Bill Kurelic February Posts February 26, 1999 February 25th TE Jim Fisher (6'6 225 4.75) has committed to MICHIGAN. Fisher, from Huron, Ohio, had been considering OHIO STATE, NOTRE DAME, and NEBRASKA too, though those three had not offered a scholarship to this point. February 25, 1999 RB/DB Tyrell Dortch (6'0 190 4.4) from Hoboken, New Jersey rushed for 1763 yards and scored 25 times this year. He also made 78 tackles and picked off 6 passes. Dortch tells me, "Some of the schools I like are PENN STATE, MICHIGAN, SYRACUSE, OHIO STATE, NORTH CAROLINA, and FLORIDA. I got offered a scholarship already by Penn State, but I don't have a leader yet." February 24th LB Rodney Cunningham (6'1 252 4.75), from Cincinnati Withrow High in Ohio, made over 100 tackles this season. He has been a varsity starter since his freshman season. Cunningham told me, "OHIO STATE, MICHIGAN, NEBRASKA, NOTRE DAME, and MICHIGAN STATE are the schools I like most. But Ohio State is my favorite" Cunningham was at the Buckeyes' recruiting day Saturday. Rodney Cunningham's teammate, DL Brandon Holt (6'2 250 4.8) was also at Ohio State's recruiting day Saturday. Holt plays DT for Withrow. He told me, "I had a good time up there. Besides OHIO STATE I'm not sure who else I'll look at right now." The Buckeyes took a look at RB Chris Yura
from Morgantown High in West Virginia this past
recruiting season (Yura signed with Notre Dame). February 23rd OL Ricky Wymer (6'9 305 5.35) from Westerville North High was at Ohio State Saturday too. Wymer has OHIO STATE very high on his list, but is also looking at MICHIGAN, PENN STATE, KENTUCKY, BOSTON COLLEGE, and INDIANA. He plans to go to Ohio State's and Michigan's football camps this summer. Wymer will be one of the better prospects in central- Ohio next season though none of the schools he is looking at have offered a scholarship yet. QB Nathan Poole (6'1 170 4.7) from Grove City High was also at the Buckeyes' recruiting day Saturday. Poole completed over 55% of his passes this season for over 1800 yards and 19 TD's. He told me last night, "OHIO STATE and PURDUE are probably my two favorites, but I like KENTUCKY, PITT, STANFORD, MICHIGAN, MICHIGAN STATE, NEBRASKA, FLORIDA STATE and some others too. I went to a lot of Ohio State's games last year and I went to the Michigan-Syracuse game." 02/22/99 12:20 AM However two players that had planned to go to the recruiting day but were unable to make it were RB Walter Reyes from Youngstown Struthers (OH) and OL/DL Antonio Hall from Canton McKinley. However two of Hall's teammates who did make it were OL/DL Garrett Bush (6'3 260 5.15) and WR Andre Hooks (6'3 190 4.5), and both are very interested in OHIO STATE. Also at the recruiting day was TE/DE Jim Fisher. Fisher (6'6 225 4.75) from Huron, Ohio, caught 48 passes this season. He will move to QB as a senior, but will likely be a TE or DE in college. After returning from Ohio State Fisher told me, "How could you not be impressed? I really liked it at OHIO STATE, but they didn't offer me a scholarship. Ohio State and MICHIGAN are still my two favorites, but I like NOTRE DAME and NEBRASKA still a little too." One player that did tell us he was offered a scholarship on Saturday was OL Nick Marmo (6'6 310 5.2) from New Castle, Pennsylvania. Marmo has started on the varsity since his freshman season. He has played both center and guard as well as DT. Marmo told me on Sunday, "It was real nice at OHIO STATE. They said I have a scholarship. But I'm not ready to decide yet. I like them (Ohio State), PENN STATE, SYRACUSE, NEBRASKA, and MICHIGAN." Speaking of linemen, both Bryce Bishop and Fred Sturrup were at Ohio State on Saturday. The two outstanding prospects from the state of Florida made unofficial visits to Ohio State this past weekend. Both of course signed with OHIO STATE on National Signing Day. I'll have plenty of additional information on many other players that were at Ohio State this past weekend in my updates the rest of this week. 02/19/99 Yet another of the many players who will be at the Buckeyes' recruiting day tomorrow is TE/DE Jim Fisher (6'6 225 4.75) from Huron, Ohio. Fisher caught 48 passes this season. He will move to QB as a senior , but will likely be a TE or DE in college. Fisher told me last night, "OHIO STATE and MICHIGAN are the two main schools I'm interested in. It's about 95% those two, but I'd say NOTRE DAME would be one other school I'll look at, and maybe NEBRASKA. Michigan has offered me a scholarship, but Ohio State hasn't yet. I don't have a leader between those two." I've previously told you about DL Steve Williams (IL) who has OHIO STATE as his favorite school. Williams' teammate, RB Mitchell Marshall (6'0 190 4.5) also likes the Buckeyes. Marshall told me, "My three favorite schools are OHIO STATE, PENN STATE, and NEBRASKA." Marshall rushed for 1200 yards and scored 11 times for Bolingbrook this season. 02/18/99 Another outstanding out-of-state player who is interested in Ohio State is Steve Williams (6'4 270 4.9). In fact Williams' has the Buckeyes as his top choice. He told me last night, "OHIO STATE, MICHIGAN, and KENTUCKY are my top three. But Ohio State is my favorite. They are just so good. I look up to Andy Katzenmoyer, the way he played linebacker for Ohio State." Williams was a varsity starter as a freshman and sophomore at Romeoville High School in Illinois. This season he played ILB for Bolingbrook High School and was second on the team in tackles. Williams will likely be a rush defensive end in college. 02/17/99 Among the prospects who plan to be there Saturday is RB/LB Branden Joe (6'1 220 4.5) from Westerville South. Joe rushed for 620 yards this season despite missing 5 games with a broken foot. He could play on either side of the ball in college. Joe currently has OHIO STATE, PENN STATE, MICHIGAN, NOTRE DAME, NEBRASKA, COLORADO, and MICHIGAN STATE at the top of his list. However a scholarship offer from the Buckeyes might be tough to turn down. Another fine back who is planning to be at Ohio State Saturday is RB Walter Reyes (5'11 200 4.3) from Youngstown Struthers. Reyes played in only 8 games this season due to a shoulder seperation, but still rushed for 1450 yards and scored 22 times. As a sophomore he ran a 10.5 100 meters in track and can bench press over 300 pounds. PENN STATE and INDIANA have already offered a scholarship. He is looking at those two as well as OHIO STATE, MICHIGAN, and others. Walter Reyes' teammate, QB Rick McFadden (6'6 205 4.8) is a talented prospect to keep an eye on as well. He passed for almost 1700 yards this season and is a Division 1 basketball prospect too (22 points per game average). McFadden is drawing interest in basketball from NORTHWESTERN, MARQUETTE, and the entire MAC, but is drawing even more interest for his football skills. In fact INDIANA is poised to offer this fine left-hander a scholarship. February 16, 1999 A very good junior from Hyattsville DeMatha High School in Maryland who is interested in Ohio State is DE Derek Wake (6'4 235 4.6). Wake went out for football for the first time as a sophomore, and was tremendous this season as a junior. He is a very fast and quick defensive end who knows how to get rid of blockers. Derek, who also averages 12 points a game for the outstanding DeMatha basketball team, has a 2.8 GPA. He told me, "I like PENN STATE, NOTRE DAME, MARYLAND, and I'm interested in MICHIGAN and OHIO STATE too. Really I'll take a look at all the schools who are interested in me." RB Jonathan Souter (6'1 215 4.6) from Sandusky Perkins High in Ohio rushed for 1778 yards and scored 26 touchdowns this year. He benches 300 pounds and has a 3.0 GPA. Souter also starts at OLB and could play running back, fullback, or linebacker in college. He is hearing from OHIO STATE, PENN STATE, NOTRE DAME, MICHIGAN, TEXAS, BOWLING GREEN and many others. The first three are among his early favorites he tells us. February 12, 1999 The battle for arguably the country's top
prospect for this coming season, QB Damon Dowdell (6'2 190 4.5) from Detroit Henry Ford in Michigan completed 111 of 206 passes (54%) this season for 1793 yards. He also rushed for 580 yards. Dowdell also averages 15.6 points per game in basketball and might try both sports in college. He told me last night, "I like TENNESSEE, SYRACUSE, FLORIDA, O STATE (Ohio State), and MICHIGAN STATE." Keep the name of Dowdell's teammate, TE Eric Knott in mind too. Knott (6'4 235 4.55) will be one of the top prospects in the state of Michigan next season. He also will be one of the country's best tight ends. Knott caught 24 passes this year for over 400 yards. He also starts in basketball, has a 2.3 GPA, and scored an 18 on the ACT. Knott told me, "TENNESSEE, MICHIGAN, MICHIGAN STATE, FLORIDA STATE, MINNESOTA, and NORTH CAROLINA are my favorite schools, but I'd have to give a little edge to Tennessee. I'm going to go to their camp this summer. I think all those schools say they have a scholarship for me." Knott said he has not yet heard from the Buckeyes, but with TE a priority for next season's recruiting class, you can bet he will. February 11th 12:10 A.M.
EST Another fine prospect at Canton McKinley who both OHIO STATE and MICHIGAN have an interest in (though have not offered a scholarship to) is Garrett Bush. Bush (6'3 260 5.15) starts at both OG and DE and could play on either side of the line of scrimmage in college. Like Antonio Hall, Bush is interested in both the Buckeyes and Wolverines. February 10th The Buckeyes signed WR Maurice Harris out of Jacksonville Raines High last Wednesday. Two of his teammates who are currently juniors are also interested in OHIO STATE. OL Roderick Eason (6'6 290) will be one of the best in the South next season. He is a super prospect and says the Buckeyes are one of the schools he is definitely interested in. DB/WR Bobby Britton (6'0 170) is another current junior at Raines that is interested in OHIO STATE. February 9th 12:45 A.M.
EST DE Sam Ruhe (6'5 240 4.6) from Cuyahoga Falls Walsh Jesuit High will be one of the top prospects in the state of Ohio next season. He made 88 tackles including 8 sacks this year as a junior. Ruhe, who is the fastest player on his team, has a 3.5 GPA. He has already been offered a scholarship by Ohio State. Ruhe told me last night, "OHIO STATE is a possibility, but I can't say I have a strong favorite. I want to go to a strong school academically. I like Ohio State, NOTRE DAME, PENN STATE, NORTHWESTERN, and MICHIGAN. I went to a few Ohio State games last season and I plan to go back to their football camp in the summer." February 8th 1:15 A.M. EST If you missed it I posted an update on Saturday (under the week of February 5th) concerning the Bryce Bishop situation. Basically the Buckeyes committed an NCAA rules violation by making a home visit with Bishop during a "quiet period," a time when home visits were not allowed (Sunday January 31st). Let me now go over what is likely to happen. Bishop will probably be declared an ineligible member of this Ohio State recruiting class. I then expect Ohio State to appeal the ruling. Then the likely scenario will be that since this will probably be declared a minor inadvertent violation, Bishop will be reinstated as a member of this Buckeye recruiting class, with perhaps some type of minor penalty involved. I tried to call Bishop many times from about 8:00 P.M. till around 11:00 P.M. on Sunday to get his comments onthe situation, but he was not home. Hopefully I will be speaking with Bishop tonight. I've been getting plenty of inquiries already from people anxiously awaiting the start of my junior information. I've touched on juniors a little in previous updates, and the time has come for more! Certainly one of the best prospects in
the Midwest for next season will be Sean McHugh
(6'6 240 4.75) from Chagrin Falls, Ohio. McHugh starts at
FB and MLB, but is being recruited as an
"athlete" who could play DE/OLB/TE or FB in
college. He rushed for 1320 yards as a sophomore The Buckeyes are also interested in LB
Mike Goolsby (6'4 225 4.53) from Joliet Catholic
in Illinois. Goolsby will be one of the Midwest's finest February 6th 10:30 P.M. EST February 4th 11:25 A.M. EST February 2nd 9:15 P.M.
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