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Bill Kurelic December 2000 Posts December 14, 2000 On the other hand, a player that had committed elsewhere that the Buckeyes offered a scholarship to long ago is probably going to make an official visit to Ohio State. TE Patrick Estes (6-7, 240) , one of the country's premier prospects from Benedictine, Virginia, committed to Virginia and made his official visit with the Cavaliers last weekend. However, right after his official visit, Virginia Head Coach George Welch retired, and that has caught Estes totally off guard. Estes tells me that he is still committed to Virginia as of now, but he said that Ohio State and other schools have contacted him since Welch retired, and Estes said he is trying to get dates set up to make official visits to Ohio State, Notre Dame and Tennessee. All of those schools have offered him a scholarship. Estes said he would like to stay with his Virginia commitment, but wants to see who the new head coach will be at Virginia. OL Ronnie Lunford (6-5, 320) from Florida is another player the Buckeyes would absolutely love to land says he will probably make his official visit to OSU the weekend of January 19th. Lunford visited Miami last weekend and had a good visit, he said it was very nice, but he didn't commit to the Hurricanes. Lunford said Ohio State will probably be January 19th and then he is also looking at Florida State, Auburn and Tennessee. All the schools on his list have offered him a scholarship. Lunford says as of right now, he does not have a favorite. RB Eric Shelton from Kentucky has already visited Ohio State and Florida State, and he is planning to visit Tennessee this weekend. OSU, FSU and Tennessee are his top three, so certainly this is a key visit for the Buckeyes and Eric Shelton. RB Ryan Grant will make an official visit to Georgia Tech this weekend. Grant visited Ohio State last weekend and came away very impressed. It will be interesting to see what he says about OSU and Georgia Tech after he makes the official visit to the Jackets. Another Californian that the Buckeyes would love to land, Robert Bergman (6-5, 280) might visit Washington this weekend. Bergman has already been to Miami and Michigan State, and as of right now, it is not certain if he will visit Washington this weekend, but he may. Bergman says Ohio State and Notre Dame are the other two schools on his list and all have offered a scholarship. Bergman says right now, he does not have a favorite. There's been a rumor going around that a player that the Buckeyes have offered a scholarship to, RB/DB Tramain Hall from Florida had committed to North Carolina State. However, Hall says that the rumor is not accurate and he is still scheduled to visit the Buckeyes. Hall made an official visit to Indiana the weekend of December 1st, the visited North Carolina State this past weekend, and the rumors started that he had committed to N.C. State. Hall says that is not true and has a visit scheduled to Ohio State for the weekend of January 5th. Hall also has Nebraska scheduled for January 12th and other schools on his list include Florida State, Georgia Tech, Miami and Notre Dame. Hall says the Buckeyes have offered him a scholarship. While Hall gets most of his publicity for his outstanding play on offense, some recruiters feel that he could end up as a great cover corner in college. The 5-10, 190 pounder has 4.4 40 speed. Keep in mind that he lived in Ohio for one year and went to Huber Heights Wayne High School for one season. Speaking of players that have scheduled official visits to Ohio State for the Weekend of January 5th, and that is going to be a very big weekend for the Buckeyes, WR Fred Lee from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania has scheduled a visit for that weekend. Lee made an unofficial visit to Ohio State back when the Buckeyes played Michigan. Lee is one of the most talented prospects in the state of Pennsylvania and is also one of the top WR prospects in the Big Ten region. He caught 48 passes and averaged over 22 yards per catch this season. He has already made official visits to Colorado and Virginia Tech. He visited Virginia Tech this past weekend and also has now scheduled January visits to Ohio State for January 5th, Michigan State for January 12th, and North Carolina State for January 19th. All five have offered him a scholarship. Right now, he says he does not have a favorite. He does want to play as a true freshman and hopes that he does not have to redshirt and certainly Ohio State does have some need at WR with Ken-Yon Rambo and Reggie Germany both graduating. Speaking of wide receivers, another of the country's best has scheduled a visit to Ohio State for January 5th. Kellen Winslow Jr., the son of Kellen Winslow Sr. the former San Diego Charger great, has scheduled for that weekend. The 6-5, 210 pounder, who says he is being recruited as a WR rather than a TE, is planning to visit Washington this weekend. He also is looking at UCLA, USC, Miami, Tennessee, Texas and Arizona. The Buckeyes have offered him a scholarship. Keep in mind that Tim Spencer is recruiting him for the Buckeyes and Tim Spencer played pro football with Kellen Winslow Sr. at San Diego. Among the players scheduled to visit Ohio State on the January 5th weekend are RB Lydell Ross from Florida, DE Shaun Cody from California, TE/OL Joe Toledo from California, DB Eric Shyne from California, RB Kelley Baraka from Michigan and LB Kevin Atkins from Virginia. It's now down to three schools for DB/RB/ATH Jeff Backes from Upper Arlington High School in Ohio. The 5-11, 180 pound Backes had a tremendous senior season which resulted in his team winning the big-school state championship in Ohio as well as Backes being named Mr. Football in the state of Ohio. He has scholarship offers from many schools, including his three finalist. Those finalists are Virginia, Ohio State and Northwestern. As of right now, he doesn't have an exact date set up to make an official visit to Ohio State because his team is just starting the basketball season, and he is involved in that, but he is planning to visit the Buckeyes. He had been thinking about possibly visiting Northwestern this past weekend, but that didn't happen as he is very busy with basketball. It's tough to say which way he is leaning right now, but I think it's going to come down to Ohio State or Virginia. There had been a rumor going around that RB Lydell Ross had decided to go to Florida. However, Ross says that rumor is not true. He was visited by Buckeye RB Tim Spencer on Tuesday night and the visit went very, very well. Ross said he was very impressed with Tim Spencer and said that his favorites are still Florida and Ohio State in no particular order. Ross rushed for 2,750 yards this year, averaging 8.5 yards per carry and scoring 28 times. RB J.R. Lemon (6-2, 215) from Georgia has told me that he will probably visit Ohio State. Lemon rushed for approximately 700 yards this season, but he was hurt in his 7th game. He had a hairline fracture of a bone in his wrist and only played in seven games. However, he is a top back that the Buckeyes have offered a scholarship to. Lemon told me that he has visits set up to Georgia Tech January 5th and Stanford January 12. He said he also wants to visit UCLA and Ohio State and maybe Notre Dame. He said all those schools except UCLA have offered him a scholarship, but he is not leaning any way right now. He is being recruited for Ohio State by Tim Spencer. RB Ryan Grant from New Jersey is still very much interested in Ohio State. Grant, who led his team to the state championship game. says that he still has Ohio State as one of his top choices after his visit with the Buckeyes this past weekend. DB Antrel Rolle has already visited Notre Dame and is scheduled to visit Miami this weekend. He says that even thought Miami is his favorite, he doubts he would commit to the Hurricanes this weekend. He did say that he is planning to visit Ohio State January 5th, Florida on the 12th, and Florida State on the 19th. All five schools have offered him a scholarship. He said that while Miami is his favorite, he says it is not a done deal that he will end up with the Hurricanes and he does want to take all his visits. December 11, 2000 The Buckeyes would also like to add TE Eric Coleman (6-5, 250) from Fork Union Military Academy in Virginia. Coleman did finish take an official visit to Michigan State this weekend and did not commit to the Spartans. Coleman has now visited Ohio State and Michigan State, and has Clemson January 12th, Virginia Tech January 19th, and Purdue January 26th. I continue to think that the Buckeyes have a pretty good shot at landing Coleman. On the other hand, it doesn't look particularly good for Ohio State to land WR Kevin Noel from Illinois. Noel seemed to have a very good visit with Ohio State this past weekend, but he is now indicating that Purdue continues to be his top choice. I have felt all along that he would end up with the Boilers, but he does have one official visit to go, that being to Georgia Tech December 15th. Joe Toledo (6-6, 290) had a great visit to Washington last weekend though he did not commit to the Huskies. He is, however, indicating that Washington is his leader. He still has Ohio State to visit January 5th and Arizona January 12th. He is a TE/OL prospect that the Buckeyes would love to land. He is looking at Colorado and will probably visit Arizona in January as well. The Buckeyes also would love to land LB Austin Jackson (6-3, 230) from California. Jackson continues to have Ohio State on his list, though right now I wouldn't necessarily say that the Buckeyes are the leader, though they are still in the running for Jackson. Another California the Buckeyes would love to land, Robert Bergman, visited Michigan State last weekend and did not commit to the Spartans. Bergman is still planning to make more official visits. He has been to Miami and Michigan State thus far, and will likely schedule Ohio State and Notre Dame. All of those schools have offered him a scholarship. Another player that visited Michigan State, OL Mike Degory (6-6, 310, 5.3) from Florida, will schedule a visit to Ohio State almost certainly. He also is looking at Florida, Georgia Tech, N.C. State and Virginia Tech. All of the schools have offered him a scholarship but he does not have a leader. The Buckeyes are most definitely in the running for RB Ryan Grant (6-2, 200) and LB Willie Jones, both of whom made their official visits to Ohio State this past weekend. Grant was very impressed but he does not have anything to compare Ohio State to since that was his first official visit. He did say that Ohio State is very much in the running after a great visit with the Buckeyes this past weekend. Grant said he had a great visit to Ohio State and was hosted by Will Smith. Grant said "I loved it. The tradition, the facilities, the new business school, I liked everything." He said he felt very comfortable with the coaches and players and just had a great visit. He has Georgia Tech scheduled for December 15th and then Florida, Notre Dame and Virginia in January. Willie Jones, the fine linebacker from Miami, Florida had a tremendous visit with Ohio State this past weekend, though he did not commit. He said though, that absolutely Ohio State is one of his top two choices so though he didn't say who the other might be at this point. Jones said that he couldn't imagine taking a better visit. He said that he liked the facilities, the coaching staff, the city, everything was great. He was hosted by Thomas Mathews. Thus far he has been to Boston College and Ohio State, and he next has North Carolina State December 15th. After that he has Florida State January 19th and then either Tennessee or Oklahoma if he takes a 5th visit. All five schools have offered him a scholarship. I think his decision will in the end come down to either Ohio State or Florida State. Keon Newsome, a DB from Georgia, is a player the Buckeyes can get if the Buckeyes offer him a scholarship. He had a very good visit with the Buckeyes this past weekend, but Ohio State did not offer him a scholarship. He will visit Middle Tennessee State January 12th and will send another tape to the Buckeyes. Coach Salem has seen one of his tapes but coach Tenuta wants to see a tape as well. The Buckeyes have a great shot, I think, at landing TE Ryan Hamby from Cincinnati Moeller. He is basically going to decide between Ohio State and Miami of Ohio. He will visit the Buckeyes January 5th and then make a decision. I think that Ohio State will land him as long as the scholarship offer remains on the table. Hamby has visited Indiana and Miami of Ohio, and cancelled his visit to Illinois this weekend. All of the schools have offered him a scholarship. Previous OSU commitments Ryan Cook and Reggie Arden also made their official visits to Ohio State this past weekend. On the other hand, commitments Angelo Chattams and Brandon McKinney had their visits postponed. Also, Antrel Rolle, the outstanding defensive back from Florida is going to wait until January 5th to visit Ohio State. He said that he had a research project to work on this weekend so he had to postpone his Buckeye visit. RB Lydell Ross (6-0, 210, 4.55) did not visit Florida this weekend as scheduled. He postponed that visit until January 26th. His next visit is to Ohio State January 5th. Ross says that OSU and Florida remain his two favorites. RB Eric Shelton (6-3, 236, 4.5) from Kentucky visited Florida State this weekend and had a good trip. He says that Florida State, Ohio State and Tennessee are his top three, all pretty even, but I think his decision is ultimately going to come down either Ohio State or Florida State. RB Maurice Hall (5-10, 185, 4.35) visited Northwestern and it went very well. In fact, he said that he probably liked his Northwestern visit a little bit better than his Ohio State visit. However, he said that was really because he had been to Ohio State so many time before and it was the first time he was ever at Northwestern or the city of Chicago. Hall said that the two schools are about even still, he still doesn't have a favorite. Hall is still saying things are even between Ohio State, Florida State, Penn State, Georgia Tech and Northwestern. RB Kelly Baraka (6-1, 185, 4.4) from Portage Northern High School in Michigan confirmed again that he will definitely visit Ohio State. Baraka visited Michigan State this past weekend and previously had visited Purdue, Michigan and Notre Dame. Baraka said that after visiting Michigan State, Notre Dame and Michigan are still his two favorites, but Michigan State is a "sleeper" team that could perhaps emerge late. He said, though, that he definitely will take his last visit, that being to Ohio State January 5th. He said that he will then think about things for a week or two and announce the decision. Baraka said mid-January would be around the time frame. DL NeShan Gottard from Dayton Dunbar High School in Ohio visited Indiana this past weekend and was offered a scholarship again by the Hoosiers, but did not commit. He has now been to Cincinnati and Indiana, and said that the other two schools he is still looking at are Ohio State and Michigan State even though Ohio State has not yet offered him scholarship. Gottard says the Buckeyes remain his top choice despite that fact. He will, by the way, be in Columbus this coming weekend to be honored at an awards banquet. December 3, 2000 RB Maurice Hall from Columbus Brookhaven High School is back from his official visit to Ohio State. The 5-10, 185 pound Hall was hosted this weekend by Derek Combs. Hall said that it was good, but he didn't see too much new because of course he has already been to Ohio State many, many times previously. Hall did say that he was impressed and he did say that he watched Ohio State practice on Saturday morning and he said that he saw them run some plays that he has never seen them run before. Hall did not commit to the Buckeyes. He said he still plans to take all five official visits before he makes a decision, and he has moved one of his visits. Hall will still visit Northwestern next weekend but instead of visiting Penn State December 15th, he has moved that visit to the weekend of January 19th because Penn State doesn't have classes the weekend of December 15th. Now, Hall will visit Georgia Tech January 5th, Florida State January 12th, then visit Penn State January 19th. Maurice Hall's teammate, DB Danny Upchurch (5-9, 170) also is back from his official visit to Ohio State this weekend. He was hosted this weekend by Curtis Crosby. Upchurch said that it was great, that he liked the atmosphere at OSU and that everybody was real friendly. He also said that the Buckeyes told him that if he passes his test, then he would be "in" with a scholarship offer. He said that right now, Ohio State is in his top two along with Pitt. Upchurch said that he will visit Akron December 8th and Pitt probably December 15th and he also is interested in Minnesota. Upchurch intercepted seven passes and had four other interceptions called back due to penalty. The question mark with Upchurch is grades and he must raise his test score if he hopes to land a scholarship. Talking to Maurice Hall and Danny Upchurch, they both said that they believed that RB Jaja Riley (6-3, 195) from California has committed to Ohio State. Riley is currently on his official visit with the Buckeyes, but did not start it until Saturday so he will not finish his visit until Monday. Numerous other players who visited the Buckeyes have confirmed this as well, but we will not be able to confirm this officially with Jaja until he returns from his visit on Monday. Also currently still on an official visit to Ohio State is TE Eric Coleman (6-5, 250) from Fork Union Military Academy in Virginia. Coleman is an outstanding TE prospect that the Buckeyes would love to land. He started his official visit on Saturday, so he too will not finish up his trip to Columbus until Monday. Going into this Ohio State visit he also had Michigan State, Virginia Tech, Clemson and Purdue on his list, and all five of those schools have offered him a scholarship. Coleman is originally from Charlottesville, Virginia and will visit Michigan State next weekend. He caught 27 passes this season for 497 yards averaging 18.5 yards per catch and scored four touchdowns. He has what is described as a "NFL type body" and is an equally adept blocker and receiver. Eric Coleman's teammate at Fork Union, Alphonso Townsend, also started his official visit with the Buckeyes on Saturday, so he too will not finish up until Monday. Townsend is going to be going to going to OSU providing he takes care of everything academically at Fork Union. He played, by the way, offensive guard for FUMA this season and is being projected as an offensive lineman now in college. When he committed to Ohio State as senior in high school, he was projected as a defensive lineman. Townsend also has slimmed down while at Fork Union Military Academy. He arrived at Fork Union well over 300 pounds, but now he is 6-6 and an even 300. Townsend will be finishing up at FUMA in May and it looks like he will make it academically. Townsend attended Lima Senior High School. RB Eric Shelton from Lexington, Kentucky is a super back that the Buckeyes would love to land that visited OSU this weekend. Shelton was hosted this weekend by Drew Carter and Shelton said he had a great time at Ohio State. Shelton said he felt very comfortable at OSU and said that OSU is definitely one of his front runners. Shelton said that the Buckeyes and Florida State are his leaders, and the Buckeyes seem to have a slight edge at this point. LB Austin Jackson (6-3, 230) from Gardena, California made his official visit this weekend. Jackson is considered one of the country's top LB prospects and he is one that the Buckeyes would love to land. Jackson is being hosted by Jonathan Wells. When I spoke to him late this evening Jackson said he would like to make a final decision by Christman time if possible. He says that Ohio State is in the running, as is Colorado and then he said he most likely will visit Tennesee by the weekend of December 8th and he has Oregon December 15th that he will probably visit as well. Right now, he does not have any one clear cut leader. Other players making official visits to Ohio State this weekend include DE/TE Andri Tyree from London, Ohio, FB Brandon Schnittker from Sandusky, Ohio, and DB Jacob Steward from Ypsilanti, Michigan. All of those players are already committed to Ohio State. WR Rodney Carter had been scheduled to visit OSU this weekend, but had to reschedule in order to take the SAT this Saturday. He is commited to OSU pending his qualifying academically. LB Reggie Arden from Ironton, Ohio had been planning to visit OSU for his official visit this weekend, but he will not be able to do so. Arden's grandmother is ill, so Arden said that he is going to be travelling to Atlanta to see her and will have to reschedule his official visit to Ohio State. LB Kevin Adkins from Virginia has also resheduled his visit with the Buckeyes. He had been scheduled for this weekend but has now been scheduled for January 5th. Adkins will take his first official visit to Michigan State next weekend, and he has said that he would probably also schedule Marshall for an official visit. Adkins says that Ohio State is still his top choice. LB Willie Jones is scheduled for OSU for December 8th. He had previously been scheduled for this weekend. Jones has already visited Boston College and is also looking at Notre Dame, Florida State, Oklahoma, North Carolina State and Clemson. It appears that Ohio State has now offered a scholarship to TE Ryan Hamby (6-5, 225) from Cincinnati Moeller High School. Hamby made an official visit to Indiana this weekend but did not commit. However, he was very impressed with the visit with the Hoosiers. After getting back from his Indiana visit, he then left for an official visit to Miami of Ohio and is taking that visit this evening as well as tomorrow. Hamby also has Illinois scheduled for December 8th and will visit Ohio State in January, probably January 5th. He previously had said that all the schools except for Ohio State had offered a scholarship, but it looks like the Buckeyes have now offered as well. Hamby says his decision almost certainly will come down between either OSU or Indiana. Hamby had a fine senior season, catching 52 passes and averaging 16 yards per catch. RB Kelley Baraka from Portage, Michigan is back from his official visit to Notre Dame. The good news is that he did not commit to the Irish. The bad news is that as expected, he will likely decide between Notre Dame and Michigan. Baraka said he was very impressed with ND but will is still planning to visit Michigan State December 8th and Ohio State January 5th. Another super running back has Ohio State among his top choices. Lydell Ross (6-1, 215) from Tampa, Florida was supposed to visit Notre Dame this weekend, however he did not make that visit because he had a playoff game on Friday night and decided to reschedule that visit to January 19th. Ross has already visited Auburn. Ross said that he has Florida scheduled for next weekend and Ohio State for January 5th, Tennessee, January 12th and Notre Dame January 19th. All the schools have offered him a scholarship. Ross said that right now, he likes Ohio State and Florida best, and he plans to see the Buckeyes play in the Outback Bowl. Previously he has said that Florida and Notre Dame were his top two choices. Ross is considered to be one of the top running back prospects in the South. Linebacker Matt Sinclair from Missouri has now narrowed things down to just two schools, Illinois who he is visiting this weekend and Notre Dame who has already visited. Sinclair said it was just a gut feeling that he narrowed things down to those two. Sinclair returned from his visit to Illinois this weekend, and reported that he has committed to the Illini and will not visit Notre Dame. Many prospects the Buckeyes are recruiting are making visits elsewhere this weekend, and the Buckeyes are hopeful that none of those prospects commit elsewhere. One of those prospects is TE Marcus Spears from Louisiana. He is visiting LSU this weekend. The 6-5, 265 pounder is without question one of the country's top TE prospects, if not the top TE prospect. Spears will visit the Buckeyes sometime in January, and the Buckeyes would love to land Spears who has said that Miami is his favorite with LSU second. Also, DB Andri Maddox (6-1, 180) from Miami, Florida who is scheduled to visit Ohio State next weekend is scheduled to visit North Carolina State this weekend. Maddox is a strong safety who is very interested in Ohio State. He visited Ohio State his summer. Those are just two of the prospects that the Buckeyes are pursuing that are making official visits elsewhere this weekend. There had been a rumor going around that RB Jeff Backes from Upper Arlington High School had committed to Virginia, but the rumor is not true. Backes has not committed to Virginia or anyone else. Backes still lists Virginia and OSU as his two favorites. WR Larry Fitzgerald from Minneapolis, Minnesota is still considering Ohio State. Fitzgerald is one of the country's top WR talents by grades remain a question mark with him. He is considering Ohio State, Iowa and Georgia Tech. JUCO WR Chris Vance continues to say that Ohio State is his big leader. I would not be surprised if Vance makes a commitment soon to the Buckeyes. Vance visited Colorado this weekend, and says that after his visit, he has not changed his mind, and the Buckeyes are still his leader. WR Kevin Noel from Illinois has now scheduled an official visit to Ohio State. Noel told me that he has scheduled a visit with OSU for December 8th. He has already made an official visit to Purdue and is visiting Michigan State this weekend. He will visit Georgia Tech December 15th. He said that it is down to those four schools. RB Ryan Grant was visited by OSU assistant coach Brian Williams for a home visit. Grant will play for the state championship this weekend, then he has Ohio State for his first visit on December 8th, Georgia Tech December 15th of January 12th, Notre Dame January 19th and Virginia January 26th. All those schools have offered him a scholarship. The Buckeyes are also certainly still interested in DL NaShan Gottard from Dayton, Ohio, but he needs to improve his academic situation. Gottard visited Cincinnati this weekend and did not commit. He said it was a great visit and he was offered a scholarship, but Ohio State is still his favorite. Gottard has Indiana scheduled for December 8th, and he thinks Michigan State will be December 15th. He is not yet scheduled with the Buckeyes. |