Bill Kurelic's December Posts

December 14th 4:00 P.M.
At least the Buckeyes won't have to go against Chris Simms (NJ). Simms has narrowed things down to TEXAS and TENNESSEE.

FB Merril Robertson (6'2 240 4.55) from Fork Union Military Academy in Virginia rushed for close to 600 yards this season and was an outstanding blocker. He will finish at Fork Union in May and enroll in college in the fall. Robertson is originally from Chesterfield Bird High in Virginia and committed to Virginia coming out of high school. He visited MICHIGAN this past weekend and has also visited VIRGINIA. His other visit will be to OHIO STATE in January, probably the 8th.

LB/FB Len Cusumano (NJ) told me, "I liked it a lot at SYRACUSE, but I didn't commit. I still plan to visit NOTRE DAME January 15th." Cusumano has also made a visit to BOSTON COLLEGE, and is looking at PENN STATE, OHIO STATE, UCLA, PITT, and NORTH CAROLINA too.

DB Brian Mance (SC) has not yet set any of his visits as he is preparing for the Shrine Bowl which pits the top players in South Carolina against the best in North Carolina. Mance plans to visit OHIO STATE, GEORGIA, and TENNESSEE, and is interested in NOTRE DAME and FLORIDA too.

December 14, 1998 8:30 AM

On my Friday evening hotline update I said DB Michael Doss (OH) had postponed his visit to OHIO STATE until the weekend of January 8th. Doss has of course already committed to the Buckeyes. The other cancellation was the news I broke last week, that QB Chris Simms (NJ), would not be visiting the Buckeyes. All the other players who were scheduled to visit the Ohio State made it as scheduled so let's give you a capsule look at each one.

TE/QB Gary Godsey (FL) had a great visit with the Buckeyes. He was hosted by Steve Bellisari. Godsey said, "Coach Cooper said I could stay at quarterback as long as I want. I did think about committing to OHIO STATE. They were one of my top choices and they're even higher now. Ohio State is kind of NFL U. The fans there are great. I'll visit GEORGIA
TECH January 8th and see." Gary is not certain he will take his January 15th visit to NOTRE DAME. He also has MICHIGAN, AUBURN, TENNESSEE, and ALABAMA under some consideration, though visits with any of those schools have not been scheduled. Gary's mom and dad lived in Dayton for a while and a familiar with the Buckeye state, which does not hurt Ohio State's chances.

OL Joseph Patrick (MI) said, "I had a great time at OHIO STATE. I can't pick a leader now. It's kinda like 1A, 1B, and 1C between Ohio State, Michigan State, and Indiana. I'll probably visit NOTRE DAME and USC in January too."

TE Ivan Mercer (CA) has now visited TEXAS A M, MIAMI, and OHIO STATE. His final visit will be to TENNESSEE this coming weekend. Mercer was hosted while at Ohio State by Drew Elford. Mercer told me, "I had a real good time at Ohio State. They offered me a scholarship. But one of my rules is that I won't commit on a visit. After I visit TENNESSEE I'll make my decision, probably within a week or so. Ohio State is right up there, but I wouldn't say I have a favorite."

LB/DE Shawn Price (NJ) was hosted while on his visit with the Buckeyes by Derrick Thompson. Price told me, "It was really good at OHIO STATE. I liked it there a lot. FLORIDA STATE is the other main one I'm looking at. I'm not leaning to anyone." The Buckeyes have not yet offered Price a scholarship.

OL Sean Milligan (GA), who was hosted by Tyson Walter, told me, "I liked it at OHIO STATE, but NOTRE DAME is still my leader. Ohio State and UCLA are probably tied for second. I'll visit UCLA this weekend, MICHIGAN January 8th, and GEORGIA January 15th. I did like how the players get along at Ohio State."

DB Curtis Crosby (OH) of course committed to the BUCKEYES last February. He told me yesterday, "I like the college atmosphere at Ohio State. I like the way the players have fun and handle football and school together. My host was Gary Berry. I'll be a corner at Ohio State."

LB Pat O'Neill (OH) was accompanied to OHIO STATE by both his parents. OL Matt Zahn (OH), and P/K B.J. Sander (OH) also made official visits to OSU this past weekend, and of course all three have committed to the Buckeyes.

Many players the Buckeyes are pursuing visited elsewhere this weekend.

Let's tell you about some of them and I'll have information on others later today.

DB Richard McNutt (IL) had a great visit to UCLA. McNutt said, "I loved it at UCLA, all the glamour and the great weather. When I got back I told my family I committed to see what they would say. They got mad at me. They want me to stay closer to home. I kind of want to go to UCLA, but if I had to pick now I'd probably pick Ohio State because of my family and all. I might move NORTHWESTERN up to this weekend so I can make a decision pretty soon."

LB T.J. Duckett (MI) visited Michigan this past weekend. Duckett told us, "I liked it at MICHIGAN, but I'm still not ready to decide anything. I think I'm going to go ahead and take all five visits. Actually I plan to take those last two visits. I've got UCLA next weekend and OHIO STATE January 8th. I've got to recheck things now. I wouldn't say I have a leader or a top two or anything. I was pretty familiar with Michigan before I went there. I didn't see anything that really surprised me or anything." T.J. has previously visited MICHIGAN STATE and FLORIDA STATE. However his decision is likely to come down to either Michigan or Michigan State.

LB Matt Farrior (VA) visited VIRGINIA this past weekend and told me, "I'd say Virginia and OHIO STATE are about even. Those are my top two. But I still plan to visit NORTH CAROLINA, PENN STATE, and FLORIDA."

OL Shane Lehmann (CA) visited Nore Dame and told me, "It was a lot of fun at Notre Dame. I enjoyed it a lot. Now it's a toss-up between Notre Dame and Ohio State, just a little behind UCLA." Shane has visited
NEBRASKA, OHIO STATE, and NOTRE DAME, and will visit UCLA
December 18th. He has USC scheduled for January 8th, but may cancel that trip and make a decision after visiting the Bruins.

OL Alan Reuber (TX) visited TEXAS A&M, and told me the visit went well, but he is no closer to making a decision than he was before. Reuber has now visited A&M and MIAMI, and still plans to visit TEXAS December 18th, OHIO STATE January 8th, and NOTRE DAME January 15th. Reuber said, "I still have no favorite at all. I'll take all five visits and hopefully I'll start to have some ideas pretty soon."

DE Constantin Ritzmann (FL) will finish up his visit to TENNESSEE today, and his teammate RB Tony Milton will finish up his visit to KENTUCKY today. Both have been offered a scholarship by the Buckeyes.

I'll have more later today!

December 7th
A big recruiting weekend has for the most part been wrapped up, though two players, DE Constantin Ritzmann (FL) and DE Chris Hewitt (GA) will finish up their official visits to OHIO STATE today. Ritzmann had a playoff game Friday night so he did not start his visit with the Buckeyes until Saturday morning and Hewitt also started his visit on Saturday. Let's now give you a capsule on each player who made an official visit with the Buckeyes who has finished up his trip to Ohio State, beginning with Richard McNutt who seems like just about a lock to end up at Ohio State.

DB Richard McNutt (IL) and his mom were very impressed with OHIO STATE. McNutt, who had previously made an official visit to MICHIGAN STATE, told me, "I really enjoyed it at OHIO STATE. I don't want to say I've committed, but let's say the coaches there know where I want to go. Ohio State is way, way out in front. But before I announce anything I want to take some more visits. But unless I see something that really changes my mind, I guess you could say I'll be at Ohio State." McNutt, who was hosted by Mike Wiley and Courtland Bullard, has visits still scheduled to PURDUE December 11th and UCLA December 18th.

WR Luke Powell (TN), who has been to Ohio State before (he made an unofficial visit to see the Ohio State-Michigan game), was very impressed with this trip to Columbus. He told me, "I liked OHIO STATE better than KENTUCKY. I want to take two more visits, maybe FLORIDA and STANFORD, but I like Ohio State best right now." Powell was hosted this weekend by Rodney Bailey.

RB Art Thomas (PA) and his parents were very impressed with their visit to OHIO STATE. In fact the Buckeyes may have forged their way into the lead, and Thomas has pretty much narrowed things down to four schools. He has remaining visits scheduled to SYRACUSE December 11th, VIRGINIA December 18th, and NORTHWESTERN January 8th.
Thomas, who was hosted by Darnell Sanders, said, "Ohio State is up there. I had a lot of fun there. They have a nice campus. The players really get along there. It's down to just four schools now."

WR/RB Jason Geathers (FL) was actually the first player to get back home from his official visit to OHIO STATE. Geathers had a banquet to go to on Sunday so he took an early Sunday flight and arrived back home on Sunday morning just before noon. Geathers, who was hosted by Michael Wiley, told me, "It was alright at Ohio State. Everything was good there. They're recruiting me more as a wide receiver. That's what I prefer. With Dee Miller leaving and maybe David Boston going, they said I'd have a chance to come in and play, maybe start. I'm supposed to visit WEST VIRGINIA too. MIAMI, FLORIDA STATE, FLORIDA, TENNESSEE, ALABAMA, those are some others I could visit." The Hurricanes remain the school to beat.

Another Floridian at Ohio State this weekend was WR Antonio Carter. Carter told me, "It was great. I loved it at OHIO STATE. Jonathan Wells
was my host. Ohio State is becoming one of my favorites now. But I'm not ready to decide anything. I've got ALABAMA January 8th, FLORIDA January 15th, and TENNESSEE January 22nd. I don't have a visit this coming weekend. Michigan was scheduled for December 11th, but they're pretty much out of the picture now."

LB Matt Farrior (VA) was hosted by Nai'll Diggs. Farrior told me, "I loved it at OHIO STATE. It was great. But I've got other visits scheduled. Those are VIRGINIA December 11th, NORTH CAROLINA January 8th, PENN STATE January 15th, and FLORIDA January 28th."

Several of the Buckeyes' verbal commitments also made their official visits to OHIO STATE this past weekend. Those were LB Matt Wilhelm (OH), DL Tim Anderson (OH), and LB Fred Pagac Jr. (OH). Another commitment, TE Ben Hartsock (OH) had his visit to OHIO STATE delayed until January 8th. Hartsock however might make an unofficial visit to Ohio State next weekend as that is the weekend Chris Simms will visit the Buckeyes. Hartsock was at Ohio State's football camp this summer at the same time as Simms, and the two got to know each other. Hartsock would of course love to help convince Simms to sign with the Buckeyes.

And speaking of Simms, he made an official visit to TEXAS this past weekend, but did not commit to the Longhorns. He is still scheduled to visit OHIO STATE December 11th! Simms is not sure however if he will visit PENN STATE the weekend of December 18th or not.

RB Kerry Carter (CN) made his official visit to STANFORD this past weekend and it went very well. In fact it now looks like his decision will come down to either OHIO STATE or Stanford. Carter told me last night, "I really liked it at Stanford. They're real close with Ohio State now. I'd probably say MICHIGAN, WISCONSIN, and MICHIGAN STATE are out of it now. I'll probably decide sometime this week, but I'm not sure when. It could be any day now."

OL Tony Pape (IL) said last night that MICHIGAN, who he visited this past weekend, has now moved back into the lead, but just slightly. He still
plans to visit UCLA December 18th, OHIO STATE January 8th, and TENNESSEE January 15th. "I still think I'll probably take all five visits, but Michigan was great," Pape said. He has already visited MIAMI.

OL Sean Milligan (GA), who visited Notre Dame said, "It was fun. I had a good time at NOTRE DAME. They are still my leader. The players at Notre Dame are good guys. After that it's UCLA and OHIO STATE. MICHIGAN and GEORGIA are still in it too. I think I'll take all five visits."

K/P Nick Setta (IL) who also visited Notre Dame said last night, "It was real nice at NOTRE DAME, but I still don't have a favorite. As of now I'll still visit MICHIGAN December 11th, but that could change to FLORIDA. I've got GEORGIA TECH December 18th, OHIO STATE January 8th, and TENNESSEE January 15th."

LB T.J. Duckett (MI) visited MICHIGAN STATE this past weekend and has now visited the Spartans and FLORIDA STATE. He said, "Michigan State and Florida State are both still up there, but I'll know better after I visit MICHIGAN (December 11th)." Duckett also has UCLA scheduled for December 18th and OHIO STATE January 8th.

OL Alfio Randall (TX) visited Michigan and told me, "I loved it at MICHIGAN. It was great. Everything was real good. Michigan is kinda my favorite now. I had TENNESSEE scheduled for next weekend, but I can't go because I'm going to take the ACT on Saturday. I've got TEXAS
scheduled for December 18th." Randall said he is also still looking at OHIO STATE.

Plenty of other players the Buckeyes are pursuing also visited elsewhere this past weekend, but the only one to commit to another school was DL Cedric Hilliard (TX) who committed to NOTRE DAME. I'll have more on the other players who visited elsewhere this past weekend in my update on Tuesday.

December 2, 1998
In my update on Tuesday I gave you the players scheduled to make an official visit to OHIO STATE this weekend. That list has grown significantly both in terms of numbers and talent! RB Jason Geathers (FL) has now scheduled an official visit to Ohio State this weekend as has WR/DB Antonio Carter (FL). The Buckeyes would love to land both Geathers and Carter, two of the country's finest athletes. Also added to the list of players visiting Ohio State this weekend is one of the country's finest linebackers, Matt Farrior (VA), another player the Buckeyes would love to sign. RB Tony Milton (FL) is yet another outstanding prospect that is now scheduled to visit the Buckeyes this weekend, though Milton has a game on Friday night so he is not totally certain if he will go ahead and leave Saturday or not for a visit with the Buckeyes. Yet one other player who might visit Ohio State this weekend is K/P Phil Newman (GA). Newman committed to GEORGIA TECH, but may still visit the Buckeyes this weekend.

Buckeye assistant coach Jon Tenuta visited with DE Darnell Dockett (MD) on Tuesday and Dockett scheduled an official visit to OHIO STATE while meeting with Tenuta. Originally Dockett was going to visit Ohio State this coming weekend, but because he will take the SAT on Saturday, the visit had to be postponed. But it may wind up working to the Buckeyes advantage. Dockett is now scheduled to visit Ohio State the weekend of January 8th, which happens to be the same weekend LB T.J. Duckett (MI) is scheduled to visit OHIO STATE. Dockett and Duckett have become friends and would like to go to the same school as possible. They both made an official visit to FLORIDA STATE the weekend of November 21st. Other schools Dockett is still considering are NORTH CAROLINA, FLORIDA (the Gators will be visiting with Dockett today), MARYLAND, MIAMI, and maybe MICHIGAN.

December 1st
As promised, let's begin with the list of players that are scheduled to make official visits to OHIO STATE this coming weekend. This list, as is always the case, almost certainly will change at least a little bit by the time Friday rolls around, but here is how things stand as of now.

Several of the Buckeyes commitments are scheduled to make their official visits to OHIO STATE this weekend. Those are LB Fred Pagac Jr. (OH), DL Tim Anderson (OH), and TE Ben Hartsock (OH). One other commitment who might visit Ohio State this weekend is RB Jesse Kline (OH). His visit will be either this weekend or the weekend of December 11th. Two other commitments, RB/DB Kelton Lindsay (OH) and LB Pat O'Neill (OH) were planning to make their official visits to Ohio State this weekend, but instead are playing for a state championship. WR Maurice Lee (OH) who has also committed to the Buckeyes, at one point said he would visit Ohio State this weekend or next, but said last night it will definitely be the weekend of December 11th.

From out-of-state scheduled to visit the Buckeyes this weekend are RB Art Thomas (PA), DB Richard McNutt (IL), WR Luke Powell (TN), and DL Chris Hewitt (GA). Thomas and McNutt have both already been offered a scholarship by Ohio State. The Buckeyes will
make a home visit with Hewitt on Thursday.

DE Darnell Dockett (MD) was originally scheduled to visit Ohio State this coming weekend, but has a basketball game on Friday and will take the SAT Saturday so his visit has been postponed. Dockett told me last night, "I'll definitely reschedule my OHIO STATE visit. In fact one of their coaches is going to make a home visit on Tuesday. I think it might be Coach Cooper, but I'm not sure. Whoever it is, I'll probably reschedule the visit when they are here. FLORIDA is supposed to come here on Wednesday and MARYLAND on Thursday. I might visit those two schools too. MIAMI is in there too. I know I'll visit NORTH CAROLINA for sure. I don't know about MICHIGAN right now. I don't have a favorite, but my top three are FLORIDA STATE (already visited), Ohio State, and North Carolina."

DB Kendrick Turner (TX) has committed to TEXAS. Turner had said he wanted to scheduled an official visit to OHIO STATE, but the Buckeyes interest had lessened lately. The player that Ohio State is now more interested in is Turner's teammate, DB Brandon Ward. Ward (6'5 200 4.5) is a safety at Dallas Kimball High and could wind up visiting Ohio State.

QB Chris Simms (NJ), who has already made an official visit to TENNESSEE, has scheduled an official visit to Ohio State. Chris' father Phil said last night, "Chris will visit TEXAS this weekend and OHIO STATE December 11th. He'll also probably visit PENN STATE. That will probably be December 18th if we can work it out with them. I think that will probably be it. Right now he doesn't have any plans to visit BOSTON COLLEGE, MICHIGAN, or PITT."

OL Shane Lehmann (CA) continues to have the Buckeyes just behind UCLA. Lehmann, who has already made official visits with the Buckeyes as well as NEBRASKA, told me last night, "UCLA is still in the lead, but just a little ahead of OHIO STATE. I'm still going to visit NOTRE DAME December 11th and UCLA December 18th. I've still got USC scheduled for January 8th, but we'll see on that one. Nebraska, USC, and UCLA are all going to be visiting me at my house this week."

K/P Nick Setta (IL) is still scheduled to make an official visit to Ohio State, but might not be visiting Michigan. Setta told me last night, "I'll be leaving Friday for NOTRE DAME. After that I still have MICHIGAN scheduled for December 11th, but I might visit FLORIDA that weekend instead. Michigan has told me they need a kicker and punter, but they have Hayden Epstein who has started to do both of those. I'm a little confused where they're coming from. I've also got GEORGIA TECH December 18th, OHIO STATE January 8th, and TENNESSEE January 15th. I think a coach from just
about every one of those schools will be here either Tuesday or Wednesday. I still don't have a favorite at all."

WR Tyrece Butler (IN), because of basketball, has had his official visit schedule thrown a bit up in the air. He had been scheduled to visit Indiana this weekend and Michigan next weekend, as well as Tennessee in January, but now says none of those visits will happen on that schedule. Butler told me last night, "The only two visits I have for sure now are PURDUE December 18th and OHIO STATE January 8th. I had dates to visit INDIANA, MICHIGAN, and TENNESSEE, but I'm not sure now when they will be because of basketball. WISCONSIN is a possibility too. Coach Cameron is going to visit me on Tuesday, Michigan will be here Wednesday, I'm pretty sure just Coach DeBord not Coach Carr, Coach Tiller is coming on Thursday, and Coach Cosgrove from Wisconsin will be here Thursday too. I'd say Michigan is still in the lead, but just a little."

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