Bill Kurelic August and September 2001

Bill Kurelic August and September Posts

September 16, 2001

OL Kyle Ralph, from Cincinnati St. Xavier High School, one the top OL prospects in the state of Ohio, remains committed to Vanderbilt. However, that could change, he tells me, if there is a coaching change at Vandy. Ralph's father had indicated a couple of weeks ago that if there was a coaching change, and there have been rumors that if Vanderbilt does not have a winning season or show significant improvement, there will be a change, his son would probably consider other schools. Ralph told me that he is receiving calls from other schools. He said that among some of the schools calling are Tennessee, B.C., S. Carolina, Northwestern and Stanford. He said that UT, B.C. and Northwestern have offered him a scholarship. Ralph said he is still committed to Vandy but if there is a coaching change he would look at other schools and that he is interested in Ohio State. The Buckeyes finished second to Vanderbilt when Ralph made his decision early this summer.

DL Andy Allman of Massillon Washington High School has not gotten word yet from OSU on whether they will be offering him a scholarship. Allman remains committed to Pitt but if OSU would offer he said he would clearly think about that offer. In fact, if OSU offers, I tend to think Allman, 6-5, 235, he would likely change his commitment.

Another Ohio DL, Barry Coefield from Cleveland Heights, 6-5, 250, who had OSU as his favorite, now tells me that his two favorites are Northwestern and Ga. Tech. Both of those schools have offered a scholarship, as has Vanderbilt. The Buckeyes, while they had shown early interest, have not offered a scholarship. Coefield says that it's going to take something special to beat out either Ga.Tech or Northwestern. He is planning to visit NW the weekend of Nov. 30 on an official visit. He might visit Vandy the weekend of Nov.
10.

I spoke again with OL Davin Joseph from Hollandale, FL. Joseph, 6-3, 260, 5.0 40, plays both OG and DT but he is being recruited as an OL. He is one of the best in the south. Joseph tells me that he is still very much interested in OSU however, there have been some changes. At one point Joseph had said that he really wasn't looking at any of the Florida schools because they don't have wrestling and he is an outstanding wrestler. He would like the opportunity to wrestle in college. However, Joseph now says that he is looking at some of the schools that don't have wrestling programs. He said he still has scheduled one official visit the weekend of Oct. 13 to Michigan State when the Spartans play Iowa. He said most likely he will set up an official visit to OSU but he said there are now three schools in the running that he had not listed: Miami, Tennessee and Florida. He is now considering them even though they do not have wrestling programs. He said he'd like to wrestle in college but it's not as big a part of his thinking now. Some of the schools have advantages such as being closer to home, Miami for instance and Florida. Schools like MSU and OSU have wrestling but the are farther from home. Joseph said he is looking hard at Missouri and Iowa State and he is still looking at LSU, Auburn and North Carolina State. All of the schools on his list have offered a scholarship.

DE Anthony Spencer from Ft. Wayne, Indiana has OSU as one of his top choices. Spencer, 6-4, 240, has played DE, NG, and DT this season, but will likely be a DE in college. Spencer tells me that he has received calls from OSU, MSU and Purdue and those are his three favorites. He also is looking at Indiana and Tennessee. He said Purdue, MSU and Indiana have offered a scholarship. Spencer was going to make an official visit to Purdue this weekend the see the Boilers vs. Notre Dame but the game was postponed. He said he would reschedule his visit. Spencer said he doesn't have a favorite right now. He did say that he has liked Ohio State since he was little and he mentioned that the Buckeyes called him this week but he missed the call.

Moving to the state of Florida, RB/DB Devon Hestor , 5-11, 175, remains interested in OSU. Hestor, who has three INTs in the first two games, said that he is currently looking at OSU, MSU, Virginia, Florida State and Purdue. He said those are probably his top five though he also is considering Penn State, Missouri, Wisconsin, Miami and Nebraska. He has been offered a scholarship by all of those schools. Hestor said that OSU calls him every week. He has not yet begun to set up any official visits.

I spoke again this week with WR Richard Washington from Ft. Myers, FL, 6-1, 170, 4.4 40. He is one of the country's top WR prospects. OSU has been at the top or near the top of his list pretty much all along. Washington said that that remains the case however Ga. Tech is gaining ground and FSU is high on his list. Washington still has only one official visit set up thus far and that is to OSU when the Bucks take on Northwestern. He said that he thinks he's going to have two more visits set up by sometime next week. He said that he is talking with Ga. Tech, Missouri, FSU and Tennessee. He should have UT set up by sometime next week and probably Ga. Tech as well. He also mentioned that he is talking to Michigan, Purdue, Minnesota, MSU, Florida and Miami. All of those schools have offered a scholarship. Washington, who has caught five passes in two games and scored three TDs, has played only about half of each game as his team won easily. He said that OSU right now is number one but I can't say who is going to end up number one. He said Ga. Tech and FSU would be tied for second on his list.

A super OL from Florida has now scheduled all five of his visits and OSU is not on the schedule. OSU had offered OL Ryan Carter, 6-5, 320 from Groveland South Lake High School. Carter told me he now has visits set up to BYU, Florida, Oklahoma, Auburn and Kansas State. All five have offered.

OL Derrick Morris from N.C., one of the country's premiere OL, is back from his visit from Minnesota. He went to the Minnesota Vikings game last Sunday and while there, he stopped at the U of M and caught the fourth quarter of the Gophers' game on Saturday. Morris said that he talked to the Gopher coaches after the game. He said that he was fairly impressed with what he saw. He did mention that he was lucky that he flew back to N.C. on Monday evening rather than getting caught in Tuesday's aftermath of the attacks on New York and Washington. Morris said, "Thank God I got back on Monday night." Morris said he was planning to visit Florida this weekend but that will be scheduled. He said that he will make a visit to OSU when the Bucks take on Northwestern. He has visits planned for Ga., Notre Dame and Tennessee. He has not yet decided on a fifth official visit. Morris said that he does not have a favorite.

DB Glen Sharp from Miami Carroll City High School at one time was listing Ohio State as one of the schools he was interested in. However, when I spoke again with Sharp he said that he is really not looking at any of the schools in the Big Ten any more. He had been looking at OSU, MSU and Penn State. He said that he has now pretty well decided that he is going to stay in the south to play college football. He said he is looking at Miami, FSU, Florida, LSU and Auburn.

One Ohioan the Buckeyes did not offer a scholarship to who has committed elsewhere, is WR Andre Chattams from Dayton Chaminade High School. He has committed to Purdue. He is the younger brother of OSU freshman WR Angelo Chattams.

DL Eric Fritz from Dublin Coffman was at the OSU-Akron game. He went to Pitt's first game earlier this year. Fritz said he thought the OSU-Akron game was a good first game. He said he thought OSU could have scored more but he said that he was impressed. Fritz said that he probably will take all five of his official visits before making a decision. He is currently looking at OSU, Pitt, Ga. Tech, ND, Texas A&M and Florida. He mentioned there might be a few other schools as well. Right now Fritz said that he has two offers, OSU and Pitt. Most of the other schools are waiting for game tapes of Fritz from his first few games this year. Fritz said that he has 18 tackles in his first two games. Fritz said that if A&M wanted him to make a visit for the Aggies' game vs. Texas that he would be interested in doing that. Fritz said that he did not have a favorite.

TE Reggie Harrison from Columbus East High School, 6-6, 225, 4.6 40, could be compared to OSU TE Darnell Sanders. Harrison plays QB as did Sanders in high school. Harrison will move to TE in college. He said he is looking at Ohio State, Kentucky and Notre Dame. He said those are the schools that call him the most. He said that Bowling Green has offered a scholarship. Harrison said it's hard to say whom he likes best. He said that he spoke with a coach from Ky. this week that told him that Ky. has two junior TEs and that's all they have. Harrison said he feels he would have a chance to move into a starting spot as soon as those two graduate. He said that he is very interested in OSU and that he was going to the Akron game but could not make it.

LB Mike D'Andrea from Avon Lake High School, who I consider to be the number-one recruit in Ohio, is a primary target for OSU. D'Andrea was planning to go to the Nebraska-ND game last week but did not make it to Lincoln. He injured his knee in his team's game Friday night. He wanted to stay off the knee so he could play the next game. D'Andrea still has not set up any of is official visits yet but he continues to say that he is looking at OSU, Nebraska, Michigan and ND. All four have offered a scholarship.

QB/athlete Troy Smith from Cleveland Glenville visited OSU for the Akron game. He was accompanied by a number of his teammates. Smith said that it was nice at OSU and he like the OSU pro-style offense. He said everything went O.K. Smith said that W.Va. is still his favorite with MSU still number two and that OSU and Va. Tech are the other schools he is looking at. Smith said he has one official visit set up to W.Va. for the first weekend in December. Smith has been offered by W.Va., MSU and OSU.

August 26, 2001

WR Roy Hall, 6-3, 200 from Lyndhurst Brush High School, the top WR prospect in Ohio and one of the best in the Midwest, is going to announce his decision on Thursday. He has a 3.8 GPA and scored a 23 on the ACT. Hall confirmed to me last week that he has made up his mind on his college and he is planning to hold a press conference on Thursday, probably at 2:30 PM. He is expected to announce a commitment to Ohio State over Ga. Tech and Northwestern. As a sophomore Hall caught 42 passes as a sophomore and he caught 17 passes last year but that number was down because he missed four games with a bad ankle.

Another player the Buckeyes have offered a scholarship to, OL Jim Martin from Indianapolis Brevis Jesuit H.S., 6-8, 295, 5.1 40, tells me that he is going to visit OSU this fall to see an Ohio State game. He said he thinks it will be for an official visit. Martin said he hasn't been to OSU yet. He just has to decide what game to go to. Martin said he is currently looking at OSU, Tennessee, Northwestern, Boston College, Michigan and Purdue. OSU, Tennessee and NW have offered a scholarship.

TB/DB EB Halsey from Elizabeth, NJ, 5-11, 190, tells me the Buckeyes have been in contact. Halsey says that he has scholarship offers from Wisconsin, Michigan State, Illinois, Notre Dame, Iowa, Ga. Tech, Georgia, Maryland and Virginia. He said Tennessee and OSU are two other schools that have been in contact. Halsey, who has a 3.2 GPA, rushed for 1,850 yards and scored 23 times last year. He could project as a DB in college. Halsey says that right now he does not have a favorite.

If there was any question about TE R.J. Coleman's sticking with his OSU commitment, he dispelled it his conversation with me. Coleman left now doubt that he is very solidly committed to Ohio State. The 6-6, 265 TE from Clarksburg (WV) Byrd H.S., is one of the country's premiere TE prospects. The Bucks won a big recruiting battle for Coleman over ND, Michigan, Penn State, W.Va. and many others. When I spoke with Coleman he said he is a solid OSU commitment. He said that he gets more letters now than he did before he committed. Coleman said he has no plans to visit any other schools. Coleman said he is going to try to go to all the OSU games this year.

Moving to the state of Florida, LB William Beckford tells me the Buckeyes have offered him a scholarship. He says he wants to take an official visit to OSU. Beckford, 6-1, 215, 4.5 40 is from Belle Glade (FL) Glade Central H.S. He has played all of the LB positions and made 170 tackles last year including 12 sacks. Beckford has a 2.9 GPA but still needs to pass his test. He said he's been to Pitt and he likes their program as well as Georgia. He said LSU, Ohio State, Florida State and Miami are on his list. Beckford said a lot of players from his school have gone to Florida so he kind of wants to break that trend. He did not mention the Gators among his favorites. He said that Pitt, Georgia and Ohio State have offered him a scholarship. Beckford said that he likes what he hears about the OSU defense and they have speed LBs. He said he wants to visit OSU but nothing is set up right now.

Beckford's teammate is very interested in the Buckeyes. WR Santonio Holmes is 5-11, 178 with 4.45 40 speed. Holmes caught 32 passes for 970 last year averaging 30 yards per catch. Holmes scored 10 times and he has a 3.3 GPA but does need to raise his test score. Holism tells me he likes OSU, Miami, N.C. State, Pitt, FSU and Georgia. N.C. State, Pitt and Ga. have offered him as well as Illinois, Rutgers, Alabama, Michigan State and Va. Tech. Despite OSU not offering Holmes a scholarship, he said that he likes OSU and Miami best. He said WRs make big plays at Ohio State and many of them go to the NFL.

There has been some speculation that perhaps OL T.J. Downing of North Canton Glen-Oak might be having some hesitation about his commitment to OSU. The speculation arose after an article in the Canton Repository was published. Downing said he is not re-thinking his decision and is still is definitely committed to OSU.

TE Brad Schell from Burtonsville Paint Branch H.S., a 6-5, 230, 4.6 40, is interested in OSU. Shell who caught close to 20 passes last year and scored twice has a 3.0 GPA and an 1180 on the SAT. Shell told me that his top five are Illinois, Air Force, Va. Tech, Maryland and he said he was looking at Ohio State but he said that he heard that OSU had some really good TE committed but he still likes the Bucks. In fact he said he really likes OSU and Illinois because both schools have aviation programs and many schools do not. Shell said Illinois is probably his favorite but schools that have offered are Va. Tech and Maryland.

DE Roman Fry from Ironton (OH), 6-4, 245, told me that he is interested in OSU. Fry said he is looking at W.Va., Indiana, Clemson and OSU though the Bucks have not offered him. The other three have offered him. Fry said he wants to wait until the season is over and take his official visits before deciding. Fry said his favorite is Clemson. He was very impressed when he visited there.

OL Jeff Edwards from Atlanta (GA) Marist H.S., 6-7, 250, tells me that the Bucks have offered him a scholarship. Edwards, who runs a 5.1 40, and has a 3.5 GPA and a 27 on the ACT, has started at OT for two seasons but will play OG as a senior. Edwards tells me that he is looking at OSU, Michigan, NW, Stanford, Florida, Boston College and ND. He said that he has an offer from OSU some other schools that are not necessarily the top schools on his list. Those include Maryland, Vanderbilt, Arkansas and Clemson. Edwards said that he was at OSU during the spring on a late March swing through the Midwest. He said that he is being recruited by OSU RB Coach Tim Spencer. He called the atmosphere at OSU great. He said that Coach Tressel and his staff are very nice and that he probably would like to make an official visit to OSU.

DB Levonne Rowan from Erie Mercyhurst Prep (PA), 6-1, 180, 4.45 40, is interested in OSU. Rowan, who had 10 interceptions last year, tells me that he just visited Pitt and that Pitt offered at that time. Rowan said he liked Pitt a lot but that he is not ready to make a commitment. He said that he has visited PSU about a month ago and he is looking at Florida, Iowa, Wisconsin, Bowling Green, B.C., Temple and Michigan. He said that OSU is showing a lot of interest. He said that he probably gets the most mail from OSU, Florida and Wisconsin. Pitt, B.G., B.C. and Temple have offered.

August 17, 2001

There have been quite a few rumors floating around about blue-chip RB DeShawn Wynn, 6-0, 215, from Cincinnati. Interestingly, though, all of the rumors are false. There were rumors going around that Wynn broke his arm and there were also rumors going around that Wynn had committed to Alabama, but the rumors are false. Wynn told me last night that he did not break his arm or anything else. He just has swollen tissue in his right wrist but he is OK. In fact, he will be playing in his team's scrimmage this weekend. Wynn says that he still have four schools at the top of his list: West Virginia, Ohio State, Alabama, and Michigan. He also said that he has been hearing the rumor that he has committed to Alabama but that that is absolutely not true. He said that Alabama and West Virginia would probably be his top two, but that he has not only not committed to anyone, that he is not even close to making a decision. He said he will probably take four or all five official visits before he makes a decision and he has not yet begun to set up his visits.

As expected, DE Tim Schaffer from Upper Arlington High School publicly announced a verbal commitment to Ohio State. At a press conference on Wednesday, the 6-5, 245 pound Schaffer made his decision public. He is one of the top 10 prospects in the state of Ohio and chose OSU over Notre Dame, Purdue, Northwestern, Georgia Tech and others. All of those schools offered him a scholarship, as did many others including Michigan, Boston College and Georgia. Schaffer has outstanding potential and of course last season formed a tremendous bookend duo at U.A. with Simon Fraser. He made close to 75 tackles and close to double-digit sacks last season. He is a 3.7 student.

One player the Buckeyes would like to add to this class would be RB/DB Devon Hester, 5-11, 175, from Riviera Sun Coast High School in Florida with 4.35 40 speed. He starts at both RB and CB and has been on the varsity since his freshman season. As a junior he rushed for 921 yards and averaged ten yards per carry, and also picked off two passes and broke up 13 others. He has run a 10.7 100 meters. He plans to start setting up official visits at the beginning of the season, and he will probably visit Ohio State and Michigan State. He said that Florida State and Virginia could be two of his other visits, and he is also looking at Missouri, Wisconsin, Purdue, Penn State and Nebraska. All of those schools have offered him a scholarship. He said he likes the way Ohio State runs their offense, that it's going to be 50-50 pass run and he likes the way OSU is planning to open up the field. He said he could see himself playing either RB or DB in college. He is being recruited for OSU by Bill Conley.

In California, Harry Richardson is a WR/DB from Corona Sentential High School that is interested in Ohio State. He caught 55 passes and intercepted 1 pass. He is 6-1, 190 with 4.5 40 speed. He is looking at USC, Colorado, Washington, Washington State, Arizona and Arizona State out west as well as Fresno State and Hawaii. He is also looking at Nebraska, Ohio State and Kansas in the Midwest. USC, Colorado, Oregon, Nebraska and Fresno state have offered him a scholarship. He said that he was told by OSU Assistant Coach Tim Spencer in a letter that Coach Spencer feels he is better than Ken-Yon Rambo was at the same point in their careers. He said he would like to take an official visit to Ohio State.

OL Davon Joseph, 6-3, 260, 5.0, from Florida is a good one that the Buckeyes are pursuing. He is one of the top OL prospects in the state of Florida. He has a 3.5 GPA and a 910 on the SAT. He has told me that he wants to go out of state for college. He is a state champion in wrestling with a record of 34-0, and none of the Florida schools have wrestling. He will likely be a guard in college. He said he is looking at Ohio State, Michigan State, Iowa State, Missouri, Auburn, LSU, Arkansas and North Carolina State. He said that Orlando Pace is exactly why he would like to go to a place like Ohio State. A place like OSU could make him the best player he can be. He said OSU, Michigan State, Iowa State, Auburn, LSU and North Carolina State have all offered him a scholarship.

RB/WR/DB Nate Schiccatano from Pennsylvania has narrowed his list some. He made quite a few visits this summer and spring, and had said he wanted to narrow his list to four or five or less by last weekend, however, he did not pare it down as much as he would have liked. He has it down to about nine schools. Schools still under consideration are Wisconsin, Iowa, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Penn State, Pitt, North Carolina, Michigan State and West Virginia. All of those schools have offered him a scholarship. He said that there is a very good chance that OSU will be on his list when he narrows it down even further. He is one of the top prospects in the Big Ten region and rushed for 1,458 yards as a junior, averaging 13 yards per carry and scoring 28 times while also making 40 tackles on defense and picking off two passes. He has already qualified academically.

The Buckeyes continue to pursue LB Stan White Jr., 6-3, 225, from Baltimore, but White has not yet made a final decision between Ohio State and Stanford. The Buckeyes continue to be his leader, but as of right now he is just not 100% sure so he is not going to rush into anything. It does, however, look good for Ohio State to land him.

DE Anthony Spencer, 6-4, 240, from Fort Wayne, Indiana is interested in Ohio State. He went to camps this summer at Michigan State, Indiana, and Northwestern, and he said that of those camps he liked MSUs the best. He said that he is considering MSU, Purdue, Indiana, Tennessee, and maybe Ohio State. Those are his top schools right now. MSU, Purdue and Indiana have offered him a scholarship and MSU and Purdue are his favorites at this point.

The Buckeyes would like to get good news sometime soon from LB Bobby Carpenter from Lancaster. I think the Buckeyes have a very good shot at landing Carpenter, though he has not yet made a decision, Ohio State is in the lead. While he has not yet set an exact timetable for his decision, it is not out of the question he could make it before the season starts or early during the season.

August 9, 2001

DB LeAndre Boone, 6-2, 190, 4.5, from Fork Union Military Academy in Virginia selected Ohio State as his school yesterday. Boone will report with the other freshmen next week and begin practice at Ohio State. He is originally from Herndon, Virginia. This past season at Fork Union he intercepted three passes and returned several punts and kickoffs for touchdowns. Boone said that when he visited Ohio State last week he fell in love with the school, and in particular with the business school. He said that's what got him actually. He also mentioned the great facilities at Ohio State and said that the people are "genuine," that you can spot a fake, and that is not the way the people were at Ohio State. He also mentioned that he prayed a lot about things and when Coach Dantonio called him back and said that the Ohio State coaches were going to go full tilt for him, he subsequently committed to Ohio State. Boone said that he called Coach Tressel and told him that he was committing to Ohio State and that Coach Tressel was pleased and happy. He said that even though he played more free safety for Fork Union, he will more than likely be a cornerback and return man for OSU. Boone was recruited last winter by Michigan State, Wake Forrest and others. Ohio State entered the picture late. Boone, however, was not a sure academic qualifier. He now has made it academically. Dantonio continued recruiting Boone for OSU when he moved to Jim Tressel's staff. Boone is a tall, rangey player with good straight ahead speed, and according to his coach at FUMA, has fabulous moves returning punts and kicks.

Interestingly enough, following Boone's commitment to OSU, DB Ashton Watson 5-11, 160, from Huber Heights Wayne High School committed to Michigan State, doing so yesterday. Watson told me that he just felt a little more comfortable with MSU and that's what he made his decision on. He said that MSU has a pretty good recruiting class going, and while not as highly regarded as Ohio State's, is still a pretty good class and that he was happy to join that class.

WR Charlie Vample from Cincinnati Reading High School, a teammate of Deshawn Wynn, has been said to be committed to Alabama, however Vample told me that it is not quite totally a done deal. He said that Alabama has offered him a scholarship and that he is almost sure that he is going there, though not quite 100%. The Buckeyes are not at this point recruiting Vample. Though OSU is not recruiting Vample, they are certainly recruiting his teammate, Deshawn Wynn, 6-0. 215, 4.35. Vample said it would be nice to go to the same school as Wynn but that he would not pressure Wynn at all about that. Wynn has OSU as one of his top four choices and he certainly is a priority player in Ohio. Wynn agreed with Vample that it would be nice to be able to go to school with a friend, but that is not going to be a big factor in his decision. Wynn is one of the country's top RB prospects who rushed for over 2000 yards last season. On almost every occasion that I have spoken with him, Wynn has given me a slightly different list of schools that interest him. However, two schools have always been on his list, and those two are Ohio State and Michigan. He now says that he is pretty much focusing on four schools, Ohio State, West Virginia, Alabama and Michigan, and that he is no longer looking at Notre Dame. He adds that he is really not favoring any of those four, all of which have offered him a scholarship.

LB Stan White Jr. 6-3, 225, 4.6, from Baltimore Gilmore High School is back from his visit to Stanford. While he did have a good visit, Ohio State continues to be his leader. White and his father visited Stanford and returned home early Tuesday morning. White Jr. said he liked Stanford and that it is a great school with a beautiful campus, but that as of right now, he does not feel comfortable making a decision and he has no timetable as to when he will decide. He said it could be this week, next week, or there is a chance he could wait and take official visits to Ohio State and Stanford. He is down to those two schools and says that he is probably still leaning to Ohio State. He said that he wants to be 100% sure and there is no need to rush into anything at this point. Both schools are recruiting him as an athlete who could play either LB or TE, but White said that OSU is probably looking at him more as a linebacker. I get the feeling from talking to White that he is probably going to make a decision sooner rather than later, and it continues to look good for OSU to land him.

DL Quinn Pitcock from Piqua, Ohio has visited just one school this summer, that being Penn State. Pitcock visited PSU last week and for now has no other visits scheduled but may visit some schools over the next few weekends or early in the season. Pitcock is still looking at Ohio State, Penn State, Pitt, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Wisconsin, Alabama and Miami. All but Alabama and Miami have offered a scholarship and the Buckeyes continue to lead for Quinn Pitcock.

OL Derrick Morris 6-6, 340 from North Carolina is a player the Buckeyes would love to land. Morris not long ago visited OSU with his father and the visit went extremely well. He has set up an official visit with Ohio State for October 6th when the Buckeyes play Northwestern. Morris was going to visit Michigan this past weekend but he did not. Morris said that he just could not make the trip because his family moved into a new house and things have just been too busy, but he still wants to make it up to Michigan for a visit but is now not sure when that will be. He has official visits scheduled to OSU, Georgia when Georgia plays Auburn, Notre Dame when the Irish play Tennessee, and Tennessee as well perhaps for the Tennessee vs. Georgia game. All of the schools on his list have offered him a scholarship.

Justin Blaylock, 6-4, 330, from Plano, Texas is an OL prospect the Buckeyes would love to land. Blaylock, who has easily qualified academically, is one of the country's top guard prospects. Blaylock now mentions Ohio State in his top five, though he says that Texas, Michigan, Oklahoma and Florida would be his top choices, but he also is now looking at OSU some. He said the Buckeyes have been making contact lately and all the schools on his list have offered a scholarship. He says his top four are all pretty even, but that the Buckeyes have crept into his list.

August 5, 2001

DB Ashton Watson, 5-11, 160, who picked off seven passes as a junior, made his visit to OSU as scheduled Friday, Aug. 3. Watson told me that he met with Coach Dantonio as well as Coach Tucker and Coach Heacock. He said Coach Tressel wasn't there because "it had something to do with his mother." Eloise Tressel is being treated for cancer at Ohio State's James Cancer Hospital. Watson said the visit with the assistant coaches went pretty well. Watson said that the assistant coaches told him about what they are looking for, about his potential and the like. As expected, Watson has not decided on a college. That was anticipated as Watson told me about a week ago that he was 95% sure that he would not make a decision on his college while visiting Ohio State. That, coupled with some possible academic issues, he still needs to pass his test, made it likely that no decision would come on his visit. Watson said that he continues to have Ohio State and Michigan State as his two favorite schools. He said they are about even. Ga. Tech is the only other school that is under consideration. Watson said that he doesn't know when he will decide and that when he talked to the OSU assistant coaches, they didn't really focus on commitment at this point.

Late Tuesday night I spoke to Sam Schiccatano the father of blue-chip prospect Nate Schiccatano. Of course Schiccatano and his parents visited Ohio State on Monday. Sam told me that he and his son were very impressed with what they saw at Ohio State. Sam said he felt that his son would make an official visit to OSU. On Wednesday I spoke to Nate, who is from Southern Columbia H.S. in Pennsylvania, and he said he too thinks he will probably make an official visit to OSU. The 6-3, 215 RB/WR/DB, 4.45 40, told me about his visit, "I like the coaches. Coach Tressel and all the coaches were great, first class." He said Ohio State has nice facilities and he called Ohio Stadium "amazing." He said he hasn't narrowed things down yet but he said, "In the back of my mind I'll probably make an official visit to Ohio State." He rushed for 1,458 yds. and averaged 13 yds. per carry while scoring 28 times. He also made 48 tackles on defense and picked off two passes last year. Schiccatano also visited Michigan State and Notre Dame as well as West Virginia on this trip. He said he would visit Penn State some time next week and then hopefully narrow things down to five schools or less within the next couple of weeks. He has also visited Iowa, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Maryland, Va. Tech and Duke. All of those schools have offered him a scholarship in writing. Right now it certainly sounds good for OSU to make Schiccatano's narrowed down list.

Eric Phillips from Hilliard Davidson is a 5-10, 205 RB who has OSU high on his list. Phillips told me that he is looking at OSU, Michigan, Penn State, Indiana, Notre Dame and Pitt. He said that Pitt told him that if he went there he would not have to redshirt. He said Indiana has told him the same thing. Phillips said that OSU is "up there" on his list but that he doesn't really have one favorite. Phillips rushed for 1,947 yds. last year. While the Buckeyes are said to be interested in Phillips they have not offered him a scholarship.

A huge and talented OL from Pennsylvania says he is definitely interested in Ohio State. Brandon Darlington from Downingtown, PA, a 6-5, 270 OT, who runs a 4.9 40 told me last night that OSU is one of the schools that he is interested in. Darlington, who has a number of scholarship offers on the table, has a 2.7 GPA and scored an 1,120 on the SAT. As a junior, he started at OT and helped lead Downingtown to a 12-1 record. As a senior he will play OT and LB but he is being recruited as an OL. He told me he's really not too worried about colleges and recruiting right now. He said he just wants to focus on his senior year. He did say he had offers from Wisconsin, Syracuse, Iowa, Rutgers and Miami. He said he is looking at all those schools as well as talking to Penn State and Ohio State.

Anthony Wollschlager from Ft. Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas H.S. is a player the Buckeyes have offered a scholarship to, is not looking at OSU at this point. A 6-6, 300 OL, one of the top OLs in the Florida, told me that he is looking at three schools in the Midwest, Notre Dame, Michigan and Northwestern. He said that Miami is another school that he really likes as well as Florida and Auburn. Wolschlager said Notre Dame, Northwestern and Ohio State have offered him a scholarship but he said that right now he is not interested in OSU.

OL Mark Ferris from Pittsburgh North Hills H.S. visited OSU last spring. He was at OSU for a recruiting day when the Bucks held a scrimmage. Ferris told me that he is currently looking at Penn State, Virginia, Michigan State, Notre Dame, NW, Pitt and maybe Ga. Tech. Ferris said that he hasn't heard lately from Ohio State. He said he is focusing mainly on Penn State, Pitt and Virginia.

OL Derrick Morris from Huntersville North Mecklinburg H.S. in North Carolina, 6-6, 340, is back from his unofficial visit to OSU. He was accompanied by his father and two teammates, RB Anthony L.A. Adams and WR James Taylor. The visits went extremely well. In fact, Morris and Adams have both set up official visits to OSU for the big night game between OSU and Northwestern in Ohio Stadium. Those two will join WR Richard Washington from Florida for an official visit to that game. Morris said he liked it very much at OSU. He said that he was very impressed with the OSU coaches. He spoke with Coach Tressel, Coach Bollman, Coach Spencer and strength coach Alan Johnson. He said he likes the business school and that the campus is very big but the business classes are all in one area so getting around would not be a big deal. He said he also liked the coaching staff and some players he met. He got to sit down with Coach Jim Bollman and watch some film and get to see OSU's offense. Morris said that OSU is pretty high on his list and that his favorites are OSU, Notre Dame, Tennessee and Florida. He said that all five schools are about even right now. He has been offered by all five schools. Morris said he has decided on four of his official visits and they will be Ohio State Oct. 6, Notre Dame for the ND-Tennessee game, Georgia for its game with Auburn and he'll visit Tennessee but he has not date set for that visit.

Adams said he was impressed with Ohio State. He said it's real nice there and the new coaches are impressive. Adams also will make an official visit on Oct. 6. OSU has not offered Adams at this point. Taylor said he was impressed with the facilities at OSU and Notre Dame but that he liked the business school at OSU a little bit better than Notre Dame's.

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