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Bill Kurelic June 2001 June 29, 2001 DE Jay Richardson from Dublin Scioto High School has committed to Ohio State. That was not a big surprise since I had reported previously that Richardson was expected to commit to the Buckeyes and he has. He is a 6-5, 240 DE who runs a 4.8 40. Richardson made 75 tackles including 15 for losses as a junior. He has a 2.1 GPA and scored a 24 on the ACT. He had scholarship offers from OSU, Michigan State, Penn State, Kentucky, Clemson, B.C., S. Carolina, Pitt and others. He had narrowed things down to OSU and Michigan State and then called the Buckeyes today and committed. Richardson said that he talked to Coach Tressel who welcomed him aboard. Richardson said he wanted to be part of a great recruiting class. He likes the OSU coaching staff and said that he is definitely happy to commit to the Buckeyes. Also committing to the Buckeyes today was LB A.J. Hawk from Centerville, OH. Hawk, 6-2, 230, 4.6 40, has been a varsity starter since his freshman season. Hawk as a freshman made 142 tackles. As a sophomore in 12 games he made 192 tackles and last year he made 169 tackles in 10 games. He has a 3.0 GPA and scored a 20 on the ACT. Hawk also called OSU today and verbally committed to Coach Tressel and talked to Coach Heacock, Coach Snyder, Coach Conley and Coach Dantonio. The Buckeyes now have verbal commitments from QB Justin Zwick, RB Maurice Clarett, TE R.J. Coleman, OL Doug Datish, OL T.J. Downing, DE Joel Penton, DE Jay Richardson, LB A.J. Hawk and DB E.J. Underwood. Of those players, all are from Ohio except Coleman who is from West Virginia. June 28, 2001 Today, believe it or not in late June, is a HUGE recruiting day for Ohio State. To begin, OL Doug Datish from Warren Howland High School has called OSU and committed to the Buckeyes. Datish, 6-5, 285, 5.0 and the number one OL in Ohio and one of the country's best, committed to Ohio State over Colorado, Michigan, Tennessee and Notre Dame all of which had offered a scholarship. Datish said the he always dreamed of playing for OSU. He said it seemed like a good place to be and he said the Bucks indicated that he could play either OG or OT. He said that Colorado probably ended up as his second choice. That is a huge commitment for OSU. He said OSU looks like a good place to be. He said that he probably would not redshirt next year. He said that his dad playing for OSU was a factor. He said that he has gone to games at Ohio State forever. He said that the OSU coaches thought he was going to wait before committing but they were very excited when he called with his commitment Wednesday. He is easily qualified academically with a 3.5 GPA and a 23 on the ACT. When I spoke with E.J. Underwood late last Sunday night he told me that he would be visiting OSU today with his parents and that he definitely would be committing to Ohio State when he visits today. However, the timetable has moved up a little bit. Underwood went ahead and called OSU Assistant Coach Jim Heacock who is recruiting him and verbally committed to OSU on Wednesday. Underwood is one of the top two DB prospects in Ohio. He made 70 tackles and had five interceptions as a junior. He will play CB for OSU. He has a 2.7 GPA and a 27 on the ACT. As to today as a huge recruiting day for OSU, Underwood and his parents will be visiting to look at OSU's academics. Stan White Jr., an outstanding LB from Baltimore Gilman High School in Maryland, is visiting OSU today. White and his father are going to be at OSU today and Friday. Stan Sr. has come to Columbus for the Alumni Golf Tournament. Stan Jr. is highly considering Ohio State but Stanford is in the picture too. Both schools have offered a scholarship. White tells me that if he had to pick a leader right now it would be OSU. The Buckeyes would love to get a commitment from him today or Friday. Also the Buckeyes would love to get a commitment today from LB Bobby Carpenter from Lancaster, OH. The 6-3, 225 Carpenter told me last night that he talked to OSU Coach Dantonio and he has set up a noon visit today to OSU. Carpenter said that he is going to meet at noon with Coach Tressel and Coach Snyder. He said that he and his parents will likely check out the business school today as well. Carpenter said that OSU is definitely is high on his list. He said there is a slight chance he could commit to OSU today. He said, "I couldn't rule it out but it is not likely." Carpenter said that to make a decision today that he would really have to like it a lot, like that's where I belong. He said it's more likely that he would wait and take official visits. The Bucks would love to get a commitment today from Carpenter. He also has offers from Notre Dame, Northwestern, Michigan State and Ga. Tech. OSU, ND and Northwestern are at the top of Carpenter's list. Also visiting OSU today are the parents of OL Nick Mangold, 6-4, 270 from Kettering Alter. He was offered a scholarship by OSU when he was at the senior camp. Mangold has really narrowed things down to Ohio State and Notre Dame. Mangold's mother Teresa told me last night that she and her husband Vern would be visiting OSU today. They are going to talk with Coach Tressel and Coach Bollman. She said that she does like Notre Dame but she said the she also likes OSU a lot too. She mentioned that her brother went to Ohio State. She said that Nick really couldn't go wrong with either school. Also visiting Ohio State today is RB Regis Edgerson from Garfield Heights High School. The 6-1, 220 Edgarson, who runs a 4.4 40, rushed for 1,400 yards as a junior despite a bad case of chin splints. Edgarson told me last night that he would be visiting OSU today and he will be home tonight for his team's mini camp. He said that he is considering Ohio State as well as Ga. Tech, S. Carolina and Wisconsin. In fact, he said that those three schools would likely be three of his official visits. He said the also could possibly take an official visit to Michigan and perhaps one to Notre Dame. He said that he would also be interested in an unofficial visit to OSU after his visit today. Edgarson said he now has 38 Div. I scholarship offers. He said that every school in the Big Ten has offered him a scholarship except OSU. While there was a chance that WR Roy Hall from Lyndhurst Brush High School might visit OSU today, his mother told me last night that Roy won't be able to make it today. He will probably wait until next week to visit Columbus. None-the-less today is a huge recruiting day for OSU and the Buckeyes would love to nab another verbal commitment or two. Datish joins QB Justin Zwick, RB Maurice Clarett, TE R.J. Coleman, OL T.J. Downing and DE Joel Penton as OSU commitments along with DB E.J. Underwood from Hamilton. DE Jay Richardson from Dublin Scioto High School could announce a commitment to Ohio State at any time now. If the Buckeyes offer Barry Cofield a scholarship this week, then in all likelihood they would land a package deal of Cofield and Rob Sims. Cofield is a DE at Cleveland Heights High School. The 6-5, 250 Cofield did well at the OSU senior camp last week. Cofield told me that he got a highlight tape to OSU. He said the OSU coaches told him that they want to see a few good plays from him on tape where he gets off the line well. If they see that and like what they see, they could possibly offer a scholarship. Cofield said that if he gets the offer he would commit to OSU and that he and his good friend Rob Sims almost certainly commit to OSU together. Cofield said that if he does not go to Ohio State he would consider Pitt, Ga. Tech, Northwestern and Indiana. He said that Pitt and Indiana have offered him but that OSU is set apart from the other schools. Previously Sims had told me that if Cofield got an offer from OSU that would seal the deal for Sims as well. Sims was offered at the senior camp. DB Tyler Everett, 6-2, 190 from Canton McKinley High School, who still has OSU as his clear leader, probably will not decide anything in the next week or so. Everett wants to decide before the start of his senior season but he is planning to visit Northwestern in a couple of weeks and maybe Indiana as well. OSU and Indiana have offered Everett. He says it's still about 90% OSU but he wants to satisfy his curiosity about the other two schools. OL Rick McDole from Marysville was not offered by the Bucks at the senior camp although OSU definitely remains interested in McDole. While McDole told me last week that he might be close to committing to Northwestern, he later said he's waiting it out. He said that he now thinks he will wait until sometime during the season to make a decision. He said that Northwestern and Ga. Tech, who have offered, would be his favorites right now. He said OSU would be on the list if they offered him a scholarship. June 22, 2001 A total of six more prospects were offered scholarships by Ohio State at the conclusion of the Ohio State senior camp. None of the six committed to Ohio State before they left Columbus. The six players that were offered a scholarship were OL Rob Sims from Macedonia Nordonia, OL T.J. Downing from North Canton Glenn Oak and OL Nick Mangold from Kettering Alter High School. Also offered were DE Jay Richardson from Dublin Scioto High School, LB A.J. Hawk from Centerville High School and DB E.J. Underwood from Hamilton High School. Rob Sims, 6-4, 290, is leaving today for a southern trip to visit South Carolina and Wake Forrest, but Sims told me last night that Ohio State is his solid leader now. Sims added that if his friend Barry Coefield, a DE from Cleveland Heights who also was at the senior camp, were to be offered by Ohio State, that would pretty much seal the deal. Sims' father played defensive tackle for the Cleveland Browns. OSU certainly has a legitimate shot at OL T.J. Downing 6-5, 298, from North Canton Glen Oak High School. OL Nick Mangold, 6-4, 270, 5.05, is seriously considering Ohio State now, with Ohio State and Notre Dame his two favorites. DE Jay Richardson, 6-5, 240, from Dublin Scioto was very impressed with what he saw at Ohio State on Wednesday and Thursday. He now has scholarship offers from Ohio State, South Carolina, Kentucky, Pitt, Boston College, Clemson, Bowling Green, Miami of Ohio, North Carolina and Michigan State. A.J. Hawk, 6-2, 230, from Centerville, now has scholarship offers from Ohio State and Penn State and it seems that his decision will ultimately come down to one of those two Big Ten schools. It also would not be surprising if DB E.J. Underwood's , 6-1, 175, decision came down to either Ohio State or Penn State. The DB from Hamilton is one of the top-three DB prospects in the state of Ohio along with Tyler Everett and Anthony Smith. Speaking of Anthony Smith, 6-2, 175, from Hubbard, Ohio, Smith told me that things went well at the camp but did not commit to the Buckeyes. Smith said that he actually did not talk that much with OSU about recruiting and committing and that type of thing. It was more of a learning experience for him. Smith says he has scholarship offers from Ohio State, Pitt, West Virginia, Syracuse and Boston College, and that right now he is thinking more along the lines of going through the recruiting process and taking official visits before he makes a decision. On the other hand, OL Rick McDole, 6-6, 325, from Marysville was not offered a scholarship by Ohio State at the senior camp. McDole told me that the Buckeyes indicated to him on Thursday that they want to see him play some this season before offering a scholarship. McDole had told me prior to the camp that if OSU would offer he would probably commit. However, McDole said on Thursday night that he is now thinking seriously about committing to Northwestern. McDole does have scholarship offers on the table from the Wildcats, Georgia Tech, West Virginia and Pitt. Three of the Buckeyes' four verbal commitments were participants in the OSU senior camp. They are RB Maurice Clarett, DE Joel Penton, both from Ohio, and TE R.J. Coleman from West Virginia. All three were impressive in the camp. Other prospects participating in the camp who have been offered a scholarship by OSU are DE Tim Schaffer from Upper Arlington High School, OL Eric Fritz from Dublin Coffman High School and DB Anthony Smith 6-2, 175, from Hubbard. Of those three, the one that would seem most likely to possibly commit to OSU would be Smith who has the Buckeyes as his leader. Some other notable names participating in the senior camp were fullback Dave Herron who is from Maurice Clarett's high school Warren Harding and WRs Jimmy Riley and Joey Card. OL T.J. Downing and Eric Claxson also were on hand. Defensive linemen, Andy Alleman, Anthony Montgomery, Barry Coefield and Reggie Woods as was DB Ashton Watson. All of those prospects from the state of Ohio. Of those players, a name that may not be particularly familiar is that of Andy Alleman. Alleman is from Massillon Washington High School, the same high school of Justin Zwick. He is a 6-5, 235 pounder who runs a 4.75 40. He is a defensive end and he has been impressive. Alleman is one of those players whose stock seems to be on the rise and he is one to keep an eye on. One player who came to the camp for the second day only is Mike Kudla, 6-4, 235, from Medina Highlands High School. Kudla has a number of scholarship offers though as of the beginning of camp, Ohio State had not offered him a scholarship. Kudla tells me that Tennessee, Georgia and Virginia Tech have offered him and he is looking at those three, but he is also interested in Ohio State, Michigan and Northwestern. One player that did not attend the camp that the Buckeyes would love to land is LB/RB Bobby Carpenter from Lancaster. He is one of the top prospects in Ohio and told me that though he will not attend the senior camp session, but he will be at Ohio State on Friday for the seven on seven team passing camp. He said that while at that camp he would be talking with new OSU strength coach Al Johnson. Carpenter had been disappointed when Coach Kennedy left the program, but Carpenter has said that he met Coach Johnson when Johnson was at West Virginia and he Carpenter says that Johnson seems a lot like Coach Kennedy, that the two coaches seemed to be on the same page. That certainly is encouraging for the Buckeyes since Carpenter liked Coach Kennedy quite a bit. He also said that either Notre Dame or Northwestern would probably be his current favorites. He says he is looking at Notre Dame, Northwestern, Ohio State, Michigan State and probably Michigan and West Virginia. DE Tim Schaffer from Upper Arlington is one the Buckeyes would love to land, but just because he lives in the shadow of the university, doesn't mean he is an automatic for OSU. He is considering Ohio State, Northwestern, Boston College, Michigan, Notre Dame and others, and all of those schools have offered him a scholarship. Rick McDole from Macedonia Nordonia High School says that if Ohio State were to offer he would likely commit. He has Northwestern as his favorite out of the schools that have offered him, but out of all schools, he says that OSU is is his favorite. Rob Sims, 6-4, 290, has offers from Wisconsin, Michigan State, Illinois, South Carolina and Pitt, Minnesota, Indiana and the MAC schools. DE Jay Richardson, 6-5, 240, from Dublin Scioto High School attended camp at Michigan before coming to OSU's senior camp. He now has scholarship offers from Pitt, B.C. South Carolina, Clemson, Kentucky, Miami of Ohio, Bowling Green, North Carolina and Michigan State. He is also interested in Ohio State. A RB from Ohio that the Buckeyes had had some interest in has committed to Virginia. Tony Franklin 5-11, 175, 4.4, from Bedford, Ohio visited Virginia last week and committed to the Cavaliers. He said that Georgia Tech was his second choice. Toledo had also offered him a scholarship. DL Kwakou Robinson, 6-3, 310, 5-1, from Brooklyn Poly Prep High School plays both ways for Poly Prep but would prefer to play defense in college. Robinson has a 2.9 GPA and was at Ohio State's camp, then went on to Pitt's camp. He subsequently will attend camp at Notre Dame and also plans to camp at Maryland and Virginia possibly as well. He as offers from Ohio State, Michigan State, Pitt, Southern Cal, Wisconsin, Virginia, Maryland, South Carolina and Rutgers. According to his mother, Notre Dame has also offered verbally, but not in writing. OL Rick McDole has a 3.33 GPA and a 20 on the ACT and is one of the top OL prospects in the Buckeyes State. I currently rank him in the top four OL in the state. He is looking at OSU, Pitt, West Virginia, Northwestern and Georgia Tech, and all of those schools except OSU have offered him a scholarship. Of all the schools, OSU is his favorite, but of those who have offered him a scholarship that Northwestern would be his favorite. One Ohioan who has decided to go out of state to play his football is defensive lineman Mark Bihl 6-5, 260, from Washington Court House. Bilhl camped at OSU last week then camped at Michigan this week. The Buckeyes did not offer him a scholarship but Michigan did offer him this week at their camp and Bihl committed to the Wolverines. June 16, 2001 The first session of the Buckeyes football camp ended today, and some outstanding prospects from the state of New York were on hand for the camp. Kwakou Robinson, a huge lineman at 6-4, 310 pounds from Brooklyn Poly Prep High School in New York has been very impressive at the camp. Robinson is one of the top prospects in the state of New York and certainly the Buckeyes are interested in landing him, though Michigan State, Miami, Pitt, Wisconsin and Southern Cal are other schools in the running. Robinson was not the only prospect from Brooklyn Poly Prep that was at OSU's camp session. RB I-Perfection Harris, 5-11, 175, 4.4, was impressive at the camp. Harris left the camp early, attending only the first two days, then went back home briefly to Brooklyn before leaving on Thursday morning for the national track and field even in North Carolina. Harris will return from those events Sunday. He is a standout athlete who has run a 10.6 100 meters and is a great long jumper as well. In football, he not only is an outstanding running back but a corner back and return man as well. Yet another player from Brooklyn Poly Prep, Jahkeen Gilmore, 5-10, 190, 4.4, is a WR who also was at OSU's camp for two days, He also left on Wednesday to go with I-Perfection Harris to the national track and field event in North Carolina. Gilmore has reportedly been offered a scholarship by the Buckeyes. Tyler Everett, 6-0, 190, the standout defensive back from Canton, McKinley High School, was also in camp and had a great showing. The Buckeyes offered him as scholarship some time ago, and he has been interested in Ohio State as well as other schools. Indiana has also offered him. Everett is planning to return to Ohio State June 21st for the senior camp that the Buckeyes are having. It would not surprise me if Everett were to commit to the Buckeyes before returning for that senior camp. It's not quite a done deal yet, but it may be by Sunday. Everett had a very good camp at OSU and Coach Tressel made another official offer to him before camp finished. He already had a scholarship offer on the table from the previous Ohio State coach staff and the Buckeye assistants have indicated to him that that offer was still on the table, but for the first time Coach Tressel in person officially extended the offer. Everett then called his dad at work and told him about the official offer from Tressel, and his dad indicated that when Tyler returns home, the family would sit down and talk things over. Everett stayed an extra day in Columbus to spend Friday night with Buckeye safety Mike Doss. Everett will return home Saturday evening, and after he sits down with his family, I think there is a very good chance that he will commit to Ohio State. If fact, his dad said that Tyler is definitely leaning toward committing to Ohio State, adding that he thought it was about 90% that he is going to commit to the Buckeyes. Everett's team mate, WR Reggie Corner, 5-11, 170, was at the Ohio State camp session with Everett, as was WR Andri Chattams from Dayton Chaminade High School. Chattams is of course the younger brother of Ohio State signee Angelo Chattams. Angelo stopped at the OSU football camp on Tuesday and spent time talking to Buckeye offensive coordinator Jim Bollman and WR coach Joe Daniels. Another Ohioan whose name is one to keep in mind is Mike Mathews. He is a defensive end from Cincinnati Sycamore High School. The 6-4, 245 pound Mathews is one that did well at Ohio State's camp so he is one to keep an eye on. From Columbus Brookhaven, FB James Cooper 6-0, 265, attended OSU's camp and is interested in Ohio State. A group of prospects from Frostproof, Florida attended Ohio State's camp, including corner back James Haines 5-10, 175. Haines is drawing interest from many schools, including Ohio State. One big-time prospect that was not able to make it to this camp session was WR Richard Washington 6-1, 170, 4.4 from Fort Myers, Florida. The Buckeyes have offered Washington a scholarship and he certainly is very interested in Ohio State. He caught 28 passes this past season and scored 15 times through the air and twice more on punt returns. Washington has a 2.8 GPA and has recently taken both the ACT and SAT. He went to the state meet in the 200 meters in track and finished fourth in the state of Florida. He has a personal best of 21.6 in the 200. Washington says that Florida State and Ohio State are his top choices, though he also likes Florida, Michigan, Purdue, Clemson and Illinois a little. He says all of those schools have offered him a scholarship. In fact Washington said that Ohio State Fed-Exed him a scholarship offer. Washington said that he is going to be calling Coach Tressel just to talk with him, but he is nowhere near making a commitment to any school. He says that right now he likes FSU a little bit better than OSU, but those are his top two choices. OL Doug Datish is certainly one of the most important potential recruits for the Buckeyes in this recruiting class, because offensive line is such a huge priority. Datish is without question the best offensive lineman in the state of Ohio. Datish told me recently that he would attend football camp in Colorado this week and will be there until next week, then when he returns he might be ready to announce a decision on his college. Datish said that he has narrowed things down to Ohio State, Michigan, Colorado, Tennessee and Notre Dame and all five have offered him a scholarship. Datish said he may decide on a college as soon as sometime next week, right after the Colorado camp. He said he is seriously considering doing that because he just wants to concentrate on his senior football season. He said he is getting close to a decision "kind of" as he put it, but said he would not want to name a favorite out of his top five. DL Quinn Pitcock 6-4, 285, from Piqua is not ready at this point to make a decision on his college. He is still very much considering Ohio State but he will likely make some visits to some schools this summer. Pitcock however might try to make a decision on his college sometime before the end of this summer. He has scholarship offers from Ohio State, Pitt, Michigan State, Wisconsin, Vanderbilt, Duke, Northwestern and Notre Dame among others. LB Mike D'Andrea 6-3, 230 from Avon Lake High School told me that he has heard about Ohio State hiring Alan Johnson as the Buckeyes new strength coach. D'Andrea said he has heard the Johnson is a power coach, which he said is good, but also added that he hasn't heard too much overall about Johnson, but what he has heard has been good. He said that there is still a chance that he could make a decision on his college before the start of the football season, but that that will probably not happen. He says he is currently looking at Ohio State, Michigan, Notre Dame, Nebraska and Northwestern, and Michigan State slightly. All those schools have offered him a scholarship. D'Andrea says nobody has the lead right now and he wants to go back and visit some of the schools again. He said that he would probably wait until the season starts before making his choice of colleges, adding that he wants to see how Ohio State does at the beginning of the season. LB Mike Kudla from Medina Highland High School told me that he is not going to be going to Michigan's camp as he at one time planned. He said that it conflicts with his team's camp, so as of right now the only camp he is going to is the Ohio State senior camp June 21st. He says he is looking at Ohio State, Michigan, Northwestern, Tennessee, Pitt, Georgia Tech, and out of those schools, Tennessee, Pitt and Georgia Tech have offered him a scholarship. He said he just got his 27th scholarship offer, that coming from Boston College. He says he does not have a favorite and will take official visits. Lineman Gabe Watson 6-4, 320, 5.0 from Southfield, Michigan is a starter at tackle on both sides of the ball and could play on either side in college. Watson told me that he attended Indiana's camp and will also attend Minnesota's camp as well. Watson said about 30 of his teammates are going to be going to Michigan State's camp and Western Michigan's camp as well. Watson said he wants to go to Michigan's camp too, but that depends on what his team is doing. He said that Michigan, Ohio State, Miami, Nebraska and probably Michigan State are the schools he is looking at, and all of those schools except for Miami have offered him a scholarship. He says that Michigan is his favorite right now with probably Ohio State second. He said it is not too big a lead for the Wolverines at this point, and that he would probably wait until after the season to decide on his college. He has been a varsity starter since his freshman season. June 11, 2001 Offensive lineman Kyle Ralph, 6-5, 280, an offensive lineman that the Buckeyes would liked to have had in this recruiting class, has committed to Vanderbilt over the Buckeyes. Ralph, form Cincinnati St. Xavier High School, is the second-best offensive lineman in the Buckeye state behind only Doug Datish. Going into this weekend, he said that Vanderbilt was number one on his list and Ohio State number two, but that it was pretty close. That is all academic now as Ralph has committed to the Commodores. The Buckeyes would love to have offensive lineman Jamie Ryan 6-5, 275, from Pennsylvania in this recruiting class, but that's looking more unlikely. He is one of the top overall prospects in the state of Pennsylvania. Ryan at one point indicated that he was definitely looking at OSU and would try to visit OSU sometime this summer. However, this weekend he told me that he OSU was still on his list but the Buckeyes seemed to have moved down. Ryan attended the Notre Dame spring game and really enjoyed the trip, calling it a Notre Dame "a pretty spectacular place." He also went to the Nike Training Camp session at Penn State. Ryan says he will probably visit Michigan State this summer, as well as Virginia and Virginia Tech. He is now not sure if he will be able to make it to Columbus, and that his top six or seven right now would be Notre Dame, Virginia Tech, Michigan State, Penn State, Boston College and Missouri. All of those schools as well as Ohio State have offered him a scholarship. He also said the both Purdue and Florida are beginning the recruiting process with him as well, but that Notre Dame is his favorite. One of the best linemen in the South is planning to make an official visit to Ohio State, and he says that the Buckeyes, as well as everyone else, have offered him a scholarship. Ryan Carter from Florida, 6-5, 320, 5.4, started on the varsity three games as a sophomore before knee surgery ended his season. He made it back totally healthy this past season, started at offensive tackle and helped lead his team to a 10-2 record. His school is about 20 miles west of Orlando. He has a 3.4 GPA and has a 1020 on the SAT. He is looking at Oklahoma, Florida, Tennessee, Notre Dame, Michigan State, Georgia Tech, Ohio State, Miami, Vanderbilt, Clemson, Auburn, BYU and a few others as well. Carter said that Buckeyes assistant Joe Daniels was at his school during the May recruiting period and he has Coach Daniels card. He said that right now, his top five would be Florida, Tennessee, Ohio State, BYU and Oklahoma and that as of now, those are the schools he plans to make official visits to. Carter said that all the schools recruiting him have offered him a scholarship. He mentioned that Ohio State has a good history of offensive linemen going to the NFL and the Buckeyes' tradition. He also mentioned that the Buckeyes have a new staff which would present a good opportunity. Ryan Carter starts at offensive right tackle for Groveland South Lake High School. His teammate, Carlton Mettor, is just a sophomore, who starts at left tackle, and Mettor will be perhaps even more highly recruited than Carter. Mettor is a 6-6, 330 sophomore left tackle, so keep that name in mind for next season. Another offensive lineman from Florida to keep in mind is Max Jean-Gilles 6-4, 340, 5.1 from North Miami Beach High School. He started at offensive guard this past season and played some defensive line. As a sophomore, he started at offensive tackle. He has a 2.5 GPA and said that he has not yet narrowed things down. Some schools that are recruiting him include Arkansas, Virginia, Miami, Nebraska, Wisconsin, LSU, Ohio State, Michigan and Boston College. He said that basically, all of those schools say that he has a scholarship. In Illinois, DB Mario Suggs, 6-2, 175, is interested in Ohio State. Suggs intercepted four passes as a junior and three as sophomore. He is interested in Illinois, Missouri, Minnesota, Ohio State and Big Ten and Big Twelve schools in general. Suggs indicated that the Buckeyes were at his school, as were coaches from the other schools on his list. DE Travis Leitko, 6-6, 250, 4.8, from The Woodlands, Texas tells me that Ohio State has offered him a scholarship. However, everyone else seems to have offered too, so there is going to be plent of competition for Leitko. He has a 3.95 GPA and a 31 on the ACT and made 85 tackles including ten sacks this past season from his defensive end spot. He also caused for fumbles, blocked three passes and had fourteen total tackles for losses. He told me that he is looking at Texas, Texas A&M, Michigan, Notre Dame, Stanford, Penn State, and others as well as Ohio State. He says he does not have a favorite at all and plans to take official visits before picking a college. Zack Zwilling 6-6, 250, 4.8, from St. Petersport, Missouri is a TE/DE who says he is hearing from Ohio State. He says he would feel comfortable playing either TE or DE in college, though he said that he seems to be getting recruited a little bit more as a tight end. He caught 26 passes and averaged 21 yards per catch as a junior. He also had 13 tackles for losses, including 11 sacks. He has a 2.4 GPA and a 19 on the ACT. He says he has a wide range of schools that he is interested in and mentioned Illinois, Arizona State, Notre Dame, Missouri, Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State as schools that are rectruiting him. He said that thus far, Illinois, Arizona State, Missouri, Iowa and Wisconsin have offered a scholarship. LB Cody Lowe 6-2, 215, 4.7 from Houston, Texas says he has been gettting quite a bit of mail from Ohio State. He plays ILB and has a 3.3 GPA with a 980 on the SAT. He made 99 tackles and had three interceptions this past season. He said that Colorado, Texas A&M, Oklahoma State, Kansas State, Ohio State, Iowa State, Arkansas and Duke are some of the schools he is interested in. The Buckeyes have not yet offered him a scholarship, though Arkansas and Duke have. DB Anthony Smith 6-2, 175 from Hubbard, Ohio could well be the next OSU verbal committment. Smith has OSU as his big leader and said he could soon commit to the Buckeyes. He is a free safety who has a 2.8 GPA. He picked off three passes as a sophomore and six more as a junior. I see Smith as one of the top 25 overall prospects in Ohio this year. Smith says he has been offered scholarships by Ohio State as well as Pitt, Syracuse, West Virginia and Boston College. RB/WR Kyle Brown 6-1, 195, 4.35, is one of the top prospects in the state of Michigan from West Bloomfield, and he has Ohio State on his list now. He has played running back, quarterback and defensive back, and is being recruited as either a running back or wide receiver. Brown says he is going to go to Michigan's camp for two days, Florida State's camp, Michigan State's, and really doesn't have his list pared all the way down yet. Some schools that he is looking at are Purdue, Michigan State, Michigan, Ohio State, Georgia and Wisconsin. He said all of those schools except for Georgia have offered him a scholarship. Brown visited Purdue for an academic day and said he liked the way the Boilers talked, so he said probably likes Purdue best right now. He also said he would probably know what school he is going to select by Christmas time. June 3, 2001 The Buckeyes have received yet another huge verbal commitment. OSU has landed one of the country's top tight end prospects has committed to Ohio State, R.J. Coleman 6-6, 265, 4.75 from Clarksburg, West Virginia says he will be a Buckeye. He caught 13 passes this past season for 375 yards, averaging 28.8 yards per grab. He scored five times. Coleman also plays baseball and throws the shot and discus in track has a 3.4 GPA. He went to the OSU vs. Fresno State game last season and has been very interested in the Buckeyes ever since. Coleman also went to an Ohio State junior recruiting day when the Buckeyes had a scrimmage a week before the spring game and was extremely impressed with what he saw of Ohio State at that point as well. Coleman also seemed impressed when Ohio State landed a verbal commitment from QB Justin Zwick. Coleman told me that he called Coach Conley and Coach Tressel and committed to Ohio State on Saturday. Coleman said that both Conley and Tressel were pretty excited. Coleman said that from his first visit to OSU he liked it there, that the junior day he went to was great and that none of the other schools could match up with Ohio State. Coleman also had offers on the table from Michigan, Penn State, Purdue, Nebraska, Notre Dame and others. He said that Michigan and Penn State probably were next in line after OSU but he definitely has picked the Buckeyes. Coleman will have a press conference Monday morning at 10:00 AM at Robert Byrd High School to formally announce his decision. Certainly this is big for OSU as Coleman is one of the country's premier tight end prospects. The Ohio State baseball team recently hosted NCAA tournament games at Bill Davis Stadium at Ohio State, and a very important football visitor was on hand for those games. Stan White Jr., 6-3, 225, along with his father, Stan White Sr., attended those games. Ohio State played Delaware and Kent State in the tournament, and Stan White Jr. and his father attended those games as well as all the rest of the tournament games that weekend. He is a TE/LB prospect from Maryland who runs a 4.6 40, has close to a 3.9 GPA, and is an outstanding prospect at either linebacker or tight end. White said that he was in town specifically for the baseball tournament and went to all the games. He wanted to see Ohio State baseball and also wanted to see the new baseball facilities, as well as see the OSU campus as well. He also said he wanted to talk to Coach Conley while he was on campus. White says that at this point he has been offered a scholarship by Ohio State, Michigan, Iowa, North Carolina, Duke, West Virginia and Florida. He said that at this point he is looking at all of those schools and Stanford as well. He said he is trying to be objective and keep an open mind on college, and he would like perhaps to make a decision on his college sometime late this summer. He did mention that he is going to be back in Columbus with his dad for a golf tournament in late June. He says that if he has a favorite right now, it would be Ohio State. Ohio State is recruiting him as a linebacker, but some schools are recruiting him as a tight end. He doesn't have a preference, and says he just wants to play at the position that will get him on the field the fastest. TE/DE Mel Bryant Jr. 6-6, 215, 4.6 from Muncie Central High School in Indiana is planning on visiting Ohio State again this summer. He caught 31 passes this past season and averaged 18 yards per catch and made 83 tackles. He says he is leaning to tight end in college. He told me that he is looking at Illinois, Purdue, Michigan State, Michigan, Ohio State, and Wisconsin. He is hoping to visit Ohio State, Michigan State, Purdue and Indiana this summer and is also planning to visit Illinois. He would like to either go to camp or just visit those schools this summer. Bryant said that Indiana, Michigan State and Illinois have offered him a scholarship and mentioned that OSU assistant Joe Daniels called him recently. Justin's Zwick's commitment could have a positive impact on WR Roy Hall 6-3, 200 from Lyndhurst, Ohio. Hall is one of the top prospects in the state this year. As a junior, he caught 17 passes but missed four games with a sprained ankle. As a sophomore he caught 42 passes. He also is a fine basketball player, averaging 24 points and nine rebound per game, but intends to go the football route in college. Hall told me that academics will play a big part in his decision. Hall said Zwick's commitment makes him think about Ohio State, that it would help to have a great quarterback in his class to get him the ball. Hall says he has a good 30 scholarship offers. He is considering Ohio State, but he is considering everyone else who has offered him as well. Hall said that the only two schools in the Big Ten that have not offered him are Minnesota and Illinois. He mentioned that Penn State offered him this week, that Notre Dame has offered as well. I feel the Buckeyes have as good a shot as anybody at landing Hall. Hall says he would like to pick a college before the start of his senior football season if he feels comfortable in making a decision.
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