Bill Kurelic's July 1999 Posts July 31, 1999 Defensive back Stewart Schweigert (6-2, 195) , who the Buckeyes have offered a scholarship to, might make an unofficial visit to Ohio State yet this summer. He is from Saginaw Heritage High School in Michigan and starts at both free safety and quarterback, but will be a DB in college, at least if he ends up at OSU, as the Buckeyes are recruiting him as a defensive player. He is one of the top overall prospects in the state of Michigan at one point had been heavily leaning to the Wolverines and they did offer him a scholarship, however they have not shown as much interest lately and now Schweigert says he is really not that interested in Michigan any more. He is going to be at Michigan State's recruiting day this weekend, and he is looking at MSU as well as OSU, Purdue, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Indiana, Iowa and Notre Dame. All the schools except for Notre Dame and Iowa have already offered him a scholarship. He told me he does not have any favorites, but he had been planning on making a visit to Ohio State this summer but hasnot been able to get around to it. He did say that he might get down to Columbus before the end of the summer. RB Keith Kelly (6-0, 215, 4.45) is one of the top prospects inthe state of South Carolina, and Kelly says OSU is one of his top choices. Kelly has a 3.5 GPA and rushed for almost 2000 yards and 27 touchdowns as a junior. He is looking at South Carolina, Ohio State, Michigan, Clemson, Michigan State, Tennessee, Florida, Florida State and North Carolina State. Kelly says that he does not have a strong favorite at this point, but is definitely interested int he Buckeyes. Another running back from the South that is definitely interested in the Buckeyes is Willis McGhahee (6-1, 215) from Miami Central High School in Florida. He rushed for just over 1000 yards, averaged over 8.5 yards per carry and scored 15 touchdowns last season. He has a 2.5 GPA and an 850 on the SAT says that Ohio State remains one of this top choices. He is looking at Ohio State, West Virginia, Florida, Miami and Tennessee, and he says he does want to visit Ohio State. Rival Michigan is having a recruiting day today, and a player from Ohio that the Buckeyes have an interest in will be attending. LB Luke Zachrich (6-2, 225, 4.75) from Bryan, Ohio is drawing attention now from some Big Ten schools, including Ohio State. Luke starts at MLB and fullback. He is very strong, benching 400 pounds, and he made 126 tackles as a junior. He has a 2.3 GPA is interested in Ohio State as well as Michigan, Michigan State, and he visited the Spartans about a week ago. He is also looking at Virginia Tech, Northwestern, Maryland and a number of MAC schools. He does not have a favorite at this point. The Buckeyes have an interest in him, but have not as yet offered him a scholarship. Running back Chris Perry (6-2, 225, 4.5) from Fork Union Military Academy in Virgina is a prospect that the Buckeyes would absolutely love to land, and Perry remains very interested in Ohio State. Perry was very impressive at Ohio State's football camp on June and was offered a scholarship by the Buckeyes. Perry is currently at Fork Union in summer school to do everything possible to make sure that he qualifies academically. His GPA is close the 2.8 mark. He continues to have Ohio State as his top choice over Michigan and North Carolina, and both the Buckeyes and Wolverines have offered him a scholarship, but Perry has yet to pull the trigger on a commitment to Ohio State, but it is certainly encouraging that the Buckeyes continue to lead for Chris Perry. Tight end Willie Roberts (6-6, 215) from Miami Southridge High School in Florida has been offered a scholarship by the Buckeyes, and the tight end position is a huge priority in this Ohio State recruiting class, so certainly OSU would love to land Roberts. He has a 2.3 GPA but will need to retake his SAT. That has not stopped schools from offering Roberts a scholarship, he is that good. Roberts tells me that he is looking at Ohio State, Miami, Georgia, Auburn, Colorado, South Florida, then maybe Notre Dame, Michigan Texas and Georgia a little bit as well. Roberts says that evry one of those schools has told him that a scholarship is available. Roberts says that he is not close to making a decision and does not have a leader at this point and will make official visits before making a decision. The Buckeyes are very interested in OL Jeremy McCorkle (6-7, 295) from Freeport, Pennsylvania and McCorkle just recently returned from unofficial visits to Michigan and Notre Dame. McCorkle made an unofficial visit to Ohio State in late June and was very, very impressed. He tells me that he is very much interested in Ohio State, but also is interested in Penn State, Michigan and Notre Dame. None of those four schools have offered him a scholarship yet, but he does have offeres from West Virginia, Syracuse, Tulsa, Pitt and Virginia Tech. One of the top linebacker prospects in the Midlands is interested in Ohio State. Shawn Tufts (6-5, 220, 4.7) from Englewood Cherry Creek High School in Colorado benches 315 pounds, has a 28 vertical jump and a 2.9 GPA. He is also an outstanding LaCrosse player and wrestler. Tufts is currently leaning to Colorado but he is also interested in Ohio State, USC, Michigan, UCLA, and Notre Dame. There is no doubt the Buckeyes would love to land WR Lorenzo Crawford, and the Buckeyes also want to land a punter/kicker in this recruiting class. Lets begin with Crawford. Crawford (5-11, 185, 4.4) is from Patterson Catholic High School in New Jersy, the same high school that produce Stanley Jackson. He caught 33 passes last season for almost 1000 yards averaging 27 yards per catch and scored 11 touchdowns. He is one of the top WR prospects east of the Mississippi. He is in pretty good shape academically with a 2.9 GPA and an 840 on the SAT. Last weekend he made an unofficial visit to North Carolina, and the Tar Heels have offered him a scholarship, but Crawford did not commit to North Carolina. He said it was nice there and he liked it, but he is just not ready to make his decision. He has now been to North Carolina, Michigan State and Syracuse, and all three schools have offered him a scholarship, and he has an interest in all three, but he also says he is looking at Ohio State, Penn State and North Carolina State, and those three have offered him as well. He says he has no favorites at this time, but says that he probably will make a visit to Ohio State. A specialist that the Buckeyes are staying in contact with is Kicker/Punter Shawn Payne (5-10, 165) from Owesnburg Catholic High School in Kentucky. He has been his team's varsity punter and kicker since his freshman season, and made 11 0f 14 FGs this past season and 46 of 47 PATs. His long field goal was from 50 yards out, and he punted for a 38 yard average. Payne told me that he is interested in, as he put it, anyone who will offer him a scholarship, but he said mostly he is thinking about staying close to home, and is looking at Kentucky, Louisville, Ohio State and Indiana, and he is hearing from all four schools, though none have offered him a scholarship just yet. Another specialist the Buckeyes definitely are interested in is Josh Huston (6-2, 185, 4.8) from Findlay, Ohio. I consider him to be the top specialist in the state of Ohio. He is still very interested in the Buckeyes, and in fact indicated to me that Ohio State remains his top choice. He is no longer looking at Michigan, who has already landed a kicker from the state of Indiana. In addition to OSU, he is also now looking at USC and Cal. Both of those schools have been writting quite a bit lately, and he is also lookng at Penn State, Syracuse, and Bowling Green. B.G. has already offered him a scholarship. The other specialist in Ohio the Bucks have been looking at is Adam Logan (6-3, 225, 4.8) from Circleville, Ohio. He did not fare quite as well at OSU's football camp as he had hoped, but the Buckeyes still are interested. He made six of eight FGs as a junior with a long of 52 yards, and also made 21 of 24 PATs and punted for a 34 yard average. He remains interested in Ohio State, but is also looking at Michigan State as well as Stanford, Northwestern, Kentucky and, as he puts it, anyone that is interested in him. A player the Buckeyes would love to land is making a trip to the Midwest. OL Shannon Snell (6-6, 300) from Tampa Hillsboro High School in Florida is visiting both Michigan and Notre Dame, but will not be visiting OSU. The Bucks had offered him a scholarship long ago, and at one point had named Ohio State as one of his top choices. While he has not crossed OSU off his list, he now says his top schools would be Michigan, Notre Dame, Florida, USC, North Carolina, Texas, Miami and Florida State, but he has not totally counted the Buckeyes out. Snell has been offered a scholarship by just about all those schools except for North Carolina. At this point, of the top three overall prospects in Ohio, only one has made a decision, and that one has committed to Ohio State. OL Alex Stepanovich from Berea has of course committed to the Bucks. Now the Buckeyes' mission is to land the other two of the top three prospects in Ohio, those being two way lineman Antonio Hall from Canton McKinley, and offensive lineman Mike Munoz from Cincinnati Moeller. There have been rumors going around that Munoz has secretely committed to Ohio State, or that he is a virtual lock for the Buckeyes. While I do tend to like OSU's chances, he certainly has not made a decision at this point. Munoz continues to say that he has narrowed things down to five schools, the five being OSU, Tennessee, Michigan, Texas, and Florida State. However, I think you can pretty much count out a couple of those schools. I just don't see Munoz going to either FSU or Texas. I feel those two schools are too far away. He has made no secrete that he would like to stay as close as possible to home for college. I do believe that in the end, it will come down to either OSU or Tennessee. ONe thing the Vols have going for them is that his sistger has already committed to play basketball for Tennessee, but I don't think that is going to be a factor at all in his decision. He is very much his own man. If fact, I feel the Buckeyes are the team to beat to land him, though he is saying he really doesn't have any clear cut favorites. The Buckeyes would also love to land Antonio Hall, and I feel that his decision is ultimately going to come down to either OSU or Michigan, however Hall is also still considering a number of other schools as well, including FSU, Tennessee, Kentucky and Penn State. All of the schools on his list have offered him a scholarship, but I think that Antonia Hall, like Mike Munoz, will go to at least some of the recruiting process and take at least some official visits before he makes a decision. I think that ultimately, Hall will decide between Ohio State and Michigan, and that that one is just too close to call right now. There is absolutely no doubht that the Buckeyes would love to land super running back Marcus Huston (6-2, 205), and the good news is that Huston has Ohio State among his top choices. Huston attends school at Thomas Jefferson High School in Colorado and is without question one of the country's top prospects. He has a 3.6 GPA and scored a 930 on the SAT. He rushed for over 1700 yards and averaged over 10 yards per carry as a junior, scoring 27 touchdowns. His brother, Lavell Huston, is a defensive back at UCLA, so naturally Marcus is considering the Bruins, though he is by no means a lock to head to UCLA. Huston tells me that among the schools he is interesed in are UCLA, USC, Ohio State, Texas, Florida State, Colorado and Notre Dame. He said there are other schools on is list too, but those are the schools in particular that he likes. Every one of those schools has offered him a scholarship, and while it will certainly be an uphill battle for the Buckeyes, they are in the running. The Buckeyes are also in the running for OL Jon Dunn (6-8, 300, 5.3) from Virginia Beach Calwood High School in Virginia. In fact, Dunn mentions Ohio State as one of this top three or four choices. He bench presses over 300 pounds, graded out at over 90% blocking efficiency last season, and is an outstanding pass protector. He names Virginia as a slight leader over Ohio State, Michigan and Virginia Tech. Dunn says that even though Virginia has a slight lead right now, he is not particularly close to making a decision. The Buckeyes could fill many of their line needs here in the State of Ohio as it is a great year for line talent in the Buckeye state, but none the less they are going from coast to coast to also recruit the nation's finest line prospects. Brett Edens (6-5, 220, 4.7) from Montgomery Trinity High School in Montgomery, Alabama, who plays at defensive end and tight end, but will be either a DE or OLB in college. He tells me that the one school that the one school outside the SEC he is interested in is Ohio State, and the Buckeyes are sending him plenty of mail. He says his top five in the SEC are Auburn, Georgia, Tennessee, Florida and Arkansas. So far Auburn and South Carolina have offered scholarships. One of the top prospects in the state of Oklahoma and one of the best DL linemen in the Midlands made an unofficial visit to Ohio State and was offered a scholarship by the Buckeyes. Adam Dorin (6-4, 260, 4.8) from Duncan, Oklahoma also made an unofficial visit to Notre Dame on his trip. Dorin has a 3.65 GPA and scored a 20 on the ACT, bench presses 350 and has a 33 inch vertical leap. He could play either DE or DT in college, and he told me that he had a good time at Ohio State. He said that mot of the Ohio State coaches were not around. The only one there was coach Conley, but he liked coach Conley quite a bit and he got a tour of the campus and he says that everything went well on his unofficial visit. He said OSU wasn't as big as he thought it would be, and while in Columbus the Bucks offered him a scholarship. He was also offered by Notre Dame on his visit. He said that his top four are Texas, Ohio State, Notre Dame and Tennessee, and all four have offered a scholarship. He says that Texas is his leader, but he is not at all a lock for Texas and is not sure when he is going to make his decision. Another prospect the Buckeyes have offered a scholarship to is Kelvin Kites (6-0, 185, 4.45) from Lithonia, Georgia. Kites had 52 catches for over 1200 yards last season with 12 touchdowns. He has a 3.3 GPA and will take his test in September. Kites went to Georgia's football camp this summer and is looking at the Bulldogs, but he tells me he is also interested in Ohio State, Florida State, Michigan, Tennessee and Notre Dame. OSU, FSU, Michigan and Georgia have offered him a scholarship, but he says that right now he does not have a favorite and is not particularly close to making a decision. OL Roy Davis (6-3, 320) from New Smyrna Beach High School in Florida likes Ohio State. he will be an offensive guard in college had 30 pancake blocks as a junior. Davis has a 3.6 GPA and says Ohio State is probably his favorite. Ohio State, Michigan, Miami, Florida, Florida State and Central Florida are his favorites, but OSU is number one and that he just has always wanted to go to Ohio State and he has watched Ohio State play many times on television. Moving closer to home, LB/FB Kelvin Travis (6-0, 205) from Detroit Cass Tech High School in Michigan who also says OSU is his favorited. He has a 2.8 GPA and a 17 on the ACT. Travis could be either a FB or LB in college and says that OSU is his favorite, that he likes the Buckeyes' tradition, and he sees OSU on TV all the time. He is also looking at Indiana, Bowling Green and Toledo, and those three schools have offered him a scholarship, but he also like OSU, Michigan, Florida State and perhaps Michigan State. Arguably the country's top prospect for this coming season is LB/RB D.J. Williams (6-2, 225, 4.45) from Concoard De LaSalle High School in California. Williams could play on either side of the ball in college but I see him as a linebacker and he should be a tremendous one at the next level. He has scholarship offers from schools from coast to coast, and he has very consistently said that Ohio State is one of his top choices. Among the schools that he is currently naming are Ohio State, USC, UCLA, Michigan, Florida State, Notre Dame, Penn State, Cal and Texas. Three schools that have consistently been on his list are OSU, FSU and Michigan, and I expect him to eventually make an official visit to Ohio State. Another outstanding prospect from California the Buckeyes are pursuing is running back Chris Howard (6-1, 185, 4.45) from Wilmington Banning High School. He has a 2.7 GPA and rushed for 2675 yards as a junior, averaging close to 8 yards per carry and scoring 34 touchdowns. Howard says that some of the schools htat he is most interested in are USC, Nebraska, UCLA, Michigan and Notre Dame, but he Buckeyes are trying to work their way into the picture. OSU and all the other schools on Howard's list have offered him a scholarship. A fine WR on the west coast that has Ohio State among his favorites is Taylor Stubblefield (6-1, 165, 4.4) from Yaccama Davis High School in Washington. He has a 3.4 GPA and in the past two seasons has caught 91 passes for over 1500 yards. He tells me that among the schools he is interested in and is hearing from are Ohio State, Nebraska, Colorado, Notre Dame, Wyoming, Michigan, USC, Northwestern and Washington, and that as of now he does not have any clearcut favorites. July 22, 1999 More bad news is that another top prospect from Pennsylvania that the Buckeyes had offered a scholarship to has committed elsewhere, tho7ugh this one is not particularly surprising. OL Nick Marmo from New Castle Pennsylvania had narrowed things down to Penn State, Ohio State, Michigan and Pitt has announced a commitment to Penn State. That's not surprising in that Marmo had made no secrete of the fact that he had been leaning to the Lions for some time. With Smoker committed to Michigan State, the Buckeyes will continue to pursue quarterbacks, and two of them are in the state of Ohio. Rick McFadden from Youngstown Struthers is a fine signal caller that the Buckeyes are most definitely still interested in. McFadden has Ohio State, Indiana, and Virginia as his top choices, and Indiana has already offered him a scholarship. The Buckeyes continue their interest in the 6-7, 205 pounder, though they have not offered him a scholarship. The Buckeyes also continue their interest in Bill Liber from North Canton Hoover High School in Ohio. The 6-4, 195 pounder likes Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, Purdue, Indiana and Duke, but Michigan State would most likely be out of the picture now that the Spartans have landed Smoker. He has not been offered a scholarship by the Buckeyes, but continues to draw interest from Ohio State. The Buckeyes also continue to show interest in Sean Cassidy from Fork Union Military Academy in Virginia. The Buckeyes would love to land tight end Brock Edwards (6-5, 250, 4.6) from Texas, and Edwards says that he is considering Ohio State. Edwards, from Fort Worth Christian High School, is without question one of the country's top tight end prospects. Edwards, however, plays running back for Fort Worth Christian, but will be a tight end in college. He rushed for over 1100 yards as a junior and scored 23 times and he tells me that Texas is his leader, with Texas A&M probably number two, and Florida State probably number three on his list. He also says he is looking at Tennessee, Miami, Michigan, and maybe even Ohio State, he said. All of the schools have offered a scholarship and he said he definitely is going to wait to make his decision until he takes at least some of his official visits, and the Buckeyes would love for one of those visits to be to Columbus. Defensive end Amon Gordon (6-3, 260, 4.6) from Everett Mariner High School in Washington tells me that he is looking at Ohio State. Gordon is one of the top prospects on the west coast. Gordon plays at linebacker, defensive end, running back and some fullback, but will likely be a defensive end in college. He has already qualified academically and tells me that he is looking at Florida State, as well as USC. He went to both of their football camps this summer, and he also is looking at Auburn, and all three of those schools have already offered a scholarship. Gordon also tells me he is looking at Georgia as well as Michigan, Ohio State, Miami, Penn State, and Tennessee. He also has Washington on his list, and the Huskies have also offered a scholarship. Moving to the State of Ohio, an unheralded but fine prospect is offensive lineman Dan Taylor (6-6, 320, 5.15) from Burton Berkshire High School in northern Ohio. He has a 2.8 GPA and scored a 21 on the ACT. Taylor starts at tackle on both sides of the ball but will play on offense in college. He recently made a trip to Poland for the World Youth Championship games and placed 5th in the discus with a throw of 187 feet, six inches, and 13 in the shot with a throw of 60 feet, two inches. He is looking at Ohio State, as well as South Carolina, Michigan State, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Purdue, and some MAC schools, but he says Ohio State is his favorite, and he attended the Ohio State football camp in June. The Buckeyes continue to have a legitimate shot at landing FB prospect Scott Davis (6-3, 260) from Parkersburg, West Virginia. Davis is one of the top prospects in this part of the country, and has been offered by Ohio State, Michigan, Notre Dame, West Virginia and Michigan State. He is still considering those five schools and says that those are the five that he is focusing on. He says that right now he is not any closer to making a decision than he was a month ago. In fact, Davis says he is going to take a little vacation and kind of forget about football for awhile. He says that he is not focusing on any set time table for announcing a decision. Another very good prospect from West Virginia who has Ohio State as one of his top choices is defensive end Dan Stevens (6-3, 255, 4.75) from Wheeling Lindsay High School. Stevens has qualified academically and has been offered a scholarship by Pitt and Ohio U. and is looking at those two schools, but he also is interested in Ohio State, Michigan and Penn State. The Buckeyes have not yet offered him a scholarship but are definitely interested. RB Alex Haynes (5-11, 200, 4.4) from Florida says the Buckeyes have told him that a scholarship is going to be available if he wants to come to Ohio State. He is from Orlando Evans High School.He bench presses 300 pounds and has a 37 inch vertical leap and a 2.6 GPA with a 15 on the ACT. He rushed for 1700 yards as a junior and scored 18 times. He tells me that he is looking at LSU, Florida State, Ohio State, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Clemson, Florida, Michigan and Miami. He said all of those schools have told him that a spot would be available for him, but right now he has no favorite or tow two or three. Another outstanding prospect the Buckeyes have offered a scholarship to is WR Lorenzo Crawford (5-11, 185, 4.4) from Patterson Catholic High School in New Jersey. He is from the same high school as former Buckeye QB Stan Jackson. Crawford caught 33 passes as a Junior for almost 1,000 yards, averaging 27 yards per catch and scored 11 times. Crawford has a 2.9 GPA and scored an 840 on the SAT. He tells me that he looking at Ohio State, Michigan State, Syracuse, Penn State, North Carolina State, and North Carolina, and all of the schools have already offered a scholarship. Crawford says that he does not have a favorite right now. He has made unofficial visits to Syracuse and Michigan State this summer, and he said he plans to take official visits next winter to Ohio State, Penn State and North Carolina. Another outstanding prospect that the Buckeyes are pursuing is linebacker Karlton Neal (6-4, 240, 4.6) from Chicago Morgan Park High School in Illinois. He is one of the top linebacker prospects in the Midwest. He has qualified academically, and told me that he looking at Tennessee and Notre Dame, and both have offered him a scholarship, but he also is looking at Miami of Florida, Michigan State, Boston College, Ohio State and Kentucky. He said right now, Tennessee would be his favorite, and he said Miami of Florida would be his second favorite if the Hurricanes offered a scholarship. However, he said he is looking at Ohio State, but he might make a decision by the end of the summer, so if the Buckeyes are to be in the running, they are going to have to soon offer him. Moving to Ohio, OL Justin Belarski (6-4, 260, 4.9) from Fairfield likes Ohio State, and could play either guard or center in College. He has easily qualified academically and was at the OSU camp in June, and also went Pitt's camp and Miami of Ohio's camp for one day. He says he is looking at those three schools, as well as Purdue and Northwestern, and that Pitt might be his current leader. July 18, 1999 2:45 Offensive lineman Mike Munoz from Cincinnatti Moeller High School in Ohio continues to consider Ohio State, Tennessee, Michigan, Texas and Florida State, but what his mother, Dee-Dee, said to me yesterday sounded slightly encouraging for the Buckeyes. When I asked her about Mike's college choice, she said that he is not going to be making any more unofficial visits this summer. He has visited all five schools. She said that he is going to hopefully try and give everyone a fair chance by making official visits to all five schools. She said she was fairly certain he would make at least a few official visits, if not all five before making a decision. But, she added, I know he really likes Ohio State, but he likes them all, so certainly that sounds at least a little encouraging for the Buckeyes. I think Munoz' decision will ultimately come down to either Ohio State or Tennessee. Tight end Eric Arling (6-5, 230) from Cincinnati St. Xavier High School has committed to Kentucky. Arling had been offered a scholarship by Kentucky, Georgia Tech and Miami of Ohio as well as Boston College, and he also had an interest in Ohio State, Purdue, Notre Dame and Michigan, ut Arling went ahead and committed to the Wildcats. Offensive lineman Jason Joyce (6-5, 310, 5.35) from Lincolnshire Stevenson High School in Illinois has Ohio State as his top choice. He is mainly focusing on Big Ten schools as well as Tennessee. Joyce has vistited Ohio State, Michigan, Illinois, and Iowa. He and his dad visited all of those schools and his dad told me that he would say that Ohio State is probably his son's leader, though to this point none of the schools has offered him a scholarship. Defensive back/linebacker prospect Jovaun Berks (6-1, 205, 4.5) from Detroit Central High School in Michigan continues to have an interest in Ohio State. Berks has a 2.85 GPA and made 113 tackles including 12 sacks as a junior. He went to Michigan State's camp for one day and he has Michigan State and Wisconsin as his top two, but he also says that he is interested in Ohio State, Nebraska, Indiana, and Michigan. The Buckeye of course would love to land offensive lineman Nick Marmo (6-6, 301, 5.2) from New Castle, Pennsylvania. He is one of the country's top offensive line prospects. I spoke with him again and he said that his decision is still down to four schools, Penn State, Ohio State, Michigan and Pitt. He said that Penn State is still his leader, and all four schools have offered him a scholarship. He says, however, that he is not any closer to making a decsion now than he was a month ago. He said then that he might make a decision sometime this summer, but he wasn't sure. However, when I spoke with him recently he said that still might make his decision this summer, but he is just not sure exactly when he will decide on his college. He did add that he didn't thing it was going to be particularly soon, but the Buckeyes do have some catching up to do as Penn State continues to lead for Marmo. Another offensive lineman that the Buckeyes have offered a scholarship to is Eric Knoll (6-5, 275, 4.85) from Gaithersburg Watkins Mills High School in Maryland. Knoll tells me that he is looking at Penn State, Ohio State, Michigan and North Carolina. He said it's basically those four schools that he is interested in at this point. He has been offered a scholarship by the Buckeyes and Penn State. Like Marmo, Eric Knoll has Penn State as his top choice. He said Penn State is his leader, but he says it is because he has been there most often. He has been to Penn State several times and said he likes the coaches and the campus, and the only other school out of his four schools of itnerest that he has been to is North Carolina, and he says he is not quite familiar with either Ohio State or Michigan yet since he has not been to either of those schools. Knoll did say that he is definitely interested in the Buckeyes, and that he is not particularly close to making a decision. Another player from Maryland that the Buckeyes have offered a scholarship to is Derrick Wake (6-4, 235, 4.6) from Hyattsville, DeMatha High School. Wake is a defensive end with a 2.8 GPA and scored an 1150 on the SAT. He tells me that he is looking at Ohio State, Georgia Tech, Penn State, Michigan, Virginia Tech, Notre Dame, Maryland, Georgia and Miami of Florida. Most of those schools, including Ohio State, have already offered him a scholarship. Wake says that right now he doesn't have a favorite at all, and he is not sure which schools he will make official visits to. He said that he is going to narrow things down later, but that the Buckeyes could definitely be one his official visits. Moving closer to the state of Ohio, LB/FB Kelvin Travis (6-0, 205, 4.6) from Detroit Cass Tech High School in Michigan say Ohio State is his top choice. He has a 2.8 GPA and a 17 on the ACT. Travis started as a sophomore at fullback, and this past season started at inside linebacker. He could play either one of those positions in college. He went to Ohio State's football camp this summer, and says the Ohio State is his favorite. He is looking at Ohio State, Michigan, Florida State, Indiana, Bowling Green, Toledo and Ball State. Thus far, Indiana, Bowling Green and Toledo have offered him a scholarship. Travis said he likes the Buckeyes best because of the tradition of Ohio State. He has seen the Buckeyes on TV many times and says that the number of great players that the Buckeyes send to the NFL is another reason he likes Ohio State. When he sees all the Buckeyes in the NFL, he thinks why can't he be like that, go to Ohio State and then go on the NFL. He also mentioned that he liked Ohio State's campus and the Buckeye colors. Running back Tyrell Dorche (6-0, 190, 4.4) from Hoboken, New Jersey has been offered a scholarship by the Buckeyes, and names Ohio State as one of his top choices. He has a 2.7 GPA and scored a 790 on the SAT the first time. He will take it again in October and should qualify academically. Dorche rushed for 1763 yards as a junior and averaged a spectacular 12.3 yards per carry. He scored 15 times and also picked off six passes. He could play either running back or defensive back in college, but would prefer to play on offense. Dorche tells me that he is looking at Ohio State, Florida, Michigan, Michigan State, Miami, Nebraska, Penn State and North Carolina State. He said Florida and Miami are th the only two schools that have not yet offered a scholarship. Dorche said that he does not have a favorite right now, and that he will likely will wait until after the season to make a decision. Another running back Buckeyes are interested in names Ohio State as his leader. Tiawon Hagler (6-1, 190, 4.5) , from Kankekee Bishop McNamara High School in Illinois tells me he is looking at Ohio State, Miami of Florida, Michigan, West Virginia, Illinois and Wisconsin. He says that Ohio State is his favorite. He made an unofficial visit to Ohio State during Spring break and said he was very impressed. The Buckeyes have not yet offered a scholarship, but are continuing to stay in touch with Hagler. WR Johnny Mullins (6-1, 190, 4.35) from Bellegrade Glade Central High School in Florida has Ohio State as one of his top choices. He picked off two passes as a junior on defense, but he will play wide receiver as a senior, and that's the position that recruiters project him to play in college. Mullins has run a 10.5 100 meters in track, has a 3.4 GPA and scored a 1020 on the SAT. He tells me that he is looking at Miami as well as Ohio State, Michigan, Florida State, West Virginia, Stanford and Clemson. He says he does not a favorite right now. The Buckeyes have not yet offered a scholarship. Another Scholarship in the state of Florida that is very interested in Ohio State is Trey Orr (6-2, 190) from Lake City Columbia High School. He is a cornerback/wide-receiver that could play either position in college, but I see him playing on defense. He has a 3.2 GPA and a 20 on the ACT. He picked off three passes and made 75 tackles this past season, and also caught 17 passes. He has run a 10.7 100 meters and he tells me that he is looking at Alabama, Florida State, Miami, Ohio State, Florida, Notre Dame, Michigan, Tennesee, Georgia, Georgia Tech and Arkansas. Florida State, Florida, Miami and Notre Dame have already offered him a scholarship, but he says he does not have a favorite right now. Offensive lineman Chris McKelvey announced on last Wednesday afternoon that he has committed to Penn State. He had narrowed things down to Penn State, Nebraska, Florida State, Ohio State and Michigan. He subsequently had narrowed things down to Penn State and Nebraska, and as I had predicted, he committed to the Nittany Lions. Here in Ohio, running back Duane Griffin (6-0, 205, 4.5) from Warrensville Heights High School, has Ohio State very high on his list. He has a 2.3 GPA and despite missing playing time with some injuries, he still rushed for almost 1,000 yards as a junior. Griffin went to Ohio State's football camp in June and said he liked it a lot. He says that Ohio State, Michigan State, Connecticut, Pitt and Purdue are his favorite schools. He said that Akron and just about all of the MAC schools have already offered him a scholarship, but he is looking bigger, he is looking to the Big Ten. Offensive lineman Joel Rodreguiz (6-4, 275, 5.0) from Miami Pace High School in Florida is a good one that likes the Buckeyes. He is guard/center prospect who has a 3.8 GPA and a 26 on the ACT. He tells me that he is interested in Ohio State, Miami, Boston College, Michigan, Florida, Auburn and Stanford. Auburn and Boston College are ready to offer him a scholarhip in writting but Rodreguiz says he is not close to making a decision. He is hearing a lot from the Buckeyes through the mail, and he says he has sent film in the mail to Ohio State as the Buckeyes requested tape. Defensive back Derron Stevens (6-4, 170, 4.5) , one of the top DBs in the state of Texas, tells me that he has Ohio State as one of his top choices. Stevens is from Lewisville, Texas and has a 2.5 GPA but won't take his test until the fall. He intercepted five passes from his free safety spot as a junior. Derron tells me that Ohio State, Texas, Florida, Notre Dame and Florida State are his top five choices. He says that even though Texas has offered him a scholarship, he is planning on taking official visits before making a decision, and as of right now, Ohio State would likely be one of his official visits. One of the country's top linebacker prospects tells me that Ohio State is one of his top choices. Robert Reynolds (6-4, 215, 4.6) from Bowling Green, Kentucky is an inside lineback who made 180 tackles as a junior including 15 sacks. Of his 180 tackles, 21 were for losses. Reynolds has already qualified academically and did not go to any football camps this summer, but he did make an unofficial visit to Purdue and one to Tennessee. He said that those are two schools on his list. He said his list consists of eight schools, at least for right now. He said that the eight that he is focusing on are Ohio State, Michigan, Tennessee, Purdue, Virginia, Kentucky, Louisvile, and Miami of Florida. All eight schools have offered him a scholarship. He said that he doesn't have any favorite right now, but that he is very interested in the Buckeyes but that he will probably wait and take official visits before making a decision. Another standout player the Buckeyes have offered a scholarship to is Travis Johnson (6-4, 265, 4.6) from Sherman Oaks Notre Dame High School in California. Johnson has a 2.0 GPA and a 910 on the SAT. He tells me that he is looking at six schools and Ohio State is one of the six. His six are Michigan, Ohio State, Florida State, UCLA, USC and Cal are the schools that he is interested in, and all six have offered him a scholarship. He said that he is not sure exactly who he will make official visits with, but definitely two of them will be Florida State and Michigan, and probably USC and UCLA would be two others. That would leave Ohio State and Cal fighting for the 5th spot. Defensive back Willie Allan (6-2, 170, 4.45) from Trottwood Madison High School in Ohio was impressive at the Nike Camp at Ohio State, and has also been to Ohio State's camp and Florida State's camp. Allan is looking at Florida State, Ohio State, Michigan State, Kentucky and Purdue. July 13, 1999 2:30 PM Another running back the Buckeyes are interested in is Bryan Odom from Ada, Oklahoma (6-1, 205) who rushed for over 1800 yards as a junior. He is very interested in Ohio State. In fact, he said that on his screen saver on his computer at home, he has Buckeyes on the screen saver. Odom is looking at Ohio State as well as Oklahoma, Texas Christian, UCLA, Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado and Nebraska. Missouri has already offered Odom a scholarship. OL Justin Barton (6-6, 290, 5.2) from New Jersey is a good one that is interested in Ohio State. Barton tells me he likes Ohio State, North Carolina, Michigan, Tennessee, Nebraska, Syracuse, Florida State and Illinois. North Carolina, Tennessee and Syracuse have already offered Barton a scholarship. Barton said that his two favorites are probably North Carolina and Syracuse, however, he does have Ohio State connections. Barton's dad went to grad school at Ohio State, and Justin was born at that time in Columbus. Another lineman the Buckeyes are interested in is Ryan Wolosek. Ryan is a 6-5, 295 pounder from Wisconsin. He was at Ohio State's football camp in June, and he also went to Nebraska's camp. He says that he is looking at Ohio State, Nebraska, Wisconsin and Minnesota. Two-way lineman Lonnie Simmons (6-5, 260, 4.9) from Columbus Northland High School in Ohio was at the Nike training camp on Friday at OSU, and Lonnie was very impressive. Simmons also named Ohio State as one of the schools he is interested in. Simmons starts at both offensive tackle and defensive end, but will likely play on offense in college. He has a fine 3.3 GPA and told me that he is looking at Notre Dame, Penn State, Ohio State, Michigan State, Purdue, Michigan and UCLA as well as perhaps a couple of others. He said, so far Notre Dame and Purdue have offered him a scholarship. He had previously been to Notre Dame and Ohio State's football camps. Simmons said that if he had to name a top two right now, it would probably be Notre Dame and Penn State, but he also emphasized that he is not close to making a decision and it's his plan right now to take official visits before picking a college. Another Ohioan the Buckeyes could end up offering a scholarship to who was at the Nike Camp is DB Antoine Rodgers from Middleton. Rodgers weighed in at only 147 pounds at the camp, was none the less very impressive, showing good speed and excellent reactions. Rodgers has what it takes to be a good corner or safety in college. He told me that he is very interested in Ohio State. He is looking at the Buckeyes, as well as Penn State, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Purdue and a few others. Rodgers said that he will probably go to Michigan State's camp July 18th, and has already been to Ohio State's camp. He has not yet been offered a scholarship by the Buckeyes. A player that the Buckeyes have offered a scholarship to is WR Tony Brown (6-3, 180, 4.5) from Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Florida. Brown is one of the top wide receiver prospects in the South. He tells me he is pretty wide open on his college choice, but he did say that in the end, his decision will probably come down to one of four schools, and Ohio State is one of them. Those four are Ohio State, Florida, Michigan and Florida State. Ohio State and Florida have already offered him a scholarship. He is also considering Tennessee and Purdue. Brown did say that he likes the Big Ten conference and the competitive nature of the conference, so certainly that could bode well for Ohio State. Linebacker Pat Bruener (6-3, 240) from Cincinnati Elder High School had a good workout at the Nike camp. He runs a 4.8 40 and has already qualified academically told me that Kentucky is probably still his top choice, but he is also looking at Vanderbilt, who has already offered him a scholarship, and is definitely interested in Ohio State, though the Buckeyes have not yet offered. He also mentioned Purdue, Michigan State, Michigan, Boston College and Duke as other schools he is taking a look at. He attended Ohio State's football camp in June, and also has been to camp at Purdue as well as Michigan and a day at both Duke and Kentucky. At the Nike Camp on Friday, running back Brandon Joe from Westerville South High School in Ohio was very impressive. The 6-1 1/2, 220 pound Joe ran well and also lifted extremely well. Brandon is a very strong young man. He is also a very impressive looking young man. He would prefer to play running back in college, but he definitely looks more the part of a fullback. He actually did weight a little bit more than perhaps he should. He weighed closer to 230 pounds than 220, but he should be able to lose that weight and is an outstanding prospect. Joe told me that he is very much interested Ohio State. He likes Ohio State, Michigan, Tennessee, Penn State and Notre Dame. The Buckeyes are very interested in him, though they have not officially offered him a scholarship. Tight end Jason Caldwell from Mentor, Ohio was very impressive at Ohio State's camp in June, and the Buckeyes came close to offering him a scholarship. Caldwell also was at the Nike Camp at OSU last Friday, and once again was very impressive. He actually measured out a little bit bigger than he had measured at Ohio State. At Ohio State he measured out at 6-4 1/2, while Friday in stocking feet at the Nike Camp he measured 6-5. Caldwell ran fairly well and certainly could be a tight end in college, but the way he is growing, I wouldn't be at all surprised if he ends up as an offensive lineman at the next level. Caldwell told me that he is still very, very interested in the Buckeyes. In fact, if the Buckeyes offered him a scholarship, it seems like from talking to Jason Caldwell that there would be a very, very good chance that he would commit to the Buckeyes. He is also looking at Pitt, Northwestern, Indiana and some MAC schools. The Buckeyes continue to wait word from QB Jeff Smoker from Pennsylvania. Smoker is the number one QB on Ohio State's list and he continues to say that he is considering five schools, Ohio State, Michigan, Kentucky, Michigan State and North Carolina. All five schools have offered. He still says he will not make a decision until at least the middle of this month, and in all likelihood he will wait until at least the end of the month before picking a college. He does say that he would like to make a decision before the end of the summer. The Buckeyes already have commitments from two wide receiver prospects, those being Corey Adams from Georgia and John Hollins from Huber Heights Wayne High School in Ohio. Another WR to keep very much in mind for the Buckeyes is James Taylor from Garfield Heights near Cleveland. Taylor's stock continues to rise. He is a 6-3, 180 wide out with 4.5 40 speed who caught 70 passes this past season. Taylor is arguably the top WR prospect in the state of Ohio and he is looking at Ohio State as well as Michigan State, Louisville, Florida State, Penn State and Kentucky. He says at this point he is not close to making decision. The Buckeyes are taking a good look at RB Mike Vernillo (5-10, 195, 4.4) from Pennsylvania. He has Ohio State as one of his favorites and has a 3.0 GPA and scored an 18 on the ACT. Vernillo rushed for 1500 yards and averaged close to 9 yards per carry as a junior and scored 25 times. He also intercepted 5 passes, and some schools feel he would make an excellent corner. Vernillo tells me that West Virginia and Maryland have offered him, and his looking at those two, but he is also interested in Ohio State, Penn State, Boston College and Pitt.
July 8, 1999 4:30 AM The Buckeyes would love to land a super quarterback in this recruiting class, and the one that they have targeted is Jeff Smoker from Mannheim Central High School in Pennsylvania. Smoker continues to say that Ohio State is definitely very much right there in the running. He says that his decision is still down to five schools, Ohio State, Michigan, Kentucky, Michigan State and North Carolina, but he continues to say that he does not have a favorite at all and that he will not make a decision until the middle of this month, or perhaps even toward the end of the month or the beginning of next month. Smoker says he just simply is not sure where he wants to go right now. The Buckeyes have also offered a scholarship to quarterback Casey Clausen from California and they do have an outside shot at Clause but I believe that Clause is going to go elsewhere. Another quarterback that the Buckeyes are interested in is Sean Cassidy (6-4, 200) from Fork Union Military Academy in Virginia. Cassidy has attended football camps at OSU, North Carolina, Michigan, Boston College and Miami of Florida. Cassidy won an award at both the Miami and Michigan camps. He is looking at OSU, North Carolina, Michigan, Boston College, Miami and Northwestern. None of the schools to this point have offered him a scholarship. They have all indicated that they have a few other quarterbacks that they rate higher, but that they will be taking a close look at Cassidy. He says he does not have any big favorites, but he is originally from Upper Arlington High School in Ohio, and the Buckeyes probably have a very good chance to land him if they offer. Unfortunately, the Buckeyes are out of the running for super offensive lineman Chris McKelvey from Pennsylvania. He had narrowed things down to five schools, Penn State, Nebraska, Ohio State, Michigan and Florida State, and all five had offered him a scholarship. He had made an unofficial visit to Ohio State not long ago and had been intending to announce his decision today. He has now postponed his announcement, but he has also narrowed things down to just two schools, Penn State and Nebraska. The Buckeyes remain in the running for for Michael Munoz, the Blue-Chipper from Cincinnati Moeler High School. Munoz says his decision is down to Ohio State, Tennessee, Michigan, Texas and Florida State. However, I don't think that Texas and Florida State are going to be a big factor in Munoz decision, and while Michigan has a shot, I think that ultimately it will come down to Ohio State and Tennessee. The Buckeyes are also remain in the running for lineman Antonio Hall from Canton McKinley High School. While he would prefer to play on the defensive side in college, he is actually an even better offensive lineman. In fact, I feel he is the country's best offensive tackle prospect. If the Buckeyes could end up landing both Hall and Munoz to go along with Alex Stepanovich and Larry Kinnard, they without question would have one of the top groups of offensive line talent in the nation. Hall continues to say that Ohio State is very much on his list, but he also has a host of other schools he is considering. He is looking at not only Ohio State, but Michigan, Michigan State, Penn State, West Virginia as well as Florida State, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, South Carolina and Tennessee. Every one of those schools has offered him a scholarship. He says he does not have a favorite, but I feel his decision will ultimately come down to Ohio State or Michigan. Another prospect the Buckeyes have offered a scholarship to is tight end Alex Holmes from California. Holmes had been rumored to have committed to Michigan, however the rumor is completely false. I checked with Holmes again yesterday, and he said that he is not committed to the Wolverines or anyone else for that matter. Holmes said that Michigan is still one his top two choices with UCLA, but he is also is looking at several other schools, including Ohio State and Cal. He did say, however, that Stanford is now off his list, and that he is not close to making a decision and wants to take at least some of his official visits before making his decision, and Holmes says that Ohio State is one the schools that he could visit. A great offensive line prospect, Kwame Harris (6-6, 320) , from Newark, Delaware, continues to consider Ohio State, though the Buckeyes are certainly not going to have an easy time landing Harris. Harris is without question one of the the country's top five offensive linemen. He has easily qualified academically, and he told me that he is still interested in, as he puts it, "in anyone who is interested in him," which means virtually the entire country as Harris is that good that he has scholarship offers from schools from coast to coast. Harris recently made unofficial visits to Michigan, Michigan State, Wisconsin, Notre Dame and Northwestern, and he named those schools as some of the schools that he is interested in, but he also named Ohio State, Boston College, Miami, Florida State, Penn State, UCLA, Stanford, North Carolina, Syracuse, Tennessee, Arizona, Auburn and Cal as other schools that he has scholarship offers from, and he reiterated that he is not leaning to any one or even any five or ten schools, and he is going to look at every school that is showing interest in him, and that of course includes Ohio State as the Buckeyes have offerd him a scholarship. The Buckeyes have not offered but remain interested in OL Ike Ndukwe (6-6, 305, 5.2) of Dublin Coffman High School. He does have scholarship offers from a number of schools, including several in the Big Ten like Michigan State and Purdue. Ndukwe is looking at a number of schools, but if a scholarship offer were to come from Ohio State and Notre Dame, I think he will end up picking one of those two schools. Ndukwe has a brother who is a student at Notre Dame, but he also likes Ohio State quite a bit, and I just get the feeling from speaking with him that he is going to pick one of those two if both Ohio State and Notre Dame were to eventually offer. Another offensive lineman from the state of Pennsylvania that the Buckeyes would love to land is Nick Marmo (6-6, 310) from New Castle, Pennsylvania. He has been to Ohio State on a couple of different occasions for unofficial visits, and he continues to have Ohio State in the running. He is looking at Ohio State, as well as Penn State, Pitt and Michigan. Marmo has not announced when he will make a decision, although he does say that he could decide sometime before the end of this summer. He also continues to say that Penn State is his slight leader, but he has not ruled out Ohio State, Pitt or Michigan. The Buckeyes also continue their pursuit of linebacker Mike Goolsby (6-4, 225) of Joliet, Illinois. He is one of the country's top inside linebacker prospects and has been offered a scholarship by Ohio State as well as many other schools across the country, as well as Notre Dame, Michigan, Michigan State, Kentucky and Tennessee. He is looking at all of those schools, and says that Ohio State continues to be one of his top choices. That's the good news. The bad news is that Goolsby now says that he is now leaning toward Notre Dame, but he is not yet ready to make a decision and the Buckeyes are hoping to change his leaning in the very near future as Goolsby is planning on being in Columbus for the one-day Nike training camp on Friday, July 9th at Ohio State. Certainly the Buckeyes will roll out the red carpet for him at that time to try and move into the lead for his services. RB Chris Perry (6-2, 215, 4.5) from Fork Union Military Academy has made camp stops at North Carolina, Ohio State and Michigan which are his top three choices, and in fact, the only three that he is focusing on at this point. The encouraging news is that Perry now says that Ohio State is his leader at this point over Michigan and North Carolina and the Buckeyes have offered Chris Perry a scholarship. He is not ready to make a commitment yet, but he has not ruled out the possibility of committing to Ohio State before the end of the summer.Perry is an Eddy George type big back that Buckeye running backs coach Tim Spencer seems to favor. Defensive back Matt Grootegoed (6-0, 200, 4.5) from Santa Anna Mater Dei High School in California is one the Buckeyes would dearly love to land. He might make an unofficial visit to Ohio State yet this summer. He is a safety prospect and has qualified academically, and is one of the top overall prospects in the state of California. He has family from Ohio, as his dad is from Canton, Ohio and his mom has family in the Cleveland area, so certainly there are some Ohio ties there with Grootegoed. When I spoke to him he told me his decision is down to four schools, Ohio State, UCLA, Michigan and USC, and all four have offered him a scholarship. He told me there is a chance he might come out to the Midwest in August, and if he does, he will definitely stop at Ohio State, and perhaps stop at Michigan as well. He says he does not currently have a favorite, and he also says he may commit to someone before the start of his senior football season. I believe that ultimately he will choose between Ohio State and UCLA. While he has not said that, I just get the feeling from talking to him that his decision may well come down to those two schools. The Buckeyes are very interested in WR Rashem Sharp (6-3, 200, 4.5) from St. Paul Central High School in Minnesota, and Sharp has Ohio State as one of his top choices. He is one of the most talented prospects in the state of Minnesota. The only question mark will be academics. Sharp has a 2.0 GPA and scored a 16 the first time on the ACT. He has run a 10.8 100 meters in track. He played both RB and WR last season, but will be a WR in college. He tells me that he is looking at a number of schools, but he mentioned Ohio State, Nebraska, Minnesota, Michigan State, Arizona, Iowa and Illinois. Sharp says he has no favorite right now, and that all the schools have indicated to him that if he passes his test and qualifies academically, a scholarship will be available. Carlos Joseph (6-6, 300, 5.1) is one of the best offensive line prospects in the state of Florida. He has a 2.5 GPA and took the ACT in June. He told me that he is looking at Tennessee, Miami, Kentucky, Penn State, Ohio State, Michigan, Central Florida and South Florida, and that all of the schools have told him that a scholarship is waiting, however, academics are a bit of a questionmark at this point. Andrew Lee played quarterback last season for Columbus West, but will be a wide receiver this year for Columbus Brookhaven, and that is the position he will play in college. Lee said that Ohio State, Purdue, Pitt, Cincinnati, Notre Dame, and Michigan State under consideration. Lee says he is not sure who his leader is right now, and he is not close to making a decision. Lee added that Ohio State, Pitt, Purdue and Cincinnati have all told him that a scholarship should be available. |