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Bill Kurelic February Posts February 16, 2001 The Buckeyes have landed 17 players in this season's recruiting class, but with landing 17, there certainly is additional room in this class if Ohio State could land another great prospect or two. There is a possibility that a quarterback might visit Ohio State next weekend. Gino Guidugli (6-5, 200) from Fort Thomas Highlands High School in Kentucky as a junior threw for over 3000 yards, then this season threw for 4,300 yards, completed 65% of his passes, connected for 51 scores and was intercepted 10 times. Guidugli made official visits to North Carolina, Kentucky, Cincinnati and Virginia. He then committed to Kentucky. All of those schools had offered him a scholarship. However, when Hal Mumme was fired at Kentucky right before national signing day, he decided not to sign a national letter of intent with the Wildcats. In fact, he is finishing up an official visit today with Notre Dame and the Irish have also offered him a scholarship. Of the five schools, Virginia is the only school out of the running. He has also been offered a scholarship by Boston College, Mississippi State and Illinois. Pending his return from his official visit from Notre Dame, Guidugli has been considering an unofficial visit to not only Ohio State, but also to Mississippi State and Illinois. He is thinking about making an unofficial visit to Mississippi State on Sunday and Monday, Illinois on Wednesday and Thursday, and then OSU on Saturday. OSU has not yet offered him a scholarship but certainly if he were to make an unofficial visit on Saturday a possible scholarship offer could not be ruled out. Close to a month ago I broke the news that the Buckeyes had received a huge verbal commitment from a super junior, RB Maurice Clarett from Warren Harding High School in Ohio. Clarett will be without question one of the country's top prospects next season. Clarett had scholarship offers on the table from Ohio State, Michigan, Notre Dame, Michigan State and others as early as December. Clarett has now confirmed that commitment to the newspaper media, telling the Warren Tribune that he has committed to Ohio State. Clarett said that the big reason he committed to Ohio State was the hiring of Coach Jim Tressel. Clarret has know Tressel since he was five years old. Clarret rushed for close to 1,000 yards in just six games as a junior. As a sophomore, in nine games he rushed for over 1,100 yards. Clarett is on track to graduate in December and thus could enroll at Ohio State in January of 2002 and be able to go through spring practice with the Buckeyes in 2002. Clarett joins RB/FB/LB/SS prospect Drushaun Humphry from Toledo Rogers High School as two super early commitments for Ohio State. Humphry and Clarett will without a doubt be among the top five prospects within the state of Ohio next season. Humphry's commitment to Ohio State is pending his qualifying academically. He is a 6-3, 240 pounder who is a tremendous prospect. Humphry ran a sub 4.4 40 at the OSU camp last summer. This coming recruiting season is going to be a tremendous one in the state of Ohio for college recruiters, as the state of Ohio class of 2002 is a very strong one. In fact, that class will be the strongest class since Andy Katzenmoyer and that group of prospects were seniors in the Buckeye state. One area in particular that is going to be very strong is at linebacker. There are a number of top notch linebacker prospects, led by Mike D'Andria from Avon Lake. He will be one of the country's finest linebacker prospects next season and certainly is a player that the Buckeyes would love to land, but he certainly is not the only top notch linebacker prospect in Ohio for next season. Another is Brian Andrews at Lima Senior High School, and for that matter, his teammate, James Davenport as well. Both are outstanding prospects that are already being highly recruited. Also, Bobby Carpenter from Lancaster who is a LB/RB that I think will end up a linebacker in college, and Carpenter already has a scholarship offer from Ohio State. Another is John Kerr from Cleveland St. Ignatious as well as A.J. Hawk (6-2, 230, 4.6) from Centerville. Hawk has been a varsity starter since part way through his freshman season. That year, Hawk made 142 tackles, as a sophomore in 12 games made 192 tackles, and as a junior in 10 games made 169 tackles. Hawk has 3.0 GPA and has already been to a junior day at Penn State and also at Ohio State. Hawk says that he is interested in the Big Ten schools in general and would love to play anywhere in the Big Ten, and certainly Ohio State is on his list. The Buckeyes may still have an interest in NaShan Gottard (6-5, 250) from Dayton Dunbar for the recruiting class that just signed letters of intent. Gottard has not yet signed with anyone and made official visits to Cincinnati, Indiana and Baylor. He also has been interested in Ohio State and Michigan State, however Gottard did not sign with anyone on national signing day, he is still working to qualify academically. Gottard told me that he took his ACT last Saturday and now is waiting for the scores before he decides what to do. Gottard said he is going to try to sign with Ohio State, Michigan State or Cincinnati. Gottard said that the Buckeyes have indicated that if he passes his test, that they will have a priority interest in him. He also said that Michigan State has told him that he needs to pass his test and then they would talk more with him. As far as Cincinnati, he said that they have a scholarship offer on the table either way, whether he passes his test or not. If he passes his test and if the Buckeyes formally offer a scholarship at that point, I think Gottard would end up going with Ohio State. A junior that the Buckeyes are recruiting for next season's recruiting class is TE George Cooper (6-5, 250) from Westerville North High School. He is the son of George Cooper Sr. who was a fullback for Ohio State under Earle Bruce. George Cooper Jr. caught 17 passes this season as a junior and went to the Ohio State Wisconsin basketball game this past Saturday. Cooper said that Ohio State has offered him a scholarship and that he is looking at the Buckeyes as well as a few other schools such as Purdue, Miami of Florida, Penn State, Michigan and Tennessee, but certainly I wouldn't be surprised if he eventually committed to Ohio State, and I wouldn't be overly surprised if that commitment came sometime in the not too distant future. OL Mike Donaldson (6-6, 330) from Mansfield also was at Ohio State to see the Wisconsin basketball game. Donaldson, who lettered as a sophomore, started at tackle on both sides of the ball this season as a junior. He has a 3.2 GPA, and told me it was great at OSU for the junior recruiting day and basketball game. He said he got to see the Horseshoe as well as the WHAC and so on. Donaldson said he has a high interest in Ohio State. He also is looking at Wisconsin, Penn State, Illinois, Georgia Tech, Vanderbilt and Maryland. The Buckeyes have not yet offered him a scholarship. DB E.J. Underwood (6-1, 175) from Hamilton, Ohio is a cornerback who was at the OSU vs. Wisconsin basketball game as well. Underwood also was at OSU during the football season, taking in the OSU vs. MSU game. He made 70 tackles this season and had five interceptions. He has a 2.7 GPA and scored a 27 on the ACT. Underwood says that he is looking at Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan, Pitt, Virginia, Tennessee and Purdue. He says he will attend OSU's football camp this summer and will camp at Penn State for a day. February 12, 2001 On Saturday, the Buckeyes hosted many prospects on unofficial visits at the Ohio State - Wisconsin basketball game which was a thrilling Buckeye win over the Badgers. Prospects in attendance at that game included Blue-Chip running back Maurice Clarrett from Warren Harding High School who has of course already committed to Ohio State, DL Quinn Pitcock (6-4, 285) from Piqua, Ohio, who will be one of the top prospects in the state of Ohio next season, running back/linebacker Bobby Carpenter (6-3, 225) from Lancaster who is the son of former NFL player Rob Carpenter. TE George Cooper (6-5, 250) from Westerville, North was in attendance at the game, and George Cooper is the son of former Ohio State fullback George Cooper Sr. OL Doug Datish (6-5, 285) from Warren, Ohio who has been a two-way varsity starter since his freshman season. Speaking of offensive lineman, T.J. Downing (6-5, 280) from North Canton Glen Oaks High School who was a teammate of Dustin Fox. Another offensive lineman in attendance was Mike Donaldson (6-6, 230) from Mansfield was on hand, as was and linebacker, A.J. Hawk (6-2, 230) from Centerville who has been a varsity starter since his freshman year. QB/Athlete Denayne Dixon (6-3, 195) from East Cleveland East Shaw High School will be one of the top QB prospects in Ohio next season was in attendance on Saturday. WR Andri Chattams (6-0, 180), the younger brother of Angelo Chattams, who caught 17 passes for 350 yards this season. FB James Cooper (6-0, 265) from Columbus was at OSU this weekend as well. Also there was DE Tim Schafer from Upper Arlington High School. Schafer though was at OSU in the morning but did not attend the basketball game. Also, one of the top sophomores in the state of Ohio, Prescott Burgess (6-3, 210) from Warren Harding, a teammate of Maurice Clarrett, who is a top defensive back prospect. Those were nearly 30 prospects in attendance. The prospects got to see the Ohio State facilities first hand. They toured the Woody Hayes facility, went into the locker rooms and also were taken to the Horseshoe and toured the locker rooms there, went down on the field, and as I mentioned, took in the Ohio State/Wisconsin basketball game as well. Febraury 9, 2001 Of course at a recent home basketball game vs. Michigan State, junior QB Justin Zwick attended the game and sat with Coach Jim Tressel. Zwick has said that Ohio State and Michigan are probably two of his favorites. He subsequently has made an unofficial visit to Michigan to see a basketball game. This week at the Wisconsin game, TE prospect George Cooper from Westerville North High School told me he will be in attendace. Cooper is a 6-5, 250 pound tight end who's father, George Cooper Sr. played fullback for Ohio State. Cooper says that Ohio State, Purdue and Miami of Florida are some of the major schools that he is interested in. He also named Penn State, Michigan and Tennessee as other schools of interest. LB A.J. Hawk, from Centerville, Ohio and the same high school as OSU signee kicker Mike Nugent, is a 6-2, 230 pound linebacker with 4.6 40 speed. He has been a varsity starter since part way through his freshman season. Hawk told me last night that he is going to be at the OSU vs. Wisconsin basketball game on Saturday. His older brother is a quarterback for Miami of Ohio. Hawke says he likes Ohio State and just about all of the Big Ten schools, and also is interested in Miami of Ohio. DE Tim Schafer played the defensive end spot opposite Simon Fraser at Upper Arlington High School. Fraser of course signed with OSU this past Wednesday. Schafer will be one of Ohio's top defensive end prospects next season. The 6-5, 245 pound Schafer told me that he won't be able to make it to the OSU vs. Wisconsin basketball game, but he is going to be at Ohio State on Saturday for an unofficial visit. He said he will most likely talk with Coach Dantonio and Coach Heacock, but he would not be able to stay for the basketball game. He mentioned OSU, Michigan, Boston College and Penn State as schools he is interested in, and that Boston College has already sent him a letter offering a scholarship. As far as the class that the Buckeyes just signed on national signing day goes, the Buckeyes made a huge jump at the end, as they were pursuing four impact type prospects down the stretch. Those four were of course Angelo Chattams, Dustin Fox, Maurice Hall and Lydell Ross. All four of course signed with the Buckeyes and that was a big boost to this class. In fact, it moved OSU's class up to the number three class in the Big Ten behind only Michigan and Penn State in my publication. One of those last-minute propsect, Lydell Ross, credited new Ohio State Coach Jim Tressel as the big reason he chose Ohio State. A week and half ago, Lydell Ross was not even going to make an official visit to OSU, however, the Buckeyes with Coach Tressel and Coach Spencer leading the way, changed that with a home visit with Lydell Ross. He subsequently made an official visit to Ohio State and the rest, as they say, is history. He said it came down to Jim Tressel, really. He said that Coach Tressel is a people kind of guy, and he felt most comfortable at Ohio State. Ross says he is now really looking forward to getting an education and playing footall at Ohio State. Ross in considering a major in international business. Ross hopes to come to Columbus in June to get started and prepared for the upcoming football season. February 6, 2001 On the other hand, DB Marcus Hudson from Florida told me that he has committed to North Carolina State. He said that OSU finished second and MSU third. He said that he just felt a little bit more comfortable with N.C. State. He said that all three schools are good schools but he just felt a little more comfortable with N.C. State, and he also has relatives in North Carolina. RB Lydell Ross from Tampa, Florida told me last night that he is thinking that he'll decide today, Tuesday, where he is going, but he wasn't sure if he would announce it or not. He said he might just wait until Wednesday to announce his decision. Ross said that he is still leaning to Ohio State, with Florida still second but he also said that Notre Dame is right in it as well. Ross said that it is a difficult decision and as he has said after visiting Ohio State and arriving back home on Sunday evening, the Buckeyes still have the lead, but it is still very close. The Buckeyes would also love to land a public commitment from RB Maurice Hall. Hall is still planning to announce his decision publicly on Wednesday at 1:00. However, it does tend to look good for the Buckeyes to land Maurice Hall. On Sunday, Hall said he pretty much knew where he was going. As of late last night, Maurice said his mind has been changing a little bit, and he is still thinking things over. I asked him if Lydell Ross's decision would affect him, Hall said no, that he is not going to be affected one way or the other by Lydell Ross. I also asked him if Eric Shelton's decision would affect him because Eric Shelton certainly could end up at Florida State, and Hall said again that Shelton's decision would not affect him one way the other. Hall is of course deciding between Florida State and Ohio State. The Buckeyes have not given up on DB Jacob Stewart from Ypsilanti, Michigan. Stewart originally committed to Ohio State, but then changed to Michigan after the firing of John Cooper. The Buckeyes have continued to stay in contact with Jacob Stewart, but as of now, it does look like he is going to sign with Michigan on national signing day. DL Quinton Thomas (6-4, 235) from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, still wants to go to Ohio State, but that is all pending his academic situation. If everything is OK academically, he will end up in this Buckeye recruiting class but nothing is final to this point. February 5, 2001 RB Lydell Ross (6-1, 215) from Tampa from Tampa Florida had nothing but great things to say about his official visit to Ohio State over the weekend. Ross said that the visit went very well. In fact, he said that he'd have to say that the visit to Ohio State was the best visit he's been on so far. He said Coach Tressel is the best coach he's met so far. He called Coach Tressel a people kind of guy, a family kind of guy, and said that "he will win there." He also said that Coach Tressel will be a key figure in his decision and Coach Spencer being retained will be a key part in his decision, along with Coach Heacock. Ross went on to say that he thinks Ohio State is going to come out on top right now. He said that most likely, he will have a little press conference at his school on Wednesday, but he might announce a decision on Tuesday night. After Ohio State, he said Florida would be next. He went on to say that the people at Ohio State were the nicest people he has been in contact with. Ross of course has narrowed things down to Ohio State, Florida and Notre Dame, and all three have offered a scholarship. Ross said that he was just so impressed with his visit with the Buckeyes that Ohio State has forged into the lead. However, keep in mind that when Ross came back from his Notre Dame visit, he had committed to the Irish, but then when he spoke with Florida later and visited there, that grew things dead even between Florida and Notre Dame, and certainly Florida is not going to give up on Lydell Ross and is going to make a very strong pitch to try and change the way he is thinking right now, so we'll have to stay tuned on the Lydell Ross situation. As expected, kicker Mike Nugent committed to the Buckeyes on his official visit to Ohio State this weekend, joining DL Marcus Green as Buckeye commitments this weekend. The one minor disappointment was that linebacker Thomas Carroll from New Jersey, upon hearing that the Miami Hurricanes job has gone to Larry Coker, decided to cancel his visit to Ohio State and Thomas will sign with the Hurricanes on signing day. WR Angelo Chattams told me that he will probably announce his decision on Monday, February 5th. He will decide between OSU and Purdue. Chattams said he is "sort of" still a soft commitment to Ohio State. Look for the news to break on Angelo's decison to break later today, Monday the 5th. DB Marcus Hudson from Florida said that he will probably announce a decision on Monday as well. His decision will come down to Ohio State, Michigan State and North Carolina State. I think the Buckeyes might have a difficult shot at landing Hudson, though that is not out of the question. DB Dustin Fox from Canton told me that he will have a press conference at 10:00 AM Wednesday morning at his high school to announce his decision. Fox of course is debating between Ohio State and Penn State. He said he kind of thinks he knows where he is going, but he hasn't told anyone yet. He said he better have an idea by now. Certainly the Buckeyes have a realistic shot at retaining Dustin Fox. In fact, I feel Ohio State is the school to beat for Fox. Maurice Hall, the standout RB from Columbus, told me that he will announce his decision on Wednesday at a press conference at 1:00 EST. That will take place in the auditorium at Brookhaven High School. Hall said that OSU and FSU are still equal, but he did say that he has pretty much made up his mind, he just will wait until his press conference to announce his decision. Also, if transcripts come back looking good, look for the Buckeyes to sign DE Quinton Thomas from Florida on Wednesday. Thomas wants to go to Ohio State and it looks like the Buckeyes are interested in landing him, but the academic situation has to be cleared up, and that should become clear on Monday or Tuesday. If it comes back clear and positive looking academically, then expect Ohio State to sign Quinton Thomas. I also tend to think that the Buckeyes are going to sign Alphonso Townsend on Wednesday. Townsend is of course at Fork Union and has not announced a final decision, but I expect him to announce that he is going to go to Ohio State, and providing he does, OSU will sign him on Wednesday. There is no doubt that the Buckeyes want to have the fine offensive lineman in this recruiting class. As a matter of fact, Townsend's mother told me that Alphonso has made his final decision and plans to sign with the Buckeyes, but the one question mark is his test score. He still needs to raise his test score to qualify academically, but Alphonso definitely plans to sign with OSU on Wednesday. February 4, 2001 On the other hand, LB Thomas Carroll from New Jersey had been planning to leave on Saturday evening for an official visit to Ohio State, however, he did not do so and is not expected to visit OSU today for that matter. Certainly, the naming of Larry Coker as the head coach at Miami had to play a factor in that, as Carroll had told me that if an in-house candidate was named the head coach on more than an interim basis, then almost certainly he would stay with his commitment to Miami and he is expected to sign with the Hurricanes on national signing day. The Buckeyes certainly could land another commitment today from kicker Mike Nugent. He is still on his official visit, and in all likelihood will announce a commitment to OSU when he gets back from that official visit. February 3, 2001 The Buckeyes are currently hosting two prospects on official visits. They are PK Mike Nugent and RB Lydell Ross. Nugent is almost certain to commit to OSU this weekend. In the case of Ross, he is a Blue-Chip running back that the Buckeyes would love to land. He had at one time commited to Notre Dame, then visited Florida and afterword said that things were dead even between Notre Dame and Florida and that he was not commited to either school. Ross rushed for almost 2,000 yards as a junior and 2,750 this past season as a senior. I just got off the phone with WR Angelo Chattams from Dayton, Ohio, and Chattams said that he will probably announce a final decision on Monday. Chattams still says he is still a soft committment to Ohio State "sort of," and he said that he is going to go into school on Monday and talk to his coach and probably annouce a final decision at that time. LB Thomas Carrol from New Jersey will soon be leaving for an official visit to Ohio State. Carroll has a basketball game today and after that game will leave tonight for the official visit with the Buckeyes. It will be a one-day official visit on Sunday. Carroll emphasizes that he is still a strong Miami commitment, however, he told me, that he wants to take a look at Ohio State, just in case somebody gets the Miami job that is not "in house" as he put it. He then would have a backup plan available if he needs one. He said that the two schools that he would look at would be OSU and Boston College, however, Carroll emphasized that it would take a lot to get him away from Miami. Even if a pesron is name as the head coach at Miami that is not "in house", that doesn't mean that he would necessarily go away from the Hurricanes, but the Buckeyes are certainly hoping to change his mind when he is in Columbus on Sunday. DB Antrell Rolle, another Miami commitment, had been pursued by the Buckeyes in hopes of him making an official visit to OSU, but that now looks very doubtful. Rolle's teammate, Marcus Hudson, visited OSU last weekend, but did not visit Georgia this weekend as had been expected. Hudson's visit with the Bulldogs this weekend was cancelled and he is now going to decide between Ohio State, Nebraska, North Carolina State and Michigan State. He told me that those three schools are all pretty close, but his cousin told me that he felt like Marcus was leaning to either MSU or NC State. Hudson told me he would maybe make his decision on Monday. With Chattams, Green and Hudson all announcing on Monday, that could be a very big day for the Buckeyes. February 2, 2001 Also visiting OSU this weekend is kicker Mike Nugent from Centerville, and is seems almost a certainty that he will commit to the Buckeyes this weekend. He has been offered a scholarship by Ohio State. The Buckeyes are also hopeful that Thomas Carroll will visit Ohio State this weekend, but that is not a certainty at this point. The linebacker from New Jersey is still committed to Miami, but he is still considering a visit to Ohio State this weekend. Defensive lineman Marcus Green (6-3, 300) from Kentucky may well be the Buckeye's next verbal commitment. He was visited by Jim Tressel as well as Coach Dantonio and Coach Heacock yesterday. The visit went very well, and Marcus Green told me that he is going to probably doing to decide today (Friday) or at the latest on Saturday, most likely on Friday. Green says that Ohio State is probably on the top of his list, and after that, comes Texas and Michigan State, but he did say it was very close. He said that the reason he has OSU on top of his list is distance. The distance is closer to Ohio State than it is to Texas or Michigan State. One prospect who has not made a final decision yet is WR Angelo Chattams from Dayton. His brother, Andre, said late last night that Angelo has not yet made a final decision. His decision is still down to Ohio State and Purdue. The Buckeyes hosted DB Marcus Hudson from Florida, and the 6-1, 175 pounder's visit went well with the Buckeyes, but he did not commit. Hudson has now visited Michigan State, North Carolina State, Nebraska and Ohio State, and he is scheduled to visit Georgia this weekend. All of the schools except Georgia have offered a scholarship. Hudson is not really naming any one clear cut favorite at this point, but the Buckeyes are most definitely in the running for him. The Buckeyes are also still hoping that they can convince Antrell Rolle, the fine DB who is the teammate of Marcus Hudson, that he should also make an official visit to Ohio State as well. DL Quinton Thomas from Fort Lauderdale Dillard High School was reported to have committed to Ohio State but that is a bit premature. Thomas wants to become a Buckeye, but everything is on hold pending academics. He has not qualified yet academically, but certainly he could end up in this Buckeye recruiting class but right now he is not a commitment to Ohio State. February 1, 2001 Could the Buckeyes be on the verge of landing another verbal commitment? It is certainly not out of the question. DL Marcus Green from Kentucky is set to get a home visit from Buckeye Head Coach Jim Tressel this evening. Green said on Wednesday night that he could possibly make a college choice as soon as tonight, however he is leaning toward waiting until Friday to make his choice. Green made official visits to OSU, MSU, Texas, and Indiana, but really his decision will come down to OSU, MSU or Texas. One player the Buckeyes did not land is RB Jeff Backes from Upper Arlington. He has committed to Northwestern over Ohio State. Two of Chris Gamble's teammates that talked about visiting OSU will now not do so. Jovan Hay committed to Vanderbilt but said earlier this week he might visit OSU. Hay now says he will not visit OSU and will stay with his commitment with Vanderbilt. His teammate, Mathias Askew, also says he will not visit OSU this weekend. One player that will visit OSU this weekend is kicker Mike Nugent, and he seems like a certainty to commit to the the Buckeyes. Nugent was offered a scholarship by OSU last Friday and told me earlier this week that he will make an official visit to OSU this weekend, and as long as everything goes as he expects it to, he would commit to the Buckeyes. Nugent is the top-rated kicker in Ohio this year. He made five of seven field goals with a long of 52 yards as well as 29 of 29 PATs. On the other hand, a player that could possibly visit Ohio State this weekend is LB Thomas Carroll from New Jersey. Carroll is a very good one that the Buckeyes would love to land. He committed to Miami, but with the coaching change and Butch Davis leaving Miami to go to the Cleveland Browns, that has certainly opened some things up for prospects that have committed to Miami. Carroll said tonight that he is still committed to Miami, but he said that if he would take a visit this weekend, it would be to Ohio State. That is an "if" right now, and Carroll said he would probably decide Thursday if he will visit OSU this weekend. He is a 6-4, 220 pound linebacker who the Buckeyes offered a scholarship to long ago. DB Justin Fox from North Canton, Ohio told me that his visit to Ohio State went very well. He said that he was not hosted by one particular player, that he really spent most of his two days with Coach Dantonio and Coach Tressel. He did say that he had lunch with Mike Doss and dinner with Donnie Nickey, and Fox said he came away really impressed with the campus at Ohio State. He said he always thought that it was absolutely huge, but after getting on campus, he didn't think it was that big after all. Fox said that he was going to be talking with his coach to see what he should do in terms of announcing a decision. He had been planning to announce a decision on signing day on February 7th, but Fox said he might do it sooner, maybe as soon as Monday or Tuesday, or there was even a very slight chance he would announce as early as Friday, but that was doubtful. Fox said he is still weighing his options, those two options being Ohio State and Penn State, and that it is still 50-50 right now between the two schools. Fox was accompanied on his official visit to Ohio State by both of his parents along with his brother, Derek. |