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Bill Kurelic August 2000 Posts August 28, 2000 RB Antoine Singfield from Rancho Verde California is a 6-2, 215 pounder who says the Buckeyes have offered him a scholarship, and Singfield is originally from Ohio. He was born in Akron. He rushed for close to 900 yards last season despite missing playing time with a sprained ankle. He has a 2.5 GPA but won't take the ACT until this fall. He told me that his three favorites are Arizona State, Arizona, and USC, but he is still looking at Ohio State slightly. All four of those schools have offered him a scholarship, as have some others. RB/DB Orlando Gooden says that Ohio State is one of his two favorites. Gooden is a 6-0 tall, 195 pounder from Illinois. He runs a 4.5 40 and starts at both running back and strong safety. He rushed for 613 yards and made 54 tackles and picked off two passes last season. He has a 2.4 GPA and an 18 on the ACT. He tells me that the four schools he is most interested in are Ohio State, Wisconsin, Michigan State and Illinois. He said that of those four, he likes Ohio State and Wisconsin best. In Florida, WR Andri Rollins from Miami is a 6-4, 190 pounder who runs a 4.5 40 and likes Ohio State. He has a 2.8 GPA and scored a 770 on the SAT. Rollins says he is looking at Alabama, Florida, North Carolina State, Ohio State, Iowa, and Georgia Tech. He said that he continues to get mail from Ohio State, and he has talked with the Buckeyes, but as of right now, Ohio State has not offered him a scholarship. Not too long ago, a running back that the Buckeyes had offered a scholarship to was on the verge of committing to Michigan. However, that has not yet happened. Ryan Grant (6-2, 200) says that Ohio State is still in the running. He is from Don Bosco Prep High School in Ramsey, New Jersey. Grant, who runs a 4.5 40, rushed for almost 1500 yards on just 169 carries last season, scored 17 times, and has a 3.4 GPA and a 1090 on the SAT. He is one of the country's top running back prospects. He had said not long ago that he had decided to commit to Michigan and was trying to get ahold of the Wolverine coaching staff to commit, and finally when he did get ahold of them, he did not commit. Grant told me that he did finally speak with the Michigan coaches, but he didn't commit. He said he talked things over with his parents, and his parents didn't feel comfortable with him committing to anyone until they had seen the school and met the coaches. Grant said that neither of his parents had been to Michigan, nor spoken with the Wolverine coaches, so he has not yet committed to Michigan or anyone else for that matter. He says that he is going to try to make an unofficial visit to Michigan this coming weekend to see the Michigan vs. Bowling Green game with this parents, though he was not sure that he would make it. Grant did say that Michigan was his number one choice, but he is also looking at Ohio State, Virginia, Georgia Tech and Penn State. All of the schools except for Penn State have offered him a scholarship.He said that Virginia would be number two on his list, and the Buckeyes third. RB Maurice Hall from Columbus Brookhaven High School had a fine game this past Friday. Hall is very much still considering Ohio State, as well as Tennessee, Florida State, Penn State and Miami, but I still continue to think that in all likelihood his decision will come down to Florida State, Ohio State or Tennessee. Speaking of Hall, Tremain Hall (5-10, 190, 4.4), yet another running back that the Buckeyes have offered a scholarship to from Deerfield Beach Florida, continues to consider Ohio State as well. He is considering OSU as well as Florida State, Michigan, North Carolina State, Nebraska, Notre Dame and Miami. All of those schools have offered him a scholarship. He has set up one official visit, to North Carolina State, on December first. He said that his other visits he is not totally sure of at this point, but he mentioned that Florida State, Michigan and Notre Dame would be places that he would probably visit, so Ohio State at this point looks like they are continuing to fight for the 5th of his five official visits. RB Ty Erics (6-2, 220, 4.45) is yet another back that the Buckeyes have offered a scholarship to. Erics is from Seattle, Washington and says that he is still looking at Ohio State, as well as Stanford, Washington, Notre Dame, Florida State and Nebraska. Of those schools, Ohio State, Washington, Notre Dame and Stanford have offered him a scholarship. Erics says that Stanford would be very high on his list, if not his leader. He rushed for 1,500 yards as a junior and averaged 8.5 yards per carry while scoring 22 times. The Buckeyes have offered a scholarship to Devon Clark, a find defensive end from Patterson Catholic High School in New Jersey. Patterson Catholic is the same high school that produced former OSU quarterback Stan Jackson. Clark is a 6-4, 265 pounder with 4.9 40 speed. He starts at both DE and OT, but will be a DE in college. He made 89 tackles, including three sacks, last season. He has a 2.7 GPA but has not yet received his test results. He is looking at Miami, Syracuse, Ohio State, Penn State and Michigan, and all of those schools except for Michigan have offered him a scholarship. Clark said that Boston College and Maryland have also offered him, and those schools are still somewhat on his list as well, but not in his top five. He said that right now, his favorites are probably Miami and Michigan. He said he grew up liking Miami, and he also has family in Michigan in the Detroit area, but he is definitely interested in Ohio State. Speaking of defensive ends, Ohio State would love to land Marquis Hill from New Orleans De LaSalle High School in Louisiana, and Hill has Ohio State on his list. He is a 6-7, 285 pounder with 4.8 40 speed. He made 75 tackles including nine sacks last season. He has a 2.7 GPA and a 16 on the ACT. Schools on his list include LSU, Michigan, Ohio State, Texas, Florida State, Texas A&M, Georgia and Georgia Tech. He said that he spoke with coach Belu, who is recruiting him, back in May. He says that all of the schools on his list, including Ohio State, have offered him a scholarship. Hill said that right now, LSU and Michigan would probably be his two favorites. Staying in the South, WR Travis Gregg from South Carolina is a 6-3, 185 pounder who is interested in Ohio State. He runs a 4.4 forty and caught 80 passes last season and scored 11 touchdowns. He had over 1,000 yards receiving. He has a 3.2 GPA and a 980 on the SAT. He told me that originally he was thinking he would stay in the Southeast to play his football, but he's not so sure now. He said Ohio State, Michigan, and Michigan State are recruiting him now, and that he is interested in all three of those schools, as well as Tennessee, Clemson, South Carolina, North Carolina, North Carolina State and Duke. Gregg says that the Buckeyes, while they are recruiting him, have not to this point offered him a scholarship. One of the top prospects in New Jersey, linebacker Brandon Hoyte from New Jersey is a 6-1, 220 pounder who is interested in Ohio State. He runs a 4.55 40 and made 143 tackles from his inside linebacker spot last season. He is an outstanding athlete who also starts at quarterback. He has a 3.75 GPA and is awaiting his test scores. He was at Notre Dame's football camp in June, and is interested in the Fighting Irish, but is also looking at Ohio State, Michigan State, Wisconsin, Pitt and Purdue. He said that many of those schools have already offered him a scholarship, however, he said he is not particularly close to making a decision, but Ohio State is definitely one of the schools on his list. RB Justin Hamilton, from Clintwood, Virginia is a fine prospect that is interested in Ohio State, and one of the reasons is, Eddie George. Hamilton is a 6-3, 205 pound tailback who runs a 4.5 40. He has been a starter at both tailback and free safety on the varsity since his freshman season. He has a 3.9 GPA and a 1000 on the SAT. As a junior, he rushed for 1,909 yards and averaged 10.5 yards per carry and scored 24 times. From his safety spot, he picked off five passes. Hamilton told me that he is looking at Virginia, Virginia Tech, Ohio State, Michigan, Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgia Tech and West Virginia. Virginia, Virginia Tech, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Georgia Tech have all offered him a scholarship. He said that right now, he does not have a favorite. He said that he first got interested in Ohio State when he was in the 10th grade and the Buckeyes started sending him mail, and then he heard about Eddie George having, as he put it, a similar frame to his when Eddie was in high school, and that Ohio State likes big backs, and that impressed him, so he said he has been interested in Ohio State ever since. DL/TE Mawase Falana from St. Petersburg, Florida is interested in Ohio State. He is a 6-3, 275 pounder with 4.9 40 speed. He has a 2.5 GPA and a 960 on the SAT. He starts at both defensive tackle and tight end, and could play on either side of the ball in college. He said that among the schools that he is interested in are Ohio State, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Michigan State, Michigan, Notre Dame, Florida, Florida State, Miami, Georgia, Georgia Tech and LSU. He said he is looking at all of those schools, and perhaps some others. He said he is totally open when it comes to a favorite. LB James Booker form Detroit M.L. King High School is a 6-3, 225 pounder that is interested in Ohio State. He made 87 tackles including three sacks from his ILB spot last season, and was at Ohio State earlier this summer for the Nike training camp. Booker told me last night that he is currently looking at Ohio State as well as Minnesota, Georgia Tech, Indiana, Michigan, Penn State, Wisconsin and Iowa. He said Minnesota is his favorite right now, and that Ohio State has not to this point offered him a scholarship. Lionel Bolen is a fine prospect from the state of New Jersey who is interested in Ohio State. He is a 6-1, 185 pounder from Rancocas Valley, New Jersey. He runs a 4.5 40 and starts at both quarterback and cornerback. Bowen had 50 tackles and three interceptions as a junior, and also passed for over 250 yards and rushed for another 709. Bowen is being recruited as an athlete that will likely play on defense as a corner back in college. He has a fine 3.5+ GPA and a 1000 on the SAT. He tells me that he has been to Ohio State and is interested in the Buckeyes. He says he is currently looking at Ohio State, Tennessee, Notre Dame, Virginia Tech, Nebraska and Wisconsin. He said he has scholarship offers from Wisconsin as well as Rutgers, West Virginia, Maryland, Duke, Missouri, Virginia Tech and Purdue. Bowen, however, says that he does not have a favorite. He did say that he has been to Ohio State, has seem some of the campus, but did not get to meet the coaches while in Columbus. LB Monroe Weekly, from Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, is interested in Ohio State. He is a 6-3, 220 pound linebacker with 4.6 40 speed, has been a varsity starter at ILB since his freshman season. He has a 2.6 GPA and an 860 on the SAT and made 154 tackles including five sacks as a junior. Weekly tells me that he is looking at a lot of schools, and ones that he mentioned included Ohio State, Wisconsin, Notre Dame, Miami, Pitt, Michigan, Tennessee, Syracuse, West Virginia, Maryland and Arizona State. He said that Miami and Pitt have offered him a scholarship, but right now he does not have a favorite. Speaking of linebackers, Matt McBride from Mentor, Ohio is a 6-2, 205 pounder that is starting to draw more interest. He had an outstanding 170 tackles as a junior from his OLB position. He also registered three sacks, and has a 3.4 GPA. Some of the schools that he is interested in include Notre Dame, Ohio State, Ohio U., and Northwestern. To this point, though, none of those schools have offered McBride a scholarship. A player that the Buckeyes had offered a scholarship to has committed elsewhere. Dethrell Garcia from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, a 6-1, 235 pound DE, has committed to Penn State. He had previously been looking at Penn State as well as Ohio State, Notre Dame, Michigan, Michigan State, Virginia Tech and Boston College, and most of those schools including Ohio State, he said, had offered him a scholarship. On the other hand, one of the country's top WR prospects says that the plans to make an official visit to Ohio State. Kellen Winslow Jr. the son of former San Diego Charger great Kellen Winslow Sr, is a 6-5, 210 pound WR from San Diego, California. Winslow says that he plans to make an official visit to Ohio State, and the Buckeyes have offered him a scholarship. Winslow, who runs a 4.6 40, played WR, DE and some LB last season, catching 32 passes and scoring seven touchdowns. He has a 3.0 GPA and will take his test in October. He told me that he is looking at a number of schools, including Stanford, Ohio State, Michigan, Arizona State, Tennessee, UCLA, USC, Texas and Michigan State. He said that many of those schools had offered him a scholarship, including Ohio State. He said that one school high on his list, Stanford, has not yet offered him a scholarship. Winslow said "you can't go wrong with Stanford", but he said "I really like Ohio State, too." Winslow said that Coach Spencer was a good friend of his dad when Coach Spencer and his dad played for the San Diego Chargers. He said that Coach Spencer seems like a real good guy who knows what he is talking about. Winslow went on to say that one of his official visits is definitely going to be to Ohio State. WR Dallas Baker from New Smyrna Beach, Florida is a fine prospect from the Sunshine State who is interested in the Buckeyes. He is a 6-3, 180 pound WR who caught 34 passes and averaged 17 yards per catch last season. Baker has a 3.2 GPA and will take the ACT in October. He told me that he is keeping an open mind on colleges, but some schools he mentioned included Kentucky, Florida, Central Florida, Michigan, Ohio State, Mississippi and South Carolina. He said all of those schools had offered him a scholarship except for the Buckeyes. Baker said that he would probably take official visits to Florida, Kentucky and Michigan, but he also is definitely considering Ohio State. Jibil Raymo, an outstanding safety prospect from Beverly Hills, California, at one time said that Ohio State was his leader, however, that changed when UCLA offered him a scholarship. Raymo has said that he is going to commit to the Bruins, but he has not done so officially yet. He is a 6-3, 190 pound safety and told me that he still wants to commit to UCLA, but is still holding out a little bit. He still has to take the SAT again, but UCLA has said there is no pressure, just to let them know when he wants to commit. However, he said he has not done that yet, and he said that he has not made anything final, but he did say that UCLA is where he knows he wants to go. The Buckeyes of course offered a scholarship to DE Pat Massey from St. Ignatious High School long ago, and the 6-8 230 Massey says that his decision is definitely down to either Notre Dame or Michigan. At one point he had said that he would make an official visit to Ohio State, but that is no longer the case. Massey says he doesn't plan to visit either Ohio State or Boston College, and that things are pretty even between Notre Dame and Michigan. He said he wants to go to a game at each school, and perhaps take official visits to both, but in any event, he said that Ohio State is at least right how out of the running. August 16, 2000 On the other hand, it's not looking particularly good at all for OSU to land super defensive back Brett Bell from Illinois. Bell had previously said that he is considering Ohio State, and while he has not completely ruled the Buckeyes out, he has a couple of top tiers of teams. He says that his first tier would include Michigan, Penn State and Wisconsin, and the second tier includes Illinois and Nebraska, so Ohio State in not in his top two tiers. Speaking of players from the state of Illinois, Mike Stegaman is a 6-5, 255 pounder with 4.8 40 speed who plays linebacker as well as offensive line in high school, but will be a defensive end or offensive lineman in college. Steggaman has a 2.2 GPA and a 24 on the ACT, and tells me that he is currently looking at Notre Dame, Illinois, Purdue, Northwestern, and as he put it, Ohio State somewhat. Illinois and Purdue have offered him a scholarship and Notre Dame has indicated that a scholarship will be available if he maintains his grades. Pat Ross (6-5, 240, 4.75), a defensive lineman from Cincinnati that had had some interested in the Buckeyes, has committed to Boston College. The Buckeyes have offered a scholarship to RB Tramain Hall from Deerfield Beach Florida. He is a 5-10, 190 pounder with 4.4 40 speed, and told me that he is looking at Michigan, Florida State, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Nebraska, Miami and North Carolina State. All of those schools have offered him a scholarship. Hall said that right now he has four schools that he would probably make official visits to, those four would be North Carolina State, Notre Dame, Michigan and Florida State, however he did say that he is still interested in Ohio State. Keep in mind that he played one year of high school football in the state of Ohio at Huber Heights Wayne High School. He says he has already set up one official visit, that being to North Carolina State the weekend of December 1st. Speaking of running backs, Ty Erics, the big RB from Washington, says the Buckeyes have now offered him a scholarship and he is interested. He is a 6-2, 220 pounder with 4.45 speed who rushed for 1500 yards as a junior, and averaged 8.6 yards per carry and scored 22 times. He has a 3.9 GPA and told me that he is looking at Stanford, Ohio State, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Florida State and Washington. He said Stanford, Notre Dame, Washington and Ohio State have offered him a scholarship. He says he doesn't have any one clear-cut favorite, though he did say that Stanford would be pretty high up on his list. In California, LB Mark Sutton from Filmore, California is interested in Ohio State. Sutton is a 6-3, 225 pound linebacker with 4.7 40 speed. He started at inside linebacker, and also played some tailback. Sutton made 87 tackles, including three sacks last season. He has a 2.0 GPA and an 850 on the SAT. He told me that he is currently looking at USC, Ohio State, Michigan, UCLA and Colorado, though none of them have officially offered a scholarship. He said that right now, USC would be his favorite. WR Freddie Lee from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, a 5-10, 170 pounder with 4.4 40 speed told me that Ohio State is one of the schools that he is interested in, and that the Buckeyes have offered him a scholarship. Lee, who caught close to 40 catches last season also intercepted three passes on the other side of the ball but plans on playing WR in college. He has been a varsity starter since his freshman season. He told me he is looking at Ohio State, Michigan State, Florida, Miami, Virginia, Clemson, Penn State, Virginia Tech and Colorado. He said there may be others too, but those are the schools he is definitely interested in. Lee said that all of them except for Florida and Miami have offered a scholarship, and that Florida and Miami have told him that they too will offer. Lee said that right now, he doesn't have a favorite, and that when college coaches begin calling again in September he would talk to the coaches and most likely begin to set up some official visits and right now OSU is certainly a candidate to get an one of those official visits. Speaking of WR, I checked again with Robert Strickland from Detroit. The 6-4, 205 pound Strickland at one point not long ago seemed close to committing Michigan, however it looks now like it's going to be awhile until he makes a decision, and Ohio State is still in the running. He told me last night that, as he put it, you could probably still say Michigan is still his favorite, but he also still is looking at Ohio State as well as Michigan State, Purdue, Georgia Tech and Indiana. He said that Michigan, Ohio State, Michigan State, and Georgia Tech have offered him a scholarship, but he said he now thinks he is going to wait to make a decision and make official visits. OL Ronnie Lunford from Jacksonville White High School in Florida is a 6-5, 320 pounder with 5.2 40 speed. Lunford has a 2.8 GPA and an 810 on the SAT and tells me that Ohio State is one of the schools he is looking at, and also says that he will likely make an official visit to Ohio State. He told me that he is looking at Florida State, Miami, Ohio State, Tennessee, Auburn and Florida. He said of that group, Florida State and Miami have offered him a scholarship, and there are some other schools that he hasn't ruled out that have offered him a scholarship, including Michigan, Clemson, Georgia, Arkansas and South Carolina. However, he said that right now there are four schools that he plans to make official visits to, and those four are Florida State, Tennessee, Miami and Ohio State. He said he is not sure about who his 5th official visit would be to, but that his right now his two favorites probably would be Miami and Florida State. DB Dominic Robinson from California, an outstanding prospect who the Buckeyes have offered a scholarship to, says he is planning to make an official visit to Ohio State. In fact, Robinson already has pretty much four of his five official visits figured out. He says he plans to take official visits to Ohio State and Michigan in the Midwest, as well as Florida State, and then out on the West Coast he plans to make an official visit to Washington. His fifth official visit is up in the air right now, but he is currently making unofficial visits to see which school he could possibly take for that last official visit. In fact, the 6-1, 195 pound corner back is in the process of taking unofficial visits this coming week to Nebraska as well as Oregon State and Oregon. Right now, he doesn't have any strong favorite but the Buckeyes are certainly in the running and would love to land this talented defensive back. Moving from the West Coast to the East Coast, LB Elvis Smith from Florida is interested in Ohio State. He is a 6-2, 210 pound linebacker with 4.6 40 speed. He has a 2.7 GPA but still needs to pass his test. He made over 100 tackles from his outside linebacker spot last season, but will move to inside linebacker as a senior. He says he is looking at Miami as well as Ohio State, Florida, Alabama, Ole Miss, Michigan State and Vanderbilt. Thus far, Smith said that Miami and Ole Miss and Vanderbilt have offered him a scholarship. Smith says that Miami would be his favorite right now because it's close to home. Kicker/Quarterback Clint Williams in Indiana is also interested in the Buckeyes. He is a 6-2, 190 pounder with 4.7 40 speed who has already qualified academically and is being recruited as both a kicker and a quarterback. As a junior, he made 46 of 49 extra points, eight of 10 field goals, and had a long of 47 yards. He also punted and had a long punt of 76 yards. At quarterback, Williams threw for over 1400 yards and 12 touchdowns with six interceptions. He tells me he is currently very interested in four Big Ten schools, those being Purdue, Ohio State, Illinois and Indiana. None of those schools have offered a scholarship yet however. TE/DE Brian Smith from Bay City, Michigan is interested in the Buckeyes. He is a 6-5, 230 pounder with 4.9 40 speed. He caught five passes as a junior and averaged 7 solo tackles per game. He has a 3.1 GPA and still needs to pass his test. He tells me that he is looking at Ohio State, Wisconsin, Michigan State, Arkansas and Ball State. Ball State has offered him a scholarship, however Smith says that his favorite would be either Ohio State or Wisconsin. Smith was at the Buckeyes' football camp back in June. One of the top overall prospects in the state of Michigan, RB/WR Ashton Aikens from Detroit Country Day High School, says Ohio State is still on his list. The 6-3, 195 pound Aikens, who was at Ohio State back in April at the Nike camp, tells me that he is currently looking at Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame, UCLA, Ohio State and Wisconsin. So far, Michigan and Wisconsin have offered him a scholarship. He says he has no preference whether he plays running back or wide receiver in college. He just prefers to play on offense rather than on defense where he is a strong safety. He says that right now, his top four would be Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame and UCLA in no particular order. In Ohio, WR/DB Josh Anderson from Canton Glen Oak High School says Ohio State is his top choice. He is a 6-0 tall, 180 pounder with 4.4 40 speed who plays in the same defensive backfield with Dustin Fox who has already committed to Ohio State. While Fox gets most of the attention and accolades, Anderson is a good one as well. He already has scholarship offers from Indiana and West Virginia as well as plenty of MAC schools, but he would like to go to Ohio State and continue his career playing in the same defensive backfield as Dustin Fox. The Buckeyes are interested in Josh Anderson. They have told him they are going to be watching him the first couple of games of this season, though to this point they have not yet offered him a question. He could play either cornerback or wide receiver in college. As a junior, he picked off two passes, and as a sophomore and junior combined, he caught 45 passes. He has a 3.2 GPA and a 17 on the ACT. Kicker Mike Nugent from Centerville is in my opinion the tip kicking prospect in the Buckeye state, and Nugent has Ohio State as one of his two favorites. He is a 5.-10, 165 pound kicker who has been Centerville's varsity kicker since his freshman season. Nugent says that right now the two main schools he is looking at are Ohio State and Stanford, though he has Michigan State very much in the running as well. Two other schools that he has under consideration are Purdue and Pitt, but says that Ohio State and Stanford would be his two favorites at this point. QB Matt Kubic from Youngstown is another Ohioan that the Buckeyes have an interest in. He is a 6-3, 200 pounder who currently has seven schools that he is focusing on, those being Ohio State, Northwestern, Rutgers, Kansas State, Kentucky, Iowa and Maryland. So far, Rutgers has offered a scholarship and Kubic has already set up an official visit to Rutgers for the weekend of September 9th, and says that right now he is trying to arrange as many of his official visits as possible. Right now, he says he does not have any one particular favorite. DL Neshaun Gottard from Dayton Dunbar High School in Ohio now has some pretty good scholarship offers. The 6-5, 245 pound Gottard says that Ohio State is one of his top two. His offers right now are from Georgia Tech, Wake Forrest and Boston College. Gottard says he is currently looking at Ohio State, Wake Forrest, Georgia Tech, Boston College, Michigan State and Indiana. He has some MAC offers, but says he is not really looking at the MAC schools too much. As to who he likes best right now, he told me that his favorite would be between Ohio State and Boston College, but did say that he would like to stay close to home if possible, so I feel that if the Buckeyes would eventually offer him a scholarship they would most likely end up landing him. Gottard missed four games last season with a shoulder injury but still made 50 tackles including five sacks. WR Sean Coffey from East Cleveland Shaw High School in Ohio has Ohio State in his top five and Coffey, like Neshaun Gottard, has some pretty good scholarship offers. The 6-5, 215 pounder who caught 18 passes as a junior tells me that his current top five is Ohio State, Purdue, LSU, Penn State and Virginia. Penn State and Virginia have offered him a scholarship. His older brother, Kevin Coffey, is now going into his third year as a starting WR at Virginia, and despite that, Sean says that Purdue and LSU are his two favorites. WR Derrick Ross from Marion Harding High School in Ohio is a 6-0, 185 pounder with 4.5 40 speed tells me that Ohio State is one of his top choices. He has a 2.5 core GPA and recently got back his ACT scores and received a 16, so he will have to re-take the test. Ross says that right now in the Big Ten, he likes Ohio State and Michigan State, and also likes Boston College, Pitt, Ohio U, and Akron. He has a number of MAC offers but seems to have his sights set higher. Right now he does not have a favorite. TE Isaac Smolko (6-5, 230, 4.6) from New Middletown Springfield High School in Ohio has committed to Penn State. He had been looking at Penn State, Ohio State, Notre Dame and Michigan, but he has committed to the Lions. DL Mark Conley from Lakewood, Ohio is a 6-3, 275 pounder who told me that right now the main schools he is looking at are Wisconsin, Ohio State, Iowa and Pitt. A lot of MAC schools have offered him a scholarship, but he is really not interested in the MAC, he is waiting to see which of the bigger schools will offer him a scholarship. Conley said that right now Wisconsin would probably be his favorite. The Buckeyes, and everyone else across the country for that matter, would love to land super RB Kevin Jones from Pennsylvania. Jones, who is arguably the country's top prep prospect, continues to say that he has not narrowed things down all the way yet, but that Penn State and Virginia Tech remain as his two leaders. He also though is looking at Notre Dame as well as Michigan, Tennessee, and Ohio State is working to try and get an official visit from Kevin Jones as well, although the Buckeyes do have some catching up to do. August 1, 2000 In Florida, the Buckeyes are pursuing RB Tramain Hall from Deerfield Beach. They have offered him a scholarship and Hall is interested. The Buckeyes are also interested in Hall's teammate, OL Kris Piascik. He is a 6-6, 305 pound OT with 5.4 40 speed. He and Hall helped lead Deerfield Beach to an undefeated season last year. He has a 3.7 GPA and a 970 on the SAT. He is currently looking at Ohio State, Miami of Florida, Notre Dame and South Florida, and does not have a favorite. None of those schools have offered him a scholarship. A couple of players who have had the Buckeyes as the schools they are most interested in have committed elsewhere. OL Zachary Giles (6-4, 275) from Marshfield, Massachusetts has committed to Notre Dame. Giles said that he had 18 scholarship offers on the table, including offers from Tennessee, Ohio State, Boston College, Penn State, Florida, Michigan and Miami, however, he has committed to the Fighting Irish. Another player that had had OSU on his list, DE Kevin Vickerson (6-6, 265) from Detroit M.L. King High School in Michigan has committed to Michigan State. However, in the case of Vickerson, he says he still could end up visiting Ohio State. Vickerson said that after going to MSU's recruiting day this past Saturday that he gave the Spartans his verbal, but said that it is not totally a done deal. He said he committed to MSU but that he will still visit some other schools. The schools that he mentioned as possibly visiting include Ohio State, Georgia Tech, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, and Miami of Florida. Vickerson said that he is about 55% sure that he will stay with Michigan State, but said that if when he visits some other schools, he sees something that he likes better, then he could possibly change his mind. Another player from the state of Michigan that previously had Ohio State as one of the schools he was most interested in is no longer interested in the Buckeyes. WR Jonathan Orr (6-3, 185) from Detroit Henry Ford High School in Michigan says that he is now looking at MSU, Iowa as well as Georgia Tech, Minnesota and Michigan. In Florida, DB Willie Hughley from Haines City, Florida is a 6-0, 160 pounder with 4.4 40 speed that likes Ohio State. He has a 2.6 GPA and picked off eight passes as junior from his corner spot. Hughley says that the schools he is most interested in right now are Ohio State, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Kansas, Michigan, Mississippi, Iowa and Iowa State. He said that most of those schools have called him during the May recruiting period, including Ohio State. Speaking of calling, now that it is August 1st, it is now time for college coaches to once again call players. As of today, coaches can once again call and speak with players, and I will be keeping you updated that the Buckeyes are calling this month. The player that I am definitely keeping a watch on that could be the next verbal commitment for OSU is WR Angelo Chattams (5-11, 180) from Dayton. Chattams has been saying that he wanted to narrow things down soon, and he wanted to pick a college before the start of his senior football season. I spoke with him recently and he told me that he is still planning to pick a college before the start of his senior season. His first game is August 25th and he hopes to make a decision about a week before that first game. He said that he has not narrowed things down yet and that six schools, Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State, Purdue, Michigan State and Miami of Ohio, are still in the running, and all six of those have offered Chattams a scholarship. Chattams says that right now he still doesn't have a favorite and wants to wait until after the first of August when coaches start talking to players again and calling them, and that once that happens he will see what happens. WR William Buchanon from Oceanside, California is a 6-3, 175 pounder with 4.4 40 speed that the Buckeyes have offered a scholarship to, and there had been a rumor that he had committed to USC. However, the rumor is not accurate. Buchanon, who scored five touchdowns as a Junior is still very much interested in USC, but is still also looking at UCLA, Cal, San Diego State and Ohio State. All of those schools except for Cal have already offered him a scholarship. Right now, it appears he prefers to stay on the West Coast, though he has not eliminated Ohio State. RB J.R. Lemon from Georgia is one of the country's top big backs and he is interested in Ohio State. Lemon is a 6-2, 215 pound running back who rushed for 1100 yards and 10 touchdowns last season. He as a fine 3.9 GPA and is looking at Georgia Tech, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Michigan, Florida State, Miami and Stanford. Right now, though, Georgia Tech is the school to beat. One of the top prospects in the South, Quan Cosby from Texas, has been offered a scholarship by Ohio State, and he told me recently that he is interested in the Buckeyes. He is a 5-10, 185 pounder with 4.3 40 speed. He has a fine 3.4 GPA but won't take his test until this fall. Cosby starts at QB and free safety and passed for 1300 yards last season and rushed for 1500 while also picking off seven passes on the other side of the ball. Cosby is being recruited as either a WR or corner back and said he doesn't have any preference as to which side of the ball he plays on in College. Cosby said he wants to stay wide open on his college choice, keeping an open mind. He did say that he is looking at, among other schools, Texas, Notre Dame, Baylor, Florida State, Ohio State, UCLA, LSU, Illinois and Missouri. All of those schools, plus many more, have offered him a scholarship. One of the top DB prospects in state of California has Ohio State as his leader. Jibril Raymo from Beverly Hills California, a 6-3, 190 pounder with 4.5 40 speed says the Buckeyes have offered him a scholarship and Ohio State is his top choice. Raymo is a free safety who also is a fine track athlete and he is considering trying both sports in college. Raymo has a 2.4 GPA but will not take his test until fall. Raymo tells me he is looking at Ohio State, UCLA, USC, Tennessee, Nebraska, Michigan State, Arizona State and Arizona. He said that of those schools, Ohio State is the only one that has offered him a scholarship and the the Buckeyes are his favorite and the Buckeyes have shown the most early interest in him and that he definitely wants to take one of his official visits to OSU. Also in California, another prospect that has Ohio State on his list and says that the Buckeyes have offered him a scholarship is JaJa Riley from San Diego. He is a 6-3, 195 pounder with 4.5 40 speed. He had close to 1400 yards rushing and 19 touchdowns last season and also averaged over 4.5 yards per carry. On defense, he played mostly OLB. He could play RB, WR, or SS in college. He has a 2.8 GPA and scored a 960 on the SAT. He tells me that he is looking at Ohio State, USC, Arizona, Arizona State, Washington, Colorado, Washington State, Oregon, Kansas State, Oregon State, Illinois, Oklahoma and Nebraska. He said most of those schools, including Ohio State, have offered him a scholarship. He says that the main ones that he is interested in are Ohio State, USC, Illinois, Colorado, Nebraska and Kansas State. He said that Arizona State is a school that he is also pretty interested in, and that Ohio State and USC will most likely be two of his official visits. Even though the Buckeyes have one commitment from a tight end in this recruiting class, the Buckeyes continue to look for tight ends. One from the state of Louisiana that is interested in Ohio State is Hynson Lanaux from Hammond, Louisiana. Lanaux is a 6-6, 225 pound tight end who runs a 4.65 40. He caught 12 passes as a junior, has a 3.6 GPA and scored a 27 on the ACT. Lanaux says he is not really too sure right now which schools he is most interested in, but he did immediately say that he has talked some to Ohio State, and he would be very interested in going to Ohio State. Lanaux said that he has also talked to Florida, LSU, Tulane and some others, but right now is not too sure how interested all of those schools or others are and doesn't know who his favorites would be. While the Buckeyes have talked to Lanaux, they have not offered him a scholarship. In West Virginia, FB/LB Alex Lake from Morgantown, West Virginia is a 6-2, 225 pounder who is interested in Ohio State. Lake runs a 4.65 40 and has a 3.4 GPA and a 1000 on the SAT. Las season he carried the ball 53 times for 503 yards, averaged just under ten yards per carry and scored five touchdowns. On defense, he made 94 tackles and says he has no preference if he plays fullback or linebacker in college. Lake tells me that he has scholarship offers from West Virginia, Virginia, Duke and Marshall, and he looking at those schools, and he has also been receiving a lot of mail lately from Ohio State. He says he does not have any favorite right now. In Pennsylvania, two-way lineman Steve Perry from Pittsburgh Woodland Hills High School says OSU is one of his top choices. He is a 6-4, 295 pounder with 5.1 40 speed. He started at tackle on both sides of the ball as a junior, but will play offensive guard as a senior Perry could play just about anywhere one either side of the line of scrimmage in college. He has a 2.5 GPA, but he does need to raise his test score. He tells me that he is looking at Ohio State, Pitt, Penn State, Kentucky and Boston College, and says that he likes Pitt best right now because he is most familiar with the Panthers and its close to home, but he is also interested in Ohio State. A tight end that the Buckeyes had offered a scholarship to has committed elsewhere, and he has committed to a Big Ten School, Penn State. Scott Paxson from Philadelphia Catholic High School, a 6-4, 225 pounder with 4.7 40 speed has committed to the Nittany Lions, choosing Penn State over Ohio State and Syracuse. All three schools had offered him a scholarship. Also in the East, RB Ricky Cook from New Jersey, a 6-1, 235 pounder with 4.5 40 speed says that Ohio State is one of the schools that is very high on his list. Cook rushed for 1002 yards and seven touchdowns as a junior and has a 3.3 GPA but won't take his test until this fall. Cook tells me that the schools he is most interested in are Ohio State, Tennessee, Virginia, Florida, Notre Dame, Georgia Tech and Wisconsin. He says that those are the schools he is most interested in though several others, including Rutgers, Wake Forest and Temple, have offered him a scholarship. Virginia has also offered him a scholarship. Cook says that he has liked Ohio State since he was little and that he is a big Eddie George fan and he feels like the Buckeyes like big running backs so Ohio State is one of the schools he is definitely interested in. In Ohio, WR Sean Coffey from East Cleveland Shaw High School, a 6-5, 215 pounder with 4.6 40 speed has some interest still in Ohio State. He has a 2.5 GPA. He has scholarship offers from Penn State, LSU, Virginia, Central Michigan and Minnesota. His brother is a WR at Virginia. He has been talking a lot about Penn State as well as LSU according to his father, but he also has interest still in Ohio State though the Buckeyes have not offered him. At one point, DL Charles Rush, one of the top prospects in the state of Pennsylvania had named Ohio State as one of the schools that he was most interested in. However, he later said that he was no longer looking at the Buckeyes when some other schools had offered him a scholarship when OSU had not. Rush has not added OSU back to his list and is basically now looking at about six schools, Penn State, Michigan, Stanford, Pitt, UCLA and Notre Dame. The only one of that group that has not offered him a scholarship is Stanford. He is leaning to Penn State with Michigan second. On the West Coast, a very good athlete that likes the Buckeyes is Bill Goodman. He is a 6-4, 215 pounder with 4.6 40 speed. As a junior, he played WR on offense, though he did play some RB. On defense, he played defensive back In fact, on the defensive side of the ball he picked off 11 passes and made 104 tackles. He also had close to 500 yards receiving and prefers offense. In fact, he says he definitely either wants to play WR or RB in college, and return punts as well. He has a 2.3 GPA and an 870 on the SAT. He tells me t hat he is looking at Ohio State, Miami, Florida State, Florida and Oregon, and Michigan is in the picture as well. He says that USC and UCLA are showing a lot of interest and he has not ruled those schools out, though he doesn't have them in his top five or six. Goodman says that Washington, Washington State, USC and Oregon have offered him a scholarship and said that the two schools that he would immediately commit to if they offered would be either Florida State or Miami. In Ohio, WR Dontes Sanders, a 6-1, 188 pounder has been offered a scholarship by both Pitt and Indiana. He is the younger brother of Darnell Sanders. Sanders is looking at both Pitt and Indiana, but he is also looking at Ohio State, Michigan and Michigan State. He does not have any one clear-cut leader. WR Jamison Evans from Shaker Heights High School also is interested in the Buckeyes. He is a 6-4, 210 pounder with 4.58 40 speed who has a 2.9 GPA and a 23 on the ACT. He camped this summer at Purdue and Kentucky, and Purdue has offered him a scholarship, as has LSU and Louisville. Evans says he is looking at Purdue, LSU, Louisville, Kentucky, Syracuse, Michigan State and Ohio State, but that right now, Purdue would be his top choice. Some of the players that are most likely to commit at the camp might include Angello Chathams. The outstanding WR is also a teammate of Brandon McKinney, who has already committed to OSU, and Chattams has OSU as his leader and plans to be at the camp, so certainly the Buckeyes are hoping he could commit, and I think that is certainly a realistic possibility. They are also hoping that Simon Fraser from UA could commit, and I think that its a possibility could commit. Right now he has Ohio State, Michigan and Stanford as his top three choices, but I think the Buckeyes have as good a shot or a better shot than anybody at landing Simon Fraser. Ryan Cook has OSU and Michigan as his two favorites. If the Buckeyes offere him a scholarship at camp this week, and I think that is a possibility, I certainly think it is not out of the question that he could commit to OSU, though he might also wait, even if OSU offers because he is scheduled to go to Michigans camp this week as well. It always seems that at least one player that the Buckeyes had not previously offered a scholarship to shows extemely well at camp and gets offered a scholarship, and I would imagine that that could happen this year as well. One player that is hoping to make it to the OSU camp is WR Dontez Sanders, a 6-1, 188 pounder from Bedford Channel High School. He played as a junior at Warrensville Heights and has transferred this year for his senior season. If the Buckeyes were to offer him a scholarship provided he makes it to OSU's camp, I think it is a very real possiblity he could commit if offered. He told me last night that he is looking at Ohio State, Michigan State, Michigan and Indiana. He said that all of those schools called him in May, and that Indiana has offered him a scholarship, but that Ohio State is his favorite. Sanders is the younger brother of OSU TE Darnell Sanders. One player that won't be able to make it to Ohio State's camp is RB Gary McGee from Reynoldsburg High School. McGee is a 5-11, 190 pounder with 4.4 40 speed and is a fine prospect, but he does want to concentrate on his academics this summer, so he will be going to summer school instead of the OSU camp. McGee says that his top three are Ohio State, Penn State and Michigan, but none of those schools has yet offered him a scholarship. He is also looking at West Virginia and Bowling Green. He said that if he had to choose right now, Penn State would be his leader. Yet another player from Florida that the Buckeyes have offered a scholarship to is Jovonny Ward from Miami Northwestern High Schools. He is a 6-0, 200 pounder who runs a 4.45 40 and is an outstanding safety prospect who has 11 career interceptions going into his senior season. He already has scholarship offers from his top choices, and those top choices in no particular order are Ohio State, Miami, Illinois, Clemson and West Virginia. There is no secrete that the Buckeyes would love to land a blue-chip quarterback in this recruiting class. They are looking all over the country to land a blue chipper. In the state of Ohio, they have offered a scholarship thus far to one QB, that being Rahshaan Johnson. Nationally, they are pursuing some top QB prospects as well. One of those is Joe Mauer from St. Paul, Minnesota, and Mauer told me recently that he is interested in Ohio State. He is a 6-4, 210 pound QB who led his team to a 13-0 record, including the state championship in Minnesota last year, as Mauer threw for 2500 yards and 32 touchdowns. Mauer also is an outstanding left-hand hitting catcher in baseball, and told me that he will probably play both football and baseball in college, though he could get drafted high in the major league baseball draft, and he said that if that happened, he would at least have to consider going pro baseball out of high school. Mauer says that thus far he has eight scholarship offers, those eight being from Minnesota, Michigan, Iowa, Michigan State, Arizona, Florida State, Pitt and Northwestern. He said he is looking at all of those schools, and is also looking at some others and those include Ohio State, UCLA, Stanford and Florida. Mauer says that right now his top three in no particular order are probably Florida State, Arizona and Minnesota. The Buckeyes offered a scholarship quite some time ago to WR Kevin Noel from Napperville Central High School in Illinois, and the 6-3, 190 pounder with 4.5 40 speed has had Ohio State on his list for quite some time. I checked with him recently, and he said that the Buckeyes still remain on his list. He said he is currently looking at Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, Miami, Kentucky, Purdue and probably Texas A&M and Notre Dame. Every one of those schools has now offered him a scholarship. He caught 30 passes for 700 yards this past season, and is one of the top prospects in the Midwest. Noel said that he is going to try to decide in the next week or so on a couple of football camps to go to, and that he would also like to narrow his choices down to four of five schools by the end of the summer. As far as favorite, he said that the rumor that have him favoring Michigan State are perhaps a little bit accurate, but that he also likes Purdue a lot and those might be his two choices, but he remains interested in the Buckeyes. A QB from the Buckeye state that the Buckeyes are interested in is Matt Kubic (6-3, 200) from Youngstown Cardinal Mooney High School. He is starting a camp session today at Iowa and is going to be at Iowa's camp for just one day. He is looking at the Hawkeyes as well as Ohio State, Northwestern, Illinois, Notre Dame, Stanford, Boston College, Indiana, Kansas and Kansas State among others. He has been informed by Buckeye assistant coach Fred Pagac that OSU is going to actively recruit him, though the Buckeyes have yet to offer him a scholarship. He had a fine junior season, completing 55% of his passes for over 800 yards and also rushed for over 1,400 yards, averaging over 9 yards per carry to help lead Cardinal Mooney to a 12-2 record. One of the Midwest's top RB prospects, Jamaal Butler, says the OSU is one of the schools high on his list. He is a 5-11, 190 pound RB from Oak Creek Wisconsin. He runs a 4.3 40 and rushed for over 2,000 yards and 30 touchdowns this past season. He averaged over 11 yards per carry and has a 2.5 GPA and could be considered the top overall prospect in the state of Wisconsin. He says that he is very interested in Tennessee and the Volunteers may have moved to the top of his list, but he is still interested in Georgia Tech, Michigan State, Iowa, Ohio State and perhaps Wisconsin. Wisconsin and Michigan State have offered him a scholarship. Another WR that the Buckeyes have offered a scholarship to is Jomo Fagan from Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Florida. Fagan is being recruited by Buckeye recruiting coordinator Bill Conley and is a 6-2, 175 pounder who will probably be a WR in college, though it is not out of the question that he could be a DB as well. Fagan runs a 4.45 40 and caught 18 passes this past season. He has a 2.7 GPA and is from the same high school as Tony Brown who was certainly very interested in Ohio State this past recruiting season. He is looking at Ohio State as well as Michigan State, Michigan, Purdue, Iowa, Missouri and Virginia Tech, and all of those schools have now offered him a scholarship. He says that right now he does not have a favorite and plans to take official visits before making a decision. |