Bill Kurelic Late January Posts 01/31/00 9:00 AM LB Marco Cooper (6-2, 230) has given the Buckeyes the good news that he has committed to Ohio State. Cooper is one of the top linebacker prospects in the country and picked Ohio State over Tennessee. Cooper's formal announcement of his decision will come at 1:00 EST this afternoon, but he has committed to Ohio State and that is a huge commitment for the Buckeyes. The Buckeyes now have two impact linebackers in this recruiting class in Marco Cooper and Robert Reynolds. Both, providing Marco Cooper qualifies academically, could see playing time as true freshmen, they are both that good. Also, Greg Jones, the running back from South Carolina has committed to Ohio State, but in the case of Greg Jones, he has changed his mind several times on leaders and the like, so with Greg Jones the Buckeyes are certainly going to sweat it out all the way until national signing day, but he has given the Buckeyes the news that he has committed to Ohio State. Jones however may not make a formal public announcement until Wednesday, national signing day, but unless he has a change of heart, he is expected to sign with Ohio State on national signing day. However, there is going to be pressure on Greg Jones to change to Florida State, so certainly the Buckeyes are going to have to sweat this one out. Jones is one of the top big backs in the country. At 6-1, 235 pounds, he rushed for over 1500 yards this season, and runs a 10.8 100 meters in track. On the other hand, WR Carlos Perez from New Jersey has indicated that he is going to sign with the Florida Gators on national signing day over Ohio State. I should get official confirmation of that later this morning. His official announcement will come at 1:00 this afternoon, but I hope to have word this morning, and we will have an update later this morning. 01/29/00 As expected, DE Jim Davis from Fork Union Military Academy has committed to Virginia Tech. Davis is from Highland Springs, Virginia, and he seemed to be leaning deep down all the way to Virginia Tech, and he has committed to Tech. The Buckeyes would have loved to have landed Davis, he is an outstanding DE, but he is headed to Virginia Tech. Also, with B Chris Perry from Fork Union Military Academy in Virginia, there seems to be very little chance that he will change his mind now. He is committed to Michigan, and I expect him to sign with the Wolverines on national signing day. He had been having some second thoughts, and at one point it looked like Ohio State had a 50-50 chance at changing his mind, but I expect him to sign with Michigan. LB Marco Cooper is making an unofficial visit to Ohio State this weekend. Cooper has of course already made his official visit to Ohio State back in December, and he has narrowed things down to just Ohio State and Tennessee. He wants to make this unofficial visit to Ohio State so he can get one more look at the Buckeye program and see the off-season conditioning program. He also had to leave his official visit to Ohio State back in December a little early, and he wanted to make this unofficial visit with the Buckeyes. Marco is due back home later today, and his mother Rita Cooper told me that when he gets back home later today, he is going to tell her of his decision. However, Cooper is not scheduled to announce his decision publicly until 1:00 on Monday. The Buckeyes would certainly love to land WR Carlos Perez from New Jersey. Perez has narrowed things down to at least three schools, and maybe just two. Perez indicated yesterday that he has narrowed things down to Ohio State, Florida, or Purdue, while his teammate, Tyrell Dortch who has committed to Michigan State, said that actually, Carlos had narrowed it down to two schools, Ohio State and Florida. Perez is scheduled to announce his decision on Monday afternoon at a press conference at Hoboken High School. He has a 1:00 PM press conference scheduled to announce his decision. The Buckeyes are very much still in the running for Greg Jones, the standout running back from Battery Creek High School in South Carolina. Jones at one point had said that Ohio State was out of the running and would decide between Florida State and Clemson, but now says that he is going to decide between Florida State and Ohio State. Jones did speak with Buckeye head coach John Cooper and that went very well, and now things are very, very tight between Ohio State and Florida State for Jones' services. I still think that the Seminoles are the school to beat, but right now the Buckeyes are definitely in the running for Greg Jones. DB Harlan Jacobs from Georgia is going to be announcing a decision soon. He is leaning to Ohio State and LSU, but he is also visiting Louisville this weekend. Jacobs is a player that the Buckeyes really like and would like to have in this recruiting class, but if they would land Greg Jones, Carlos Perez and/or Marco Cooper, they would not have room for Harlan Jacobs. The Buckeyes can take two more players in this class, and certainly at the top of the list are Jones, Cooper and Perez, but if all of those players or two of those players fall through for Ohio State, Jacobs could end up in this OSU recruiting class. 01/26/00 3:30 PM It's looking less optimistic for the Buckeyes to land RB Chris Perry. His mother told me that Chris is still committed to Michigan, but he still goes back and forth some between Michigan and Ohio State. She said he is 17 years old and is going back and forth some, but she said that Chris told her that he probably will not change his original commitment from Michigan and it looks like he will sign with the Wolverines on national signing day, though she said that it is not a 100% certainty. The Buckeyes would love to add one more wide receiver in this recruiting class, and would gladly take either Carlos Perez or Tony Brown. Right now, Carlos Perez seems the best possibility of the two. Perez has visited Florida, Purdue, Ohio State, Penn State and Notre Dame, and all five schools have offered him a scholarship. However, he is not naming any clear-cut favorite right now, and he says that all five schools are still in the running. As to when he will make a decision, he doesn't have a definite date or time yet for that. As far a Tony Brown, he is now talking about waiting until national signing day, Wednesday, February 2nd, to announce his decision. Brown continues to have Ohio State 4th on his list. He says he has Florida State, Purdue and Tennessee as his top choices, with Florida State and Purdue as co-leaders, but he does say that he has not ruled out Ohio State. The Buckeyes continue to have some interest in WR Joseph Bruce from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, as well as DB Harlan Jacobs from Georgia, but to this point, neither has made a decision. The Buckeyes would love to add DE Jim Davis from Fork Union Military Academy to this recruiting class. Davis is deciding between Ohio State, Virginia, Virginia Tech, and Tennessee, though in all likelihood it will come down to Ohio State or Virginia Tech. It's not going to be easy for the Buckeyes as Jim Davis is originally from Highland Springs, Virginia. His mom told me that Jim would probably decide by this weekend at the latest. She said that she couldn't say who the leader is right now, and that she felt like her son is still considering all four schools, Ohio State, Virginia Tech, Virginia and Tennessee. The Buckeyes are still hoping to land LB Marco Cooper from Detroit Cass Tech High School. Cooper now says that he will announce his decision next Monday, January 31st. His decision is down to Ohio State and Tennessee, and it continues to be very, very close between the two schools. However, right now Ohio State seems a shade ahead of Tennessee, but it is very close and the Buckeyes would love to add Cooper to Robert Reynolds as a linebacking tandem. Greg Jones, the running back from South Carolina, was visited on Monday by Buckeye assistant coaches Tim Spencer and Tim Salem. The visit went well, according to Jones, but it has not changed his mind. Jones now says that his decision will be between Florida State and Clemson. In making his official announcement of his commitment to the Buckeyes, linebacker Robert Reynolds said that he chose Ohio State because he felt he had a chance to contribute early at Ohio State and then make it to the next level. He said that he is very impressed with the players and the attitude of those players at Ohio State, and he feels that Ohio State is going to be back in the running next season for a national title. He feels Ohio State can be as good as any team in the country next season. Reynolds of course picked the Buckeyes over Michigan as well as Tennessee, Miami, and Virginia. 01/24/00 11:55 PM The Buckeyes also continue to wait word from linebacker Marco Cooper and Ohio State continues to be the school to beat. Cooper got a home visit tonight from Buckeye assistant coach Chuck Stobart, who is recruiting him, and the visit went very well. The 6-2, 230 pounder said that he will announce his decision next Monday, January 31st, so it looks like unless he changes his mind it is going to be another week until we know for sure about Marco Cooper. Cooper is still leaning toward Ohio State over Tennessee. Those are the two schools still in the running, but the Buckeyes are going to have to sweat out another week, it looks like, unless Cooper decides to move things up, which is not out of the question. His mom, Rita Cooper, heavily favors Ohio State and would like him to get things over sooner. Unfortunately, it doesn't look good for the Buckeyes to land WR Tony Brown from Florida. Brown told me this evening when he got back from an official visit from Tennessee, that he liked the visit but did not commit to the Vols. He said that his favorites as of now would be Florida State and Purdue. After that Tony Brown said would be Tennessee. After that would be Ohio State and then Michigan. That is his current order, but keep in mind that he has changed his order a number of times, and he did emphasize that Ohio State is definitely still in the running. The Buckeyes were thought to be out of the running for RB Greg Jones, but Jones got a visit from Ohio State and while he previously said that Ohio State was out of the running, that he would decide between Florida State and Clemson, that is not quite a certainty any more. OSU continues to stay in contact with Greg Jones, and I will also be staying in contact with him as well. Jones told me two days ago that he had eliminated Ohio State from contention, but that now appears not to be the case. Jones hopes to have an announcement on his decision by Wednesday. RB Chris Perry is still torn between Ohio State and Michigan and has not yet decided on a school, but is definitely still considering Ohio State despite his commitment to Michigan. WR Carlos Perez visited Notre Dame last weekend and did not commit to the Irish. He is saying that as of now, he does not have a favorite. He said that the Notre Dame visit was a good visit, but he does not have a clear cut favorite between Ohio State, Penn State, Notre Dame, Purdue and Florida. Another WR to keep in mind is WR Joseph Bruce from Florida, the younger brother of Isaac Bruce of the St. Louis Rams. Joseph might be announcing a decision any day now. He decided not to make an official visit last weekend, and still has Boston College scheduled for next weekend, but said that he's not sure that things are going to last that long. He said that he would probably announce a decision between Ohio State and Missouri sometime early this coming week, and that those schools are just about dead even right now. TE Eric Knott from Michigan has committed to Michigan State as expected. He chose Michigan State over Miami and Ohio State, saying it came down to Michigan State and Miami, and he went with the Spartans. Bobby Williams, the outstanding DE from Florida made his official visit to Florida State last weekend and now has committed to the Florida Gators. He made official visits to Ohio State, Notre Dame, South Carolina and Florida before announcing his commitment today to the Gators. DE Jim Davis from Fork Union Military Academy has not made a decision, and is still trying to decide between Ohio State and Virginia Tech, though he says he has not completely ruled out Virginia. I think, though, that Virginia Tech is the school to beat for Jim Davis. DB Harlan Jacobs from Atlanta, Georgia is still in the picture for OSU, but the Buckeyes have not yet officially put a scholarship offer on the table, though they are still interested. LB/TE Marcus Hairiston from Columbus has committed to Toledo. 01/21/00 12:05 PM DE Nautyn McKay-Loesher from Canada called me this week to tell me that he committed to the Spartans. He said that his mom likes the student support system at Michigan State, and it's closer to home, only a four hour drive from his home in Canada, so he has committed to the Spartans. He will now cancel his official visit to Miami. He said that Ohio State ended up his second choice, and it was a hard decision, but the proximity of Michigan State plus the student support program convinced him to commit to Michigan State over OSU. On the other hand, RB Chris Perry from Fork Union Military Academy in Virginia is now reconsidering Ohio State. When Perry originally committed to Michigan, he told me he did have some second thoughts, and those second thoughts seemed to have intensified. He has now decided that he wants to at least consider Ohio State a little bit more. Chris is looking at the depth chart at both schools and seeing that Ohio State doesn't have anywhere near as many running backs as Michigan does, and he is now not sure about his decision to commit to Michigan. According to a very reliable source, as of right now Chris is still committed to Michigan, but it is very uncertain as to what he will do. Perry of course has until national signing day, about two weeks away, to think about things, and although he is still at this point committed to Michigan, it certainly remains to be seen if he signs with the Wolverines on national signing day. LB Robert Reynolds had a visit with OSU assistant Jim Heacock this week, and Reynolds said that the visit went very well, but he did not commit to the Buckeyes. He also said that he is still planning on taking his official visit to Virginia this weekend, and says that he will likely announce a decision either Monday or Tuesday. Ohio State continues to be the leader for Reynolds, and certainly the Buckeyes are hopeful of landing him. It's just that it did not official happen on Heacock's visit. It remains to be seen if he does commit to Ohio State, but certainly it still looks good for the Buckeyes to land Robert Reynolds. The Buckeyes have at least three opening left in this recruiting class because Jack Tucker, one of the Buckeyes' commitments, can count on last season's class since he is coming from the junior college ranks and is enrolled for winter quarter, so the Buckeyes have at least three more openings that they could fill for this recruiting class, and it could be more than that since it cannot be assumed that all the players that have committed to Ohio State will actually be signed by the Buckeyes on national signing day as some of them have not yet qualified academically and certainly if a great player wanted to commit to Ohio State down the stretch, Ohio State could delay the signing of someone who has not qualified academically. Players such as Terry Pogue and Corey Adams haven't qualified academically, and in the case of Pogue, it is not totally out of the question that he could have to go the junior college or prep school route, and in the case of Corey Adams, it isn't totally certain that he is going to be in this Buckeye recruiting class as he does need to qualify academically, but all those players are committed to Ohio State at this point and it remains to be seen what happens. There are at least eight players that the Buckeyes would still love to land. Lets take a look at who the some of the best possibilities are. One of them certainly is Marco Cooper, who continues to have Ohio State as a slight leader over Tennessee. Cooper is scheduled to visit Purdue this weekend, but I expect that Monday or at the latest on Tuesday, Cooper will announce a commitment to either Ohio State or Tennessee, and it's not out of the question that he could make a commitment on Sunday. Linebacker Robert Reynolds is another player that the Buckeyes have a legitimate shot at getting. He is another one that would be at or near the top of the list of possibilities that Ohio State could land to fill out this recruiting class. He is still as or right now going to visit Virginia this weekend, but I still think the Buckeyes still have a great shot at landing Robert Reynolds. It's either Ohio State, Michigan or Virginia, but the Buckeyes are certainly the team to beat for Robert Reynolds. Another player that I think would be perhaps high on the list of possibilities for this recruiting class is perhaps a surprising one, Chris Perry from Virginia. Perry is still committed to Michigan but is definitely having second thoughts, and I wouldn't be at all surprised if he would end up in this Buckeye recruiting class. I think Ohio State right now has a 50-50 shot at landing Chris Perry. Another player that the Buckeyes certainly have a realistic shot at is Greg Jones from South Carolina, but I tend to think that he is going to end up with Florida State, but certainly the Buckeyes are right there in the running. Bobby Williams, the DL from Florida is another possibility, but I tend to think he might end up with the Florida Gators. Keep in mind that Bobby Williams is visiting Florida this weekend. Also Carlos Perez from New Jersey is another possibility. He is a very difficult one to predict. He has gone back and forth with different schools as his leader at various times, and right now it's just impossible to say which way Carlos Perez might go, but he is one that the Buckeyes certainly would love to add to this recruiting class. The Buckeyes would also love to add Tony Brown, the WR from Florida to this recruiting class. Brown continues to have a top three of Ohio State, Florida State and Purdue, and he has gone back and forth as to which one or ones he likes best, and he also is scheduled to visit Notre Dame this weekend. There are a couple of other player to keep in mind, and one of them is certainly Jim Davis, the DE from Virginia, but I think that Jim Davis will probably end up at Virginia Tech. Also, the Buckeyes are still in contact with Joseph Bruce, the WR from Florida, and they still would like to add him to this recruiting class as well, and he is definitely a possibility. Also, one other player to keep in mind is DB Harlan Jacobs. He is certainly still a possibility. He has visited Ohio State and has Ohio State as his top choice, but the Buckeyes have not officially offered him a scholarship. He is scheduled to visit Wake Forest this weekend. The Buckeyes still have an interest in Harlan Jacob, it just remains to be seen though what happens. 1/19/00 1:00 AM Another DE prospect that the Buckeyes are in the running for is DE Jim Davis (6-4, 255) from Fork Union Military Academy. Davis teammate, Tony Campbell, committed to Tennessee after his official visit, Davis on the other hand was not overly impressed with his visit to Tennessee. Davis has now visited Virginia Tech, Virginia, Ohio State and Tennessee, and all have offered him a scholarship. Davis indicates that right now it is a toss up for his top spot between Ohio State and Virginia Tech. Davis was visited today by Buckeye assistant coach Jim Heacock. Keep in mind that Davis is from Virginia originally and Virginia Tech may have an inside track for that reason. It is beginning to look very good for the Buckeyes to land LB Robert Reynolds from Kentucky. Reynolds was visited by an assistant from Michigan for over two hours last night, but Reynolds came away saying that Ohio State has the lead. He is still planning on visiting Virginia this weekend, but it is looking better and better for the Buckeyes to land Robert Reynolds, one of the country's top linebackers. That would be rather ironic if Ohio State does land Robert Reynolds. They would have landed the top player in Kentucky, while Kentucky will have landed the top player in Ohio in Antonio Hall. Jim Heacock will travel to Florida tonight to visit with Bobby Briton, who has already committed to Ohio State, and also with Bobby Williams (6-5, 255, 4.75), the DE from New Myrna Beach. Williams visited South Carolina this weekend. He visited both Notre Dame and South Carolina this weekend, and says that after his visit to South Carolina that Ohio State and South Carolina are about equal right now with Notre Dame third. He is still planning to visit Florida this weekend, and has Georgia Tech scheduled for January 28th. The Buckeyes continue their interest and pursuit of TE Darius Williams (6-6, 225) from Georgia even though he has committed to Georgia Tech. Williams had narrowed his decision to Ohio State and Georgia Tech, and the Buckeyes have not given up on changing the mind of Dares Williams. As of right now, he is still committed to Georgia Tech, but the Buckeyes are still working on him. The Buckeyes are also still very interested in Nautyn McKay-Loescher in addition to Darius Williams and Jim Davis, and would love to land one or two or even all three of those defensive ends. Of course the Buckeyes would also love to change the mind of offensive lineman Antonio Hall, but as of now, Hall is not wavering in his commitment to Kentucky, but the Buckeyes have not given up though it doesn't look particularly good for the Buckeyes. Buckeye defensive coordinator Fred Pagac met with Hall, but Hall is still committed to Kentucky. 1/16/00 11:30 PM Now for the very latest on Antonio Hall. Hall of course has commited to Kentucky. I did speak with Antonio Hall at around 8:00 PM this evening, and I asked him whether there would be any chance that he would change his mind and go with Ohio State or Michigan. He said that he is 100% sure of his decision to commit to Kentucky, and he will not change his mind. As to the possibility of the Kentucky offensive line coach, Guy Morris, possibly leaving, there had been a report that he might be a candidate for the Northern Iowa job, he said he asked coach Morris about that, and coach Morris told him that he would be staying with coach Hal Mummey for many, many years. Hall said that that would be the only possible way that he might possibly even consider changing his mind, if coach Morris left. Other than that, he says that his decision is 100% definite that he will sign with Kentucky on national signing day. In addition to Thomas Mathews, LB Robert Reynolds from Bowling Green, Kentucky visited this Ohio State this weekend and had a very good visit. He was hosted by Steve Bellisari and Reynolds now says that basically, his decision is down to Ohio State and Michigan. He said he does not see himself playing in the SEC, so he has ruled out Tennessee. He also has ruled out Miami, whom he has already visited, and he said that he will not visit Florida this coming weekend. However, he said he is leaning toward taking an official visit to Virginia this coming weekend, and that he might make a decision sometime this week. He said the would make a decision either sometime this week, or after his visit to Virginia if he makes that visit. He said OSU and Michigan are basically dead even. DE Will Smith from New York had a very good visit to Ohio State. He now has visited OSU as well as Michigan, Miami, Boston College and Virginia Tech. He was hosted this weekend by David Thompson. Smith said that he now has a top three, in no particular order, of Ohio State, Miami, and Boston College. He said he is not sure when he will make his decision, it could be some time this week or it could wait as long as two weeks until he decides. TE Eric Knott from Detroit had a good visit to Ohio State. He was hosted by Cortland Bullard, but he continues to say that Michigan State is his favorite over Miami and Ohio State. It's almost certain that the Buckeyes will not land Eric Knott. TE/LB Marcus Hairston from Columbus, Mifflin High School had a good visit, and he too was hosted by Cortland Bullard. Howerver, academics remain a big question, and he may have to head the prep school or junior college route, but the Buckeyes are definitely still interested. Marco Cooper from Detroit Cass Tech had a good visit to Tennessee this weekend, but did not commit. His mother, Rita Cooper, went along with him, and she said that his top two choices are definitely Ohio State and Tennessee. She said that those are his strong top two, and that he might not visit anywhere else. She said that Wisconsin and Purdue both want him to make an official visit this coming weekend, but she said that it's possible, but he may announce his decision before then. If not, then she wants him to announce a decision next Monday. She also said that her strong, strong favorite is Ohio State. She badly wants him to become a Buckeye. She said that Marco is not a Southern Boy, as she put it. She said that she thinks he would be much happier at Ohio State rather than Tennessee. She did also say that if he did select Tennessee she would support him, but she definitely wants him to go to Ohio State. She said she could get to his games a lot easier at Ohio State, and that Chuck Stobart, as she put it, is my buddy. Chuck Stobart is recruiting him for Ohio State, and she really likes John Cooper as well. Ohio State, she thinks, would just be a better fit overall for her son. And by the way, Marco Cooper is getting closer to qualifying academically. DE Nautyn McKay-Loescher had a very good visit to Michigan State this weekend. He did not commit, but he now says that Michigan State is now up there, along with Ohio State and Miami for his top spot, and Arizona is not out of the running either. Loescsher still has Miami scheduled for a January 28th visit. WR Tony Brown from Florida had been rumored to have commited to Florida State. He is back from that visit. His brother, though, told me that he is not home yet, but as far as he knew, Tony did not commit to Florida State. I think it's still going to come down to Florida State or Ohio State. Brown himself told me that it went pretty good at FSU, but he said that he is still leaning toward Ohio State and Purdue, and that the Buckeyes and the Boilermakers are his two favorites. He did say that he would also visit Notre Dame this coming weekend. Carlos Perez, the fine WR from New Jersey, made an official visit to Penn State, but did not commit to the Lions, and his decision might end up coming down to Ohio State or Penn State. DE Bobby Williams from Florida did not commit to Notre Dame on his visit there this weekend, and is currently on an official visit to South Carolina. He went straight from Notre Dame to South Carolina and will finish that visit on Tuesday. Keep in mind that the Buckeyes are still in pursuit of RB Greg Jones. Jones visited Clemson this weekend and did not commit to Clemson. |