Bill
Kurelic November 2002 Posts
Class
of 2003 Commitment List
2003
Prospect List
11/27/02
The Buckeyes' odds of landing defensive lineman David Patterson
have improved. Patterson, the 6-3, 260 pounder from Warrensville
Heights High School in Ohio had previously said that he was
favoring Ohio State 60-40. However, after his official visit
with the Buckeyes last weekend he now says it is about 70-30
Ohio State over Miami. Patterson has made official visits to
Ohio State, Miami, and Boston College. He says that he is still
scheduled to visit Florida December 13 buy has canceled Maryland
and says that right now he does not think he'll take all five
official visits. Patterson said he had a great visit to Ohio
State this past weekend, that he had a good time, and that the
guys were great. He said that the atmosphere was "amazing"
at the game and that the Horseshoe would be a great place to
play. Patterson said that he went to a lot of meetings and talked
with Coach Tressel for a long time and talked to all the Buckeye
coaches, and that now OSU has moved up even higher to about
70-30 on his list. He is the top defensive tackle prospect in
Ohio.
QB Brady Quinn, who has committed to Notre Dame, now
says that he might stop in and visit Buckeye assistant coach
Luke Fickell this week. Quinn was invited to the Ohio State
vs. Michigan game on Saturday but decided to go to the Notre
Dame vs. Rutgers game instead. He said he's still been talking
occasionally to Ohio State and Michigan, and he said he might
go down to Ohio State sometime this week and talk to Coach Fickell.
However Quinn did emphasize that he is still committed to Notre
Dame.
Offensive lineman Dan Pribula from Strongsville, a 6-6,
315 pounder, was at OSU's game on Saturday. Pribula said that
is trying to set up official visits with Notre Dame and Penn
State, probably in January. He says he is looking at Ohio State
as well as Syracuse and Cornell, but the later two more for
track. He called the OSU vs. Michigan game "sweet"
and said that it was the craziest environment he has ever seen.
He has not at this point been offered a scholarship by Ohio
State.
A total of eight prospects were at OSU for official visits
for the Michigan game and many other were on hand for unofficial
visits. DE Claude McBride from New Jersey was one of
those players making an official visit. The 6-4, 235 pound McBride
had a great visit with Ohio State. He said he liked everything
about the Buckeye program, that the coaches are very down to
earth and that the game was the best part. He said he's never
seen anything like it. He has now visited Tennessee and Ohio
State and says he will visit Miami in January, maybe January
17. He is also looking at Florida and maybe Nebraska. All have
offered him a scholarship. McBride said Ohio State is high on
his list though he does not have a favorite at this time.
DE Mario Williams from North Carolina made his official
visit to OSU for the game, as did DB Darius Hiley from
Cleveland Glenville. Hiley now says that Ohio State is a huge
leader. He says he likes Ohio State best by far right now, but
he is going to visit USC this coming weekend, Michigan December
6, Miami December 20 and possibly one other trip, but it's going
to take some doing for anyone to move ahead of Ohio State for
Darius Hiley. Williams, on the other hand, is committed to North
Carolina State.
Hiley's teammate, defensive back Donte Whitner also
made his official visit to OSU last weekend. I can tell you
that he did not commit to the Buckeyes though he was unavailable
for comment after the game, but I tend to like the Buckeyes'
chances with Donte Whitner as well. Both Whitner and his teammate
Darius Hiley were hosted by Troy Smith.
DB
Ashton Youboty (6-1, 185) from Klein, Texas said after
his visit to OSU this weekend said that his decision is going
to most likely going to come down to either Ohio State or Penn
State. Youboty will visit Tennessee this coming weekend before
he decides. Youboty said that it was a good game and that he
liked the environment at Ohio State. He was hosted by Santonio
Holmes on his visit. He said the game environment was fun and
similar the the crowd at Penn State where he visited earlier
this season. He says OSU and Penn State are his leaders and
are about even right now.
OL Joel Holler from Pennsylvania said he had a good
visit with the Buckeyes and was very impressed. He said that
the fans are great, and that he got to meet Coach Bollman in
person for the first time. Holler will now visit Virginia Tech
this weekend, Penn State December 6, Miami on the 13, and says
that his decision is now down to those four schools with no
leader at this point. Holler has been offered a scholarship
by the Buckeyes.
QB Todd Boeckman who of course has committed to Ohio
State was the other player to make an official visit to Ohio
State.
Linebacker Reggie Smith, the 6-2, 225 pounder from East
Cleveland Shaw High School was originally going to visit Iowa
this past weekend but said the Buckeyes called on Tuesday and
said they would offer a scholarship according to Smith, so he
decided not to visit Iowa and instead went to the Ohio State
vs. Michigan game. Smith said the got a letter about the offer
in the mail on Saturday and now says he is planning to commit
to Ohio State. However, he does need to qualify academically.
He said if not this week, then next week or the week after that,
sooner or later, he would commit to the Buckeyes. He said that
on his visit he talked to Coach Tressel, Coach Tucker, Coach
Snyder and Coach Dantonio on his visit. Smith has been my top-rated
linebacker in the state of Ohio since before the season.
Many prospects made unofficial visits to OSU for the Ohio State
vs. Michigan game, including DB Ira Guilford from Hoboken,
New Jersey, one of the top RB/DB prospects on the east coast.
Guilford will make his official visit to OSU January 10. Others
included Tony Gonzales and Curt Lukens, as well
as Louis Irizarry. DL Brandon Maupin and kicker Adam
Graessle were on hand, as was offensive lineman Mike DeLuca.
OL Ryan Poles from New York was also on hand. Poles from
Canandaigua Academy in New York, a 6-5 290 pounder, has already
made an official visit to Boston College and has an official
visit scheduled to Georgia November 29. The only reason he has
not scheduled an official visit to Ohio State yet is that the
Buckeyes have not yet offered a scholarhip. His uncle attended
Ohio State. Boston College and Georgia have offered a scholarship.
DE Doug Van Dyke, from Marshall Michigan, a 6-6, 245
pounder, has a continually changing official visit schedule.
Van Dyke was originally going to make an official visit to Ohio
State this weekend, but he says that he talked to OSU assistant
coach Luke Fickell, and Fickell told him it would be better
for him to visit the weekend of January 10. Van Dyke visited
Purdue last weekend. He was going to visit Wisconsin December
6 but now he will move that visit and will visit Michigan December
6. Wisconsin will likely be December 13 and Ohio State will
be January 10. He will also visit Nebraska and says he will
take all five official visits before making a decision. All
five schools have offered. He says that Michigan is probably
his leader now, with Ohio State and Purdue very close.
OL Ty Hall from Cincinnati will visit Stanford December
6 and has already made an official visit to Boston College this
past weekend. He is also looking at Pitt, Vanderbilt, Wake Forest,
Illinois, Northwestern and Clemson. All of those schools have
offered him a scholarship.
11/13/02
Defensive back Donte Whitner, one of the country's top
cover cornerback prospects, has now filled out his official
visit schedule. The 5-11, 175 pound Whitner from Cleveland Glenville
High School had an outstanding senior season making 60 tackles,
intercepting three passes, one of which he returned for a touchdown.
He had 10 tackles for losses. Whitner also also had four forced
fumbles and also had kickoff or punt returns that he returned
for touchdowns. He also had 19 receiving touchdowns. Whitner
will make his official visit to Ohio State. He will visit with
the Buckeyes the weekend of November 23, the weekend of the
Ohio State - Michigan game. Whitner will then make an official
visit to USC November 29. That weekend USC plays Notre Dame.
He has an official visit scheduled to Michigan December 6, Notre
Dame December 13 and Miami December 20. All five schools have
offered him a scholarship. Whitner says he has talked to the
Buckeyes about the chances of playing as a true freshman. He
said Ohio State has indicated to him that he would have a good
chance to come in and play early at cornerback is he selected
OSU. Whitner said though that all the schools that he is considering
have told him that as well. Whitner said he does not have a
favorite right now.
Whitner's teammate, Darius Hiley, the standout athlete
who could play in the defensive backfield or at wide receiver,
but I see him in the defensive backfield in college, Hiley has
not yet scheduled his official visit to Ohio State, though he
will go on two official visits with Whitner. He will visit Michigan
the weekend of December 6 and Miami the weekend of December
20. Hiley is also considering Florida, as well as Ohio State,
Iowa, Southern Cal and Wisconsin. All have offered him a scholarship.
DB Chase Anastasio from Fairfax Robinson High School
in Virginia now says he will likely make an official visit to
Ohio State. Anastasio, a 6-2, 190 pounder who runs a 4.5 40
has led his team to an undefeated regular season thus far. He
has been playing safety as well as wide receiver and running
back. Anastasio is being recruited by Ohio State as a free safety.
Anastasio will visit Notre Dame December 6 and Stanford December
20. He will also visit Virginia, probably in January, and now
says he will probably take an official visit to Ohio State.
Mark Dantonio is recruiting him for OSU. He has offers from
all the schools on his list as well as Penn State. He made an
unofficial visit to OSU last summer. He says he does not have
a favorite.
LB Reggie Smith from East Cleveland Shaw High School,
a 6-2, 225 pounder, was going to make an official visit to Iowa
this past weekend but said he did not make the visit because
of a car accident. He said he will likely reschedule a visit
to Iowa but his first official visit now is to Boston College
this coming weekend. He also has Virginia December 6 and is
looking at Missouri as well. He says he is still waiting on
Ohio State. All the other schools have offered a scholarship
but OSU has not. He says that if OSU would offer he would have
a definite interest.
OL Kevin Brown, a 6-3 285 pounder with 5.0 40 speed
from Long Beach Poly High School in California is an offensive
guard who has helped lead his team to a 7-1 record. Brown says
that he is looking at Ohio State, Oklahoma, Florida State, Syracuse,
USC and UCLA. He said UCLA, Syracuse and Oregon have offered
a scholarship. Brown has not yet set up any of the exact date
of his official visit, but he is going to visit Oregon and he
also plans to make an official visit to Ohio State sometimes
in January. Brown said that he talked to OSU last week but no
date has yet been scheduled.
In Ohio, OL Andrew Crummey, a 6-5, 280 pounder is interested
in Ohio State, but one school that was on his list has been
dropped. That school is Michigan State since the firing of Bobby
Williams. Crummey said that has changed things, that it's kind
of hard to be interested in a school when you don't know what's
going on. Now that MSU is off his list, he has added Boston
College to his list. They offered him a scholarship recently.
He is also looking at Purdue. He says he has not heard from
Ohio State as far as a scholarship offer. He has made an official
visit to Purdue and will make an official visit December 6 to
Boston College.
OSU landed several top linebackers in their last recruiting
class, but they are still on the lookout for linebackers this
season. One that they would love to land is Tavaress Gooden
from Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Florida.
Gooden, a 6-3, 220 pounder with 4.6 40 speed says his top five
has changed a little. Michigan State is no longer in Gooden's
top five with the firing of Bobby Williams. Gooden says that
Tennessee is probably in there now instead of Michigan State.
He is still interested in LSU, Ohio State, Miami and Oklahoma.
All have offered him a scholarship. He says that as of now his
favorite football team is Miami, but he hasn't seen the other
schools yet. Gooden says he definitely plans to visit Ohio State.
Gooden has not yet begun to set up his official visits.
The Buckeyes also continue to pursue other linebackers including
Wesley Jefferson from Maryland and LB/DE Tim Washington
from Sugarland Dulles High School in Texas. Those two are still
very much considering Ohio State, as well as a number of others
including Claude McBride, a LB/DE from Cambden Woodrow
Wilson High School in New Jersey.
DL Brandon Maupin from West Chester Lakota West High
School has now narrowed things down to four schools, and has
schedule official visits with all four. Maupin, a 6-6, 270 pounder
says his decision is down to Ohio State, Tennessee, Boston College
and Pitt. All four have offered a scholarship. Maupin starts
his official visits this weekend with a trip to Boston College.
He also is schedule to visit Tennessee December 6, Pitt December
13 and Ohio State January 10. Maupin went to the Tennessee-Miami
game and plans to go to the OSU - Michigan game. Maupin played
mostly defensive tackle during his senior season, making close
to 50 tackles and recording six sacks.
OL Ty Hall from Cincinnati Anderson has added Pitt,
Northwestern and Wake Forest to his list as all three of those
schools have offered a scholarship. He also is looking at Stanford
as well as Illinois and plans to visit those schools. Ohio State
is a school he is thinking about as well, though the Buckeyes
have not offered a scholarship to this point.
DL Conrad Bolston from Washington D. C. St. Johns High
School, a 6-4, 265 pounder, is considering Ohio State. Bolston
tells me that he is looking at OSU, Pitt, North Carolina, Boston
College, Maryland, North Carolina State, Penn State, Virginia
and Michigan. He said that pretty much all of them have offered
a scholarship, though he is not sure that Michigan has offered.
He said that he talked to Jim Tressel a couple of weeks ago
and has seen OSU on television. He says Maryland might be his
favorite right now, but that he is not yet ready to decide on
his official visits, but that Maryland will be one, but after
that he is not certain.
11/4/02
OL Kyle Thornton from St. Mark's High School in Dallas,
Texas is a 6-4, 300 pounder who is interested in Ohio State.
He is the brother of Kalen Thornton who currently plays for
Texas. He told me recently that he is mainly looking at Texas,
Ohio State, Georgia and Kansas State. Texas and Kansas State
have offered a scholarship. Thornton said that he is planning
to go up to OSU and Georgia, as he put it. He is thinking about
making an unofficial visit to Georgia November 9 and is thinking
about an official visit to OSU December 6. Thornton said that
Bill Conley is recruiting him for OSU and that Coach Conley
has been calling him every week.
DE Doug Van Dyke from Marshall, Michigan, a 6-6, 245
pounder who is one of the country's top defensive end prospects,
is certainly very, very interested in Ohio State. Van Dyke was
scheduled to make an official visit to Michigan this past weekend
to see the Michigan vs. Michigan State game, but did not because
his team is still in the playoffs. Van Dyke said he will reschedule
that visit, and also will schedule a visit to Purdue. Van Dyke
has his other three visits scheduled. He is going to visit Ohio
State November 23 for an official visit when the Buckeyes play
Michigan unless his team is still in the playoffs. Van Dyke
also has Wisconsin scheduled for December 6 and Nebraska December
13. All have offered a scholarship. When asked who his favorite
is, Van Dyke said last weekend that he is liking Ohio State
a lot more now. He said he has been watching the Buckeyes on
T.V. and is very impressed with the defense. He said OSU is
definitely "up there" on his list.
DL DeMarcus Tyler from Fayetteville Smith High School
in North Carolina. Tyler is a 6-3, 315 pounder who made an official
visit to OSU this past weekend. He came away very impressed
with his trip to Columbus. Tyler said he liked it at OSU, that
it was great, that he liked everything, everything was good.
He said it was all football there. Tyler said that he had already
been offered a full scholarship by OSU and mentioned talking
to Coach Tressel. Tyler said that the OSU vs. Minnesota game
was very exciting, and that the crowd is a big part of everything.
Tyler is still looking at Ohio State, North Carolina State and
North Carolina and all three have offered a scholarship. He
is still as yet undecided, but did come away very impressed
with his visit to Ohio State, and added that his mom loved it
at Ohio State as well.
The Buckeyes also hosted a number of prospects on unofficial
visits last weekend for the Minnesota game. Among them was DL
David Patterson from Warrensville Heights High School.
Patterson, one of the country's top defensive tackle prospects,
is one that the Buckeyes would love to land. Also at the game
was quarterback Todd Boeckman from St. Henry who has
already committed to OSU. DL Brandon Maupin from West Chester
Lakota West High School. OSU has offered him a scholarship as
well. There were also a number of juniors in attendance, including
Lakota East fullback Tony Johnson, Fairborn running back
O. J. McDuffy, and Canton Glen Oak defensive lineman
Nick Smith, as well as David Patterson's teammate at Warrensville
Heights, junior wide receiver Trumaine Smith. Also in
attendance was LaGrange Keystone lineman Chase Clowser.
An Ohioan who is interested in the Buckeyes is offensive lineman
Dan Pribula. Pribula is from Strongsville and is a 6-6,
315 pound offensive lineman that has 15 scholarship offers thus
far. Pribula has offers from, among others, Notre Dame, Northwestern,
Maryland, Pitt, Vanderbilt, Louisville, Syracuse and Michigan
State. Among the schools that he has an interest in are Ohio
State, Penn State, Stanford and Notre Dame.
11/01/02
TE Marcel Frost from Lyndhurst Brush High School in
Ohio made an unofficial visit to OSU for the Penn State game.
Frost is one of the top tight end prospects in not only Ohio
but the midwest. He has three official visits set up; Maryland
November 8, Boston College November 15 and Iowa November 22.
Frost told me last night those are the only visits he has set
up right now, but he is also interested in Ohio State, maybe
Michigan State and maybe Vanderbilt. All of the schools on his
list except for Ohio State have offered a scholarship. He says
he does not have a favorite right now. He added that he really
liked it at the OSU vs. PSU game, that he talked to a few of
the coaches and he is interested in making an official visit
to the Buckeyes. OSU has one commitment from a tight end in
this recruiting class, from Loius Irazzary who was also at the
Penn State game, but the Buckeyes are interested in landing
a second tight end in this recruiting class. Another one that
they are interested in is Jamesly Jean from Tampa Jesuit
High School in Florida. The 6-5, 220 pound John has narrowed
things down to three schools; Oklahoma, LSU, and Ohio State.
He says he does not have a favorite at this point.
DE Alan Billyk from New Castle, Pennsylvania,
a 6-4, 260 pounder made an unofficial visit to OSU for the Penn
State game. He has been a varsity starter since his freshman
season. He told me that he thought it was very nice at Ohio
State. He liked the atmosphere and was impressed with the game.
He said he walked with the team to the Skull session before
the game, arriving a couple of hours before game time. Billyk
said he got to talk to a lot of the Buckeye coaching staff.
He said he has not set up an official visit to Ohio State yet,
he wants to wait and see how things go in the playoffs so he
doesn't have to rearrange his schedule if his team advances
deep into the playoffs. He says he is still considering Ohio
State, Pitt, West Virginia and Stanford and all have offered
a scholarship. He called Ohio Stadium the nicest stadium he
has ever been in.
Kenyon Buford (6-6,
355, 5.3) from
Murfreesboro, Tennessee made an unofficial visit to Ohio State
last weekend for the Penn State game but did not commit to the
Buckeyes. He is considering Ohio State, South Carolina, Georgia,
Georgia Tech and Wake Forrest. Ohio State has offered Buford
a scholarship and he has been saying that Ohio State is his
favorite. Bufford did bring along game tapes with him to Ohio
State for the Buckeye staff to do further evaluation. He is
being recruited by Bill Conley. Buford says he is interested
in making an official visit to Ohio State the weekend the Buckeyes
play Michigan though that is not a certainty as yet.
Buford was not the only recruit
to visit Ohio State for the Penn State game. He was joined by
a number of playes making unofficial visits, including a number
of the Buckeyes' commitments. DB Kurt Lukens and QB Todd
Boeckmann were on hand, as well as DB Tony Gonzales.
All three made unofficial visits to OSU to see the Buckeyes
win over Penn State, as did super tight end Louis Irazarry
from Youngstown Ursaline. Others making unofficial visits
included two super prospects from out of state, QB/Athlete Michael
Bush from Kentucky and DE Allan Billyck from Pennsylvania.
Both came away from their visit very impressed, and both are
highly considering OSU and both have been offered a scholarship.
Some seniors from Ohio that were in attendance included DL Sian
Cotton, TE Marcel Frost, DB Jerrid Gaines
and K/P Adam Graessle as well as OL Kirk Barton.
A number of juniors were also on hand including QB Brian
Boyer from Cleveland and RB Gary Russell from Columbus
Walnut Ridge, OL Steve Rehring from West Chester Lakota
West, OL Ben Person from Xenia, OL Brandon Braxton
from Youngstown Ursaline were just a few of the juniors in attendance.
This weekend the Buckeyes have another big home
game as Minnesota invades the Horsehoe, and certainly the Buckeyes
will have another good group of recruits in attendance, including
DeMarcus Tyler, a defensive lineman from Fayetteville
Smith High School in North Carolina. Tyler is a 6-3, 315 pound
DT who runs a 5.0 40. He will visit with his mother on his official
visit. He says he is mainly considering three schools on his
official visit; Ohio State, North Carolina State and North Carolina,
and all three have offered a scholarship. He says he does not
have a favorite right now. He is being recruited by Bill Conley.
There will be other prospects in attendance for
the Minnesota game including some outstanding juniors, and at
this time of the year the Buckeyes really like to get as many
top junior propects in attendance at their home games as possible.
OL Kirk Barton from Massillon Perry High
School in Ohio, a 6-6, 265 pounder with 4.9 40 speed, says that
if OSU would offer a scholarship he would probably commit to
the Buckeyes. Barton has played tight end and defensive end
during his senior season, but he is primarily a blocker in his
high school's run oriented offense and will definitely be an
offensive tackle in college. He attended the OSU vs. Penn State
game this past weekend and said it was awesome, noting that
he got to meet Jim Tomey and Orlando Pace. He says that Northwestern
offered him a scholarship this week, and that Pitt offered him
last week, and Purdue is going to be at his game this week.
He is looking at those schools as well as Vanderbilt and Bowling
Green who have both offered. OSU has not yet offered.
Ty Hall from Cincinnati is another offensive
lineman who says he is interested in Ohio State and is waiting
to see if the Buckeyes will offer, as is Dan Pribula.
Andrew Crummy from Van Wert is also a lineman OSU is
looking at. He has an offer from Purdue as well as one from
Michigan State. Crummy says he is interested in Ohio State.
Mike DeLuca from the Cleveland area is an offensive lineman
interested in the Buckeyes, but as in the case of the others,
OSU has not offered.
September
and October Posts
Class
of 2003 Commitment List
2003
Prospect List