Bill Kurelic February
2002 Posts
February 25, 2002
The Buckeyes held their first junior recruiting day of the season
last weekend in conjunction with the Purdue basketball game. The day
was a major success for OSU, both in terms of the number of players
who elected to participate as well as the quality.
A real Blue-Chip prospect that attended the OSU recruiting day is
defensive back/linebacker Prescott Burgess (6-3, 210) from
Warren Harding High School. Burgess is being recruited as either a
strong safety or OLB for college and made over 100 tackles this past
season and picked off two passes playing strong safety. He has been
a starter for Harding since his sophomore season. He has a 2.9 GPA
and is looking at Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State, Michigan State,
Notre Dame, a lot of schools, as he put it, and all of them have offered
a scholarship. Burgess says he does not have a favorite, but as he
put it, he has been looking pretty hard at Ohio State and Michigan.
Also in attendance at the junior day last weekend were QB Todd
Boeckman from St. Henrys as well as WR Devon Jordan from
Massillon Washington, along with Jordan's teammate DE Shawn Crable.
Crable is a player that OSU probably made some inroads with on his
visit last weekend. Prior to this past weekend Crable had said Michigan
was his leader, and right before this past weekend Crable said the
Buckeyes were moving up on his list and almost tied with the Wolverines.
After his visit, Crable said that Michigan and Ohio State were basically
even. That is certainly very encouraging news for Buckeye fans.
DB Donte Whitner
from Cleveland Glenville High
School, one of the country's top cornerback prospects and a prospect
the Buckeyes have already offered a scholarship to, has already attended
Michigan's junior day a week ago Saturday. Whitner is a 5-11, 175
pound CB who runs a 4.3 40. He helped Glenville go 9-2 this past season.
He made 87 tackles and picked off three passes as a junior as well
as 19 passes broken up. As a sophomore he picked off four passes.
He has blazing speed and has run a 10.4 100 meters in track. Whitner
is also an outstanding student with a 3.7 GPA. Whitner said that Michigan's
junior day was nice, he met Lloyd Carr, and the Wolverines have offered
him a scholarship, but he did not commit to Michigan. He says he likes
Ohio State, Michigan, Tennessee, Iowa and West Virginia and all but
Tennessee have offered him a scholarship. He also mentions Pitt, Toledo
and Michigan State as having offered as well. He says he does not
have a favorite right now but maybe it's between Ohio State and Michigan.
He says he likes the coaching staff at each school. He added that
he really liked it at Ohio State's junior day. He met with Coach Tressel
who offered him a scholarship again and that he got the tour of the
facilities and of course attended the OSU vs. Purdue basketball game.
He also mentioned meeting Michael Doss and some other players. Defensive
end Michael Hearn, also from Glenville,
attended junior day.
Also in attendance were Cincinnati Xavier defensive lineman Nick
Larkin, as were two teammates at Youngstown ursuline High
School, TE Louis Irizary
and OL Matt Maizel.
North Canton Hoover DB/WR Curtis Lukens was at Ohio State on
Saturday, as was Cleveland Saint Ignatius WR Tony Gonzales.
A couple to top QB prospects, John Ferguson from Reynoldsburg
and Brady Quinn from Dublin Coffman.
WR Brian Williamson from Thomas Worthington HS was at OSU as
well.
WR Doug Penno, 6-4, 200, from
Kettering Altar High School, played running back for Altar last season
and rushed for over 1,000 yards and had close to 2000 all-purpose
yards. He will likely, however, be a wide receiver in college. That
is unless he goes the basketball route. He is drawing interest from
some schools for basketball also, but I see him going the football
route in college. He says that 'You would have to say that Ohio State
would be a great place to have a shot at.' He also said that both
Iowa and Florida State are nice, and he is receiving mail from Northwestern,
Wisconsin, Illinois and Michigan.
Also from Glenville,
athlete Dareus Hiley,
who will be one of the top athletes in the state
of Ohio next season, attended the OSU senior day. He is a 6-1, 180
pounder who could play a number of positions in college. He also attended
Michigan's junior day.
Another DB the in Ohio that the Buckeyes are
taking a look at is Dejuan Tribble from Cincinnati North College
Hill High School. Tribble has had three outstanding seasons and has
been a varsity starter since his freshman season. That year he played
safety and then as a sophomore and junior he started at both cornerback
and quarterback. The 5-11, 180 pounder with 4.45 40 speed will be
a cornerback in college. As a freshman he picked off five passes,
then six more as a sophomore before picking off 13 passes this past
season as a junior in 13 games. He has a 3.3 GPA and also passed for
over 900 yards and rushed for over 400. He says he is looking at Ohio
State, Michigan, he said Notre Dame has been contacting him a lot,
he is interested in Tennessee, Boston College, Penn State, Maryland
and most of the Big Ten schools have been in contact. None of the
schools, however, have offered him a scholarship to this point. He
said that right now he likes Tennessee best. He did not attend the
OSU recruiting day.
Expect the Buckeyes to take a look at OL Steve
Douglas from Jolliet Catholic High School in Illinois. Douglas,
a 6-5, 260 pounder with 5.1 40 speed, has been a varsity starter as
both a sophomore and junior at offensive tackle. Both of those years
his team won a state championship. He bench presses over 300 pounds
and squats over 600 and has a 2.7 GPA. Douglas is soon going to make
an unofficial visit to Wisconsin. He is looking at the Badgers as
well as Illinois, Penn State, Iowa and Northwestern and says he is
interested in al of the Big Ten schools.
February 18, 2002
The Buckeyes will be hosting a junior recruiting day this weekend
and number of top juniors from around the state are expected to attend.
One of the is DE/OLB Shawn Crable from Massilon Washington
along with his teammate, WR Devin Jordan. The Buckeyes have
offered both scholarships. They will attend the recruiting day, then
attend the OSU vs. Purdue basketball game. Crable is a 6-6, 230 pounder
with 4.6 40 speed. He has a 3.3 GPA and made 73 tackles during his
junior season, including 12 sacks. He bench presses over 300 pounds
and has run a 10.95 100 meters. He also averages 17.5 points per game
in basketball and is without question one of the top prospects in
the midwest for next season. Crable says he is looking at OSU, Michigan,
Tennessee and Miami of Florida, and all four have offered a scholarship.
He adds he will also probably visit Michigan and Tennessee couple
more times this summer. He has already been to all three schools previously.
Crable says that he thinks he likes Michigan best right now, but Ohio
State is moving up, and that the two schools are now just about neck
and neck. He mentioned that teammate Justin Zwick talks with him about
Ohio State all the time.
Jordan is a 6-3, 190 pounder and says he likes Ohio State, Michigan,
Tennessee, Purdue, Michigan State, Northwestern, Illinois, Notre Dame,
UCLA and Syracuse. Ohio State and Michigan State have already offered
him a scholarship. Jordan says he doesn't really have a favorite right
now, but if he had name one, he might be leaning slightly to OSU.
Yet another prospect from Ohio that the Buckeyes have offered a scholarship
to is going to be at that junior day, QB Todd Boeckman from
St. Henry. He is a 6-5, 215 pounder and told me he does plan to attend
the event and will also attend the basketball game. He says that he
is looking at Ohio State, Michigan and Pitt, those are the main three
right now. But he also said that he is getting mail from Iowa, Notre
Dame, Tennessee, Kentucky, Syracuse, Michigan State and others. OSU
has offered him a scholarship and Boeckman says that right now Ohio
State is his favorite. He is also a fine baseball player, making All-State
as a sophomore and a very good basketball player, averaging 19 points
a game as a junior.
A standout prospect in Ohio that the Buckeyes are after is Prescott
Burgess from Warren Harding High School. The 6-3, 210 pounder
was a teammate this season of current Buckeye Maurice Clarret. Burgess
will be without a doubt one of the top prospects in Ohio. In fact,
a good case could be made that he will be the number one prospect
in the Buckeye state. I think the Buckeyes have a very realistic shot,
if not a better shot, than anybody, at landing him.
An offensive lineman that the Buckeyes are very interested in is
Dan Pribula from Strongsville. He is a 6-6, 265 pounder who
will be another of the top prospects in Ohio. He has everything it
takes to be an outstanding one at the next level, and he too is interested
in Ohio State.
TE Dan Congrove from Chillicothe is interested in Ohio State.
The 6-5, 220 pounder with 4.75 40 speed is drawing interest from among
others, Ohio State, Michigan, Purdue, Wake Forrest and a number of
the MAC schools. Another player at Chillicothe that the Buckeyes may
take a look at is WR Derrick Adams. Adams is a 6-3, 185 pounder
with 4.53 40 speed. He is a good leaper who caught 21 passes for almost
400 yards, averaging over 18 yards per catch as a junior. Adams, who
missed several games due to an injury, has a brother Art who played
for Ohio U last season and could be taken in the NFL draft. Adams
is drawing interest from plenty of schools, and the Buckeyes may take
a look at him as well. As a junior this past season he played both
TE and DE as well as a sophomore. Last season he caught 31 passes
and averaged over 16 yards per catch. His sister plays volleyball
at Marshall.
The Buckeyes will definitely take a look at DE Ryan Thompson
from Akron Hoban. He is a 6-4, 240 pounder with 4.8 40 speed. He benches
300 pounds, squats over 400, has a 3.4 GPA and had 12 sacks as a junior
and 11 other tackles for losses. He is very quick off the ball and
explosive. He is drawing interest from among others, Northwestern,
Minnesota, Boston College, West Virginia, and expect the Buckeyes
to take a good look at him as well.
A defensive lineman from the state of Illinois you can expect the
Buckeyes will be in contact with is Lawrence "Moe" Dampeer.
Dampeer is a 6-5, 275 pound two-way lineman from Douglas MacAurther
High School in Decatur, Illinois. Dampier will be one of the top prospects
in Illinois next season and you can expect that Buckeye assitant coach
Jim Bollman who recruits Illinois for OSU will call on him. Dampeer
has started on both sides of the ball since his sophomore year when
he was an unanimous all-conference selection. He says that Illinois
and Missouri have already offered him a scholarship in writting. He
said that he is also talking to Michigan, Miami, Nebraska, but that
Tennessee is probably his number one choice. He also mentioned Virginia,
Wisconsin, Iowa, North Carolina and Michigan State as well as Notre
Dame. He also expects to talk to Ohio State.
February 12, 2002
Linebacker Buster Davis has still not made a decision. The
5-11, 228 Florida native said last Friday that he hoped to have a
decision by Monday, but he has not yet decided. Davis is trying to
decide between Florida State and Nebraska. According to athletic director
at his high school, Buster has not decided but hopes he will decide
this week yet.
The Touchdown Club of Columbus held their banquet last Sunday and
plenty of honors went to players in this OSU recruiting class. Linebacker
Mike D'Andrea was named the defensive player of the year in
Ohio. The Rhodes trophy, symbolic of the top football player in Ohio,
went to two players that signed with Ohio State. It was a tie, and
the trophy went to both RB Maurice Clarret and QB Justin
Zwick. Also, Clarret was honored as the national player of the
year as well, and Derek Morris, the huge offensive lineman
from North Carolina was honored as the top offensive line proscpect
in the nation.
In an interview at the banquet, D'Andrea told me that he is looking
forward to his freshman year at Ohio State. He is working very hard
in the weight room right now and he says they would be ready to play
any of the linebacker positions at Ohio State his first year. Of course
Matt Wilhelm is back as OSU's middle linebacker, and D'Andrea indicates
that he hopes to be ready to play in the middle or the Will the Sam
linebacker, whatever is needed.
Of course the Buckeyes are already working on the next recruiting
class and are in touch with the top juniors, especially in the state
of Ohio. It will be a good year in state, but not as strong as this
class of prospects in Ohio that have just been signed. One prospect
that the Buckeyes are certainly interested in is defensive lineman
Nick Larkin from Cincinnati Saint Xavier High School. The 6-5,
245 pound Larkin who runs a 4.8 40 has been a varsity starter at defensive
tackle since his sophomore season. Larkin had 11 tackles for losses
as a junior, including 4 sacks. He bench presses close to 400 pounds
and squats over 450. Larkin indicates that he is receiving interest
and mail from Notre Dame, Ohio State, Michigan, Boston College, West
Virginia, Duke and others. He says he's always really liked Notre
Dame, but he likes Boston College as well as UCLA and Ohio State too.
He said that OSU has already indicated that they would like him to
come up for a spring practice session.
A standout junior that he Buckeyes have already offered a scholarship
to for next season's recruiting class is WR Devon Jordan. Jorday
was QB Justin Zwick's main target this past season. The 6-3, 190 pound
junior with 4.5 40 speed caught 101 passes and scored 18 times this
season. He has a 3.65 GPA and also averaged 11 points per game in
basketball and is a fine track athlete as well. Jordan tells me that
he likes Ohio State, Michigan, Tennessee, Michigan State, Purdue,
Northwestern, Illinois, Notre Dame, Syracuse and UCLA. He says Ohio
State and Michigan State have already offered him a scholarship. Jordan
says he doesn't have a clear-cut favorite right now, but he might
be leaning to Ohio State slightly. He said that after his basketball
season is over he is going to start visiting some schools. Certainly
the Buckeyes would like to reunite Jordan with Zwick in the future
at Ohio State.
February 6, 2002
The Buckeyes landed offensive lineman Derek Morris from North
Carolina to round out a great recruiting class. The 6-6, 350 pound
Morris picked Ohio State over Georgia and North Carolina State. He
also visited Florida and Tennessee. His commitment to Ohio State is
a huge one, because he gives Ohio State a great prospect of definite
need. Morris has a chance to come in and play quickly for the Buckeyes
as Ohio State certainly has a need on the offensive line, and he absolutely
is one of the country's best. His commitment to Ohio State finished
off a great day for the Buckeyes as the Buckeyes signed a class of
recruits today that ranks number two nationally, certainly a spectacular
job by Jim Tressel, Bill Conley, Jim Heacock, Tim Spencer, Mark Snyder
and the rest of the Buckeye assistant coaches. The only bad news came
when WR Richard Washington from Florida ended up signing with
North Carolina State over Ohio State and Florida.
LB Buster Davis will not sign with anyone until tomorrow when
he is expected to sign with most likely Florida State over Nebraska,
but in any event the Buckeyes have stopped recruiting Buster Davis.
The Buckeyes signed 25 prospects on
the day.
An interesting note on OSU offensive line commitments is that in
landing Derek Morris and Doug Datish, OSU landed two of the top six
offensive line prospects in the country.
Overall, this is a spectacular class and one that is generally regarded
as the second-best class in the country behind only Texas.
Now that this class has been signed, we will begin to focus on juniors
that the Buckeyes are concentrating on for next season's class.
February 4, 2002
The Buckeyes are focusing on several prospects as national signing
day nears. Certainly one of those is a commitment, Richard Washington
from Florida. Washington of course made an official visit to Florida
this weekend, and was met by OSU Head Coach Jim Heacock before this
visit to Florida. The visit with Coach Heacock went well, but Washington
still decided to visit the Gators.
Also visiting Florida this weekend was offensive lineman Derek
Morris from North Carolina. Going into his visit to Florida Morris
had OSU, Georgia and North Carolina State as his top three choices.
Morris told me after his visit to Florida that his visit went well,
he liked Florida, that he liked hanging out with the guys on the team,
and said that new Florida Head Coach Ron Zook is very excited about
everything and is very into recruiting. However, Morris said that
as of right now, his two favorites in no particular order are Georgia
and Ohio State, with North Carolina State third and Florida fourth.
Morris said, however that that might change tomorrow after he has
a chance to talk things over with his father, especially about the
Florida visit. Morris said he is still planning to announce his decision
at a 12:20 afternoon press conference on Wednesday, national signing
day in his high school gym. It continues to look like it will most
likely come down to either Ohio State or Georgia for Derek Morris.
Richard Washington is not taking calls, but Derek Morris did spend
time with Richard Washington while they were at Florida together,
and Morris said that Richard told him that he is committed to Ohio
State, but he likes North Carolina State a lot as well. Morris said
the Washington indicated that he doesn't like Florida that much and
did not see himself going there, but Morris said he didn't know if
Washington would end up at OSU or N.C. State. Washington's mother
strongly would like her sone to stay closer to home at either Florida
or N.C. State. Derek also mentioned that the two have talked about
possibly going to the same school and certainly Ohio State and N.C.State
are on both of their lists, but Georgia is very high on Morris' list
as well.
The Buckeyes continue very much in the hunt for LB Buster Davis,
5-11, 228 from Florida. Davis is set to announce his decision
on Tuesday. Davis has Ohio State, Florida State and Nebraska as his
three finalists, but I continue to think he will end up at either
OSU or FSU.
The Buckeyes also continue their interest in QB Troy Smith
6-1, 200 from Cleveland. Smith is deciding between West Virginia and
Ohio State. Smith's mother Tracy told me that her son is basically
down to West Virginia and Ohio State, in that order. There is still
a concern with academics with Smith, but he could end up in this Buckeye
recruiting class, though he still needs to raise his test score. Smith
could announce as early as Tuesday, but may wait until Wednesday,
national signing day.
The Buckeye recruiting effort has been very good this year as is
evidenced by the quality of the commitments they already have. I have
the Buckeyes rated as the number two recruiting class in the country.
The addition of any of the four players still being recruited by the
Buckeyes will only make an already good class better.
February 1, 2002
Linebacker Buster Davis from Daytona Beach Mainland High School
in Florida is going to announce his decision on Tuesday, February
5 at his high school at 9:00 AM. Davis has made official visits to
Ohio State, Florida State, Nebraska, Syracuse and Tennessee, but says
his decision is really down to three schools, Ohio State, Florida
State and Nebraska. However, I think the decision ultimately is going
to come down to two schools, Ohio State or Florida State.
The Buckeyes are certainly going to be interested observers as two
prospects are visiting Florida together this weekend that the Buckeyes
want to sign. OT Derek Morris, 6-6, 350, from Hunterville,
North Carolina is visiting Florida this weekend. He has already visited
Ohio State, Georgia and North Carolina State which are his top three.
He has also visited Tennessee but the Vols are out of the running.
Morris said that he still plans to announce his decision of Wednesday,
February 5, national signing day in his high school gym at around
12:20. Morris says that Coach Bollman was at his school yesterday
and that that went well, that OSU, Georgia and N.C. State are his
top three, though he says he does not have a favorite, though I tend
to like the Buckeyes' chances of landing Derek Morris, though certainly
this visit this weekend to Florida is one to keep an eye on.
Morris is going to meet up with a friend of his on his visit to Florida,
Buckeye commitment Richard Washington, the WR from Florida,
is making his official visit this weekend with the Gators. Washington
and Morris visited Ohio State at the same time, visited Georgia at
the same time and now will visit Florida at the same time. Morris
says that the two have gotten to be friends and talk about possibly
going to the same school together. Morris said that they have talked
about possibly being roommates and the Buckeyes certainly are trying
very hard to hold on to their commitment from WR Richard Washington
who also is considering North Carolina State where he visited last
weekend.
Bill Kurelic
January 2002 Posts