
Kerr played the Sam LB spot his sophomore season
before moving to MLB this past season. He was the
team's leading tackler by far. Kerr, who has a 2.9
GPA, is looking at a number of schools in the
Midwest. He is very interested in playing Big Ten
football and OSU would be his first choice at this
point.
Another LB from the state of Ohio interested in
the Buckeyes is Zack Condo from Cincinnati
Turpin High School. Condo is a 6-3, 222 LB with 4.6
40 speed. He made 153 tackles this past season.
Condo, who also is a long-snapper, has a 3.0 GPA.
Condo told me recently that OSU, Ga. Tech and Purdue
are the main schools that he is interested in. To
this point, none of those schools has offered him a
scholarship though Condo said the Ga. Tech could
possibly offer him in the not-too-distant-future.
Moving now to Cincinnati, a TE prospect interested
in the Buckeyes is Mike Matthews. Matthews,
from Cincinnati Sycamore High School is 6-4, 245 with
4.65 40 speed. Matthews, who has a 2.8 GPA, played a
combination TE/slot position for Sycamore this past
season. He tells me that he is interested in OSU. He
is looking at Notre Dame. He already visited the
Irish and liked it quite a bit he said. OSU, Purdue,
Michigan, South Carolina and Ga. Tech all hold
interest for him. He played in only five games this
past season because of a knee injury. He arthroscopic
surgery and is 100% healthy once again.
Certainly one of the top prospects in central Ohio
is DL Eric Fritz from Dublin Coffman High
School. Fritz is a 6-5, 295 DT who runs a 5.05 40.
Fritz will not only be one of the top prospects in
central Ohio, he will be one of the top line
prospects in the entire state of Ohio next year.
Fritz, who has a 2.7 GPA, has been a varsity starter
since his freshman season. Fritz played DT as a Jr.
as well as four games at OG. He does prefer defense
but it's not out of the question that he could end up
as an OL at the next level. His father, Ken Fritz,
was an outstanding OL for Ohio State. Eric Fritz as a
Jr. made 63 tackles including three sacks. Fritz when
I spoke with him told me that he plans to go to Ohio
State's spring game. He said he might go to a few
other spring games as well. He also plans to camp for
a day this summer at OSU and he also plans to go to
camp for a day at Michigan and Pitt. He said he might
also stop at Ga. Tech's or Florida's camps as well. I
asked Fritz about his top choices and he named OSU,
Michigan, Pitt, North Carolina State and Ga. Tech.
Fritz said OSU and Pitt have offered him scholarships
thus far but he said that he is probably going to
take all five official visits before making a
decision. Thus far he has not made it to any of Ohio
State's spring practice sessions but might end up
doing so.
Staying in central Ohio, DB Eric Boulware
from Worthington Kilbourne High School and his twin
brother Todd are two prospects that are
drawing interest from recruiters. Eric is 5-11, 170
with 4.5 40 speed. He has played mostly QB but is
being recruited as a DB. Eric has a 3.7 GPA. Todd is
5-11, 175 with 4.5 40 speed who has played almost
exclusively in the defensive backfield, playing both
CB and S. Both Eric and Todd are looking at schools
such as OSU, Notre Dame, Duke, Pitt, Rice and Ball
State. Both plan to go to OSU's football camp this
summer.
Another prospect at Worthington Kilbourne that's
drawing attention is Zack Harris. Harris is a
LB/FB who is 6-1, 205 and runs a 4.6 40. He has a 4.0
GPA. Harris rushed for about 800 yards last year
despite missing a few games with a thumb injury. He
also started at LB and could play either position in
college. Harris is healthy and is interested in OSU,
Cal, Stanford, all the Ivy League schools and
Northwestern.