Bill Kurelic's November posts. November 23, 1998 Let's start with the players on official visits, beginning with OL Alex Jackson (FL). Jackson, who was hosted by Ryan Pickett, had a great visit with the Buckeyes. Jackson told me last night, "I really liked it a lot at OHIO STATE. It was great. I most definitely liked the game. Ohio State has always been one of my favorites. KENTUCKY has been recruiting me a long time and they offered me a scholarship early too, so I'd put them up there with Ohio State. There's just a few more things I want to know about Ohio State. I know I would be a tackle if I went there, but I'm not sure if it would be right or left tackle. And I want to know a little more about the depth chart on the offensive line. I'm planning to visit GEORGIA TECH maybe in January, and maybe GEORGIA and TENNESSEE, but if I get the right answers I'll probably commit to Ohio State, maybe before I take any more visits." Alex has already made his official visit to Kentucky. RB William Green (NJ) was hosted this
weekend by Tam Hopkins. Green told me, "It was
really nice at Ohio State. I liked it a lot, but it was
kind of cold. I could change my mind from Boston College,
but I don't know." Green had previously made
official visits to BOSTON COLLEGE The third player to make an official visit to Ohio
State this past weekend was OL Shane Lehmann
(CA). Lehmann, who did not commit to the Buckeyes, has
now made official visits to both Ohio State and Nebraska. Now let's move to players who were on unofficial
visits to Ohio State Saturday beginning with OL Adrian
Clarke (OH). Clarke told me on Sunday, "It
was lovely, the game was great. I knew they would beat
Michigan. I knew Coach Cooper really wanted that game so
I wasn't surprised they pounded them. When I talked to
the Ohio State coaches afterward I told them I was
highly, highly considering going to OHIO STATE. I'm on
the verge of committing. But I'm still talking to some
other Other Ohioan's at the big win over Michigan included TE Aaron Lumpkin, QB Scott McMullen, DE/TE Kris Dielman, RB Ryan Brewer, OL Steve Stewart, QB Brian Camp, and DB/RB Calvin Murray Jr. Many of the Buckeyes verbal commitments were at the game too. Those were Ohioan's Fred Pagac Jr., DB Curtis Crosby, LB Matt Wilhelm, DL Tim Anderson, TE Ben Hartsock, P/K B.J. Sander, and the lone out-of-state commitment to date, QB Craig Krenzel (MI), all took in the big win over Michigan. The Buckeyes also hosted some of the state of Ohio's top juniors, including OL Michael Munoz who is the son of former NFL great Anthony Munoz. Munoz, from Cincinnati Moeller, will be without question one of the nation's finest prospects next season. Other current juniors at the game included OL Alex Stepanovich from Berea, OL Ricky Wymer from Westerville North, TE Jimmy Fisher from Huron, and QB Nate Poole from Grove City. Even a super sophomore was at the game, Dustin Fox from Canton Glenn Oak. Now let's move to out-of-state prospects who were at the game. Let's begin with DE Clint Mitchell (FL). As of very late last night Mitchell was not yet back from Ohio. Going into this past weekend Mitchell had told me that he had pretty much narrowed things down to FLORIDA, TENNESSEE, OHIO STATE, GEORGIA, KANSAS STATE, and possibly MIAMI. He was planning to wait till later to set up official visits. RB Kerry Carter (CN) told me last night, "I'll probably still go on that visit to Stanford (December 4th), then make my decision right after that. The atmosphere at the Ohio State-Michigan game was tremendous. Ohio State is my leader. After that I don't know, maybe Michigan or Wisconsin." Carter has made official visits to OHIO STATE, MICHIGAN, MICHIGAN STATE, and WISCONSIN, and all have offered a scholarship. OL Kevin Breedlove (SC) and his
father drove up to the Ohio State-Michigan game.
Breedlove has official visits scheduled to UCLA December
11th (the visit may get pushed back to sometime in
January as OL Sean Milligan (GA) was very
impressed with what he saw at Ohio State this weekend and
has now moved the Buckeyes into his top three. Milligan
told me last night, "It was great there. It's a
great atmosphere for football. I saw the stadium, the
weight room, the indoor facility, it was all nice. But
Notre Dame is still my leader. After that it's kind of a
toss-up for DL Ellington Wills (MI) told me last night, "I really liked it at Ohio State. MICHIGAN STATE, MINNESOTA, and OHIO STATE are my top three. But Ohio State is kind of young and deep on the defensive line so I'd say Michigan State and Minnesota are my two favorites." Wills has changed his official visit schedule some and is now scheduled to visit Minnesota December 11th, Ohio State December 18th, and Michigan State January 8th. He is also looking at PURDUE and NORTH CAROLINA. Now let's move to some players the Buckeyes are pursuing who make official visits elsewhere this past weekend. DB Richard McNutt (IL) made an official visit to MICHIGAN STATE and now has the Spartans among his leaders. He told me last night, "It was really nice at Michigan State. They're up there with OHIO STATE and NORTHWESTERN now. That's my top three." McNutt will visit Ohio State December 4th, PURDUE December 11th, and UCLA December 18th. He is also considering GEORGIA. OL Tony Pape (IL) completed his
official visit to MIAMI this past weekend, wrapping it up
on Saturday. He had a very good visit with the
Hurricanes, though he did not commit. He said Michigan
might still have a OL Joseph Patrick (MI) made an official visit to MICHIGAN STATE this past weekend and was very impressed, but did not commit to the Spartans. Patrick told me, "I liked it a lot at Michigan State, but I didn't commit. They are my leader though. I still plan to visit INDIANA December 4th and OHIO STATE December 11th. Ohio State is second. I'm still considering NOTRE DAME, NORTHWESTERN, and ILLINOIS too." DE Darnell Dockett (MD) had a very good official visit to FLORIDA STATE this past weekend and was impressed with the Seminoles win over Florida, but did not commit to FSU. Dockett, who has a visit set to Ohio State December 4th, told me, "I liked it at Florida State, I had a good time. But I don't have any favorite. I'll probably have to switch my Ohio State visit because my mom wants me to take the SAT on December 5th. NORTH CAROLINA, MARYLAND, GEORGIA TECH, and maybe MICHIGAN are the other schools I'm looking at." Dockett added that it would be great to go to the same school as T.J. Duckett. "T.J. told me he'd like to do whatever I do," Dockett said last night. LB T.J. Duckett (MI) also made an official visit to FLORIDA STATE this past weekend and also did not commit to the Seminoles. He has visits set to MICHIGAN STATE December 4th, MICHIGAN December 11th, UCLA December 18th, and OHIO STATE January 8th. Duckett told me, "I had a good time at Florida State. They are still in my top three with Michigan State and Michigan. But I know I'll take all five visits before I make up my mind. It would be an extra bonus if Darnell and I could go to the same school." November 18th, 1998 As far as those who will be able to make an official visit to OHIO STATE this weekend, one is OL Alex Jackson (FL). Shane Lehmann (CA) will also be making an official visit to OHIO STATE this weekend. And in a bit of a pleasant surprise for the Buckeyes, RB William Green (6'1 220 4.45) from New Jersey confirmed last night that he will make an official visit to OHIO STATE this weekend! Green is still committed to BOSTON COLLEGE, but his grandmother feels he made the decision rather fast and without her input so Green is going to visit the Buckeyes. Green may consider PENN STATE and WISCONSIN again for official visits too. All four schools have offered a scholarship. On the other hand OL Nick Johnson
(AZ) will not make it to Columbus for an official visit
this weekend. Johnson has committed to Arizona State, Among the other players who have told me they will be on unofficial visits to Ohio State on Saturday are DE Jeff Mitchell who will be making the trip along with his dad all the way from the state of Florida. Others who have told me they are planning to go to the game are OL Kevin Breedlove (SC), DL Ellington Wills (MI), LB Matt Wilhelm (OH), DB Curtis Crosby (OH), LB Fred Pagac Jr. (OH), DL Tim Anderson (OH), TE Ben Hartsock (OH), OL Adrian Clarke (OH), LB Ty Myers (OH), QB Scott McMullen (OH), DL/OL Darrell McMurray (OH), RB Derrick Tatum (OH), OL Steve Stewart (OH), and RB Ryan Brewer (OH). I mentioned that OL Kevin Breedlove will be at Ohio State this weekend. Breedlove told me last night, "I've set up visits to UCLA December 11th, GEORGIA January 8th, TENNESSEE January 15th, and FLORIDA January 22nd. And I'm leaving real early Saturday morning for an unofficial visit to OHIO STATE. I'm really looking forward to seeing their game against Michigan. I plan to make an official visit there too, but I just want to go up there and make absolutely sure before I schedule it. Either way, whether I like it or really like it a lot up there, I'm almost sure I'll schedule an official visit." All five schools have offered a scholarship. A number of players the Buckeyes are pursuing will be visiting elsewhere this weekend. Those include LB T.J. Duckett (MI) who will be on an official visit to FLORIDA STATE. OL Tony Pape (IL) will be leaving Thursday for an official visit to MIAMI. OL Joseph Patrick (MI) will be making an official visit to MICHIGAN STATE this weekend. And LB/DE Sean McHugh (OH) who is just a junior, will be making an unofficial visit to NOTRE DAME this weekend. TE/QB Gary Godsey (FL) told me last night that Notre Dame has a slight lead for his services. He said, "I'll still be visiting NOTRE DAME December 4th and OHIO STATE December 11th. I'm still looking at GEORGIA TECH and TENNESSEE too, and MICHIGAN is definitely back in the picture. I'm going to see my brother's game this weekend (unofficial visit). Wake Forest plays at Georgia Tech. It's real close, but I'd say Notre Dame is a little ahead of Ohio State, with Georgia Tech third." The Buckeyes chief remaining target at QB is of course Chris Simms (NJ), but they also still have an interest in Scott McMullen (6'4 200 4.8) from Granville. Scott had a super senior season and recruiters from all over the country got the word. In fact by early November Scott had scholarship offers from the likes of Florida State, Michigan State, and Boston College. Scott completed 118 of 191 passes (62%) for 2577 yards this season as he led Granville to a 10-0 record. He connected for 24 scores with just 5 interceptions. Scott will visit either MICHIGAN STATE or PITT the weekend of December 4th. He is also looking at OHIO STATE, WEST VIRGINIA, BOSTON COLLEGE, FLORIDA STATE, BOWLING GREEN, and MIAMI (O). All but the Buckeyes and Mountaineers have offered a scholarship. Another Ohioan the Buckeyes are still looking at is RB Derrick Tatum (6'0 190 4.4) from Shaker Heights. Derrick ran behind Adrian Clarke much of the time, but Clarke certainly was not the only reason Derrick rushed for 1500 yards this season. Derrick is a very talented back who has outstanding speed and excellent moves! He averaged 8 yards a carry and scored 25 times. Derrick plans to visit WEST VIRGINIA December 11th and PITT December 18th. He is also interested in TENNESSEE, MICHIGAN STATE, OHIO STATE, INDIANA, and MIAMI (O). Derrick told me, "All of them except Ohio State and Michigan State have offered me a scholarship. November 17, 1998 OL Nick Johnson (AZ) made an official
visit to OREGON this past weekend. He told me last night,
"It was awesome there, but I was honest OL Shane Lehmann (CA) is another super blocker who is scheduled to make an official visit to Ohio State this weekend. Lehmann has already made an official visit to NEBRASKA. His other visits are scheduled to NOTRE DAME December 11th, UCLA December 18th, and USC January 8th. The Bruins are still the school to beat. WR Maurice Lee (OH), who of course has already committed to the Buckeyes, plans to make his official visit to Ohio State this coming weekend too. Lee alternated between QB and WR this year for Cleveland South High School, but will be a wideout at OHIO STATE. Of course plenty of players will be making unofficial visits to OHIO STATE this weekend in what will be the biggest gathering of prospects for any Buckeye home game this year. One to mention of particular note is DE Clint Mitchell (FL) who the Buckeyes would absolutely love to land. Mitchell and his dad plan to fly up to the OSU game, leaving early Saturday morning and arriving in Columbus around 11:00 A.M. They are hoping they can get from the airport to the stadium without missing too much of the first quarter. They may then go to Clint's brother Jeff's game on Sunday. Jeff plays for the Baltimore Ravens who play the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday November 22nd. But there is a chance Clint and his dad may stay in Columbus on Sunday instead and check Ohio State out more thoroughly. Mitchell has not yet set any of his official visits, but says FLORIDA, TENNESSEE, OHIO STATE, GEORGIA, and KANSAS STATE are the prime contenders. He has pretty much eliminated AUBURN, but is showing some interest in MIAMI. All of those schools have offered a scholarship. Back to players that were making official visits elsewhere this past weekend. WR/Ath Luke Powell (TN) made an official visit to KENTUCKY this past weekend. He told me last night, "I was pretty impressed with KENTUCKY. They had told me before that I had a scholarship, but they didn't put it in writing or anything this weekend. We lost Friday night in the playoffs so I'll definitely be visiting OHIO STATE December 4th. TENNESSEE, AUBURN, and MICHIGAN are the other schools I'm still looking at. I can't give you any favorite right now." OL Vernon Carey (FL) also made an official visit to KENTUCKY this past weekend, and also did not commit to the Wildcats. Carey will probably make his official visit to OHIO STATE the weekend of January 8th and will visit FLORIDA January 15th. He is also considering MICHIGAN STATE and MIAMI. In fact Miami is the school to beat though the Buckeyes are very much in the running. OL Sean Milligan (GA) was not able to make it to the Georgia at Auburn game this past weekend for an unofficial visit as he had hoped to and told me yesterday, "I still have NOTRE DAME in the lead with GEORGIA and UCLA tied for second." Milligan has official visits scheduled to NOTRE DAME December 4th, OHIO STATE December 11th, UCLA December 18th, MICHIGAN January 8th, and GEORGIA January 15th. All five schools have offered a scholarship. OL Keith Leavitt (MA) made an unofficial visit to Syracuse this past weekend, but did not commit. He has an official visit scheduled to BOSTON COLLEGE December 11th, and will also probably visits NOTRE DAME, SYRACUSE and PENN STATE. He says he might visit OHIO STATE too and is still open to MICHIGAN. LB T.J Duckett (MI) was at the
Michigan-Wisconsin game this past weekend, but did not
commit to the Wolverines. Duckett will make official November 11th Also, DB Darrell Rideaux (CA) has canceled his official visit to Ohio State. He was going to visit the Buckeyes January 8th, but will visit STANFORD that weekend instead. He has already made an official visit to CAL, and his current itinerary is rounded out with trips to COLORADO December 18th, and NOTRE DAME January 15th. The other school Rideaux plans to schedule a visit to is USC. The Buckeyes had offered Rideaux a scholarship. On the other hand, QB Chris Simms (NJ) is definitely still interested in Ohio State. Simms, who has already made an official visit to TENNESSEE, told me last night, "I still haven't set my other visits up. I'll probably start doing that in the next couple of weeks. I'm still looking at basically the same ones, PENN STATE, OHIO STATE, TEXAS, MICHIGAN, and PITT, but MIAMI is out of it now. I'm not exactly sure which ones I'll visit." The loss on Saturday did nothing to change the mind of OL Adrian Clarke (OH). Clarke has been saying for some time that Ohio State is his favorite with Michigan State second. He told me last night, "OHIO STATE is still way out in front and MICHIGAN STATE is still second. We play in the playoffs this Saturday against Cleveland St. Ignatius so the main thing I'm concentrating on right now is that game. I don't have anything definite yet on visits. I still might visit ILLINOIS and I might visit USC. I'm still looking at SYRACUSE too, and WISCONSIN somewhat. Then of course Ohio State and Michigan State." The Buckeyes are in the lead for DL Fred Stirrup (6'4 280 5.0) from Plantation, Florida. Stirrup told me last night, "I like OHIO STATE, FLORIDA, FLORIDA STATE, MIAMI, MISSOURI, and VIRGINIA TECH. They've all offered me a scholarship, but Ohio State is my favorite. I like what they say. I saw the Ohio State-Michigan State game but that doesn't change my mind. It happens to the best of them. We're in the playoffs so I haven't scheduled any visits yet. I'll do that later." The Buckeyes also continue to be one of the co-leaders
for DB Richard McNutt (IL). McNutt told
me last night, "I've still got two visits set, OHIO
STATE December 4th and UCLA December 11th. I think I'll
visit OL Keith Leavitt (6'8 285 5.1) from Massachusetts tells me, "We're still playing so I'm not thinking too much about official visits yet. I've only got one set up, to BOSTON COLLEGE December 11th. I'll probably visit NOTRE DAME, SYRACUSE, and PENN STATE too, and maybe OHIO STATE. I'm still open to MICHIGAN too. I might go to the Virginia Tech- Syracuse game this weekend. I went to the Notre Dame-Boston College game last weekend. I still don't have any favorites." LB Raheem Orr (6'3 230 4.6) from New Jersey at one time told me he would be visiting Ohio State December 4th. However academics made that a question mark. But Orr remains interested in Ohio State and the Buckeyes are calling. Orr told me last night, "I'll visit RUTGERS December 4th and MIAMI December 11th. I'm looking at OHIO STATE, WEST VIRGINIA, FLORIDA, and MINNESOTA too. That's about it. People say I'm leaning to West Virginia, but that's not true. I don't have a favorite." Orr plans to make an unofficial visit to Rutgers this weekend to see the Rutgers-West Virginia game. RB Thomas Tapeh (MN) now says,
"I'll be visiting MINNESOTA December 4th and
MICHIGAN December 11th. I'm going to take those When RB William Green (NJ) committed to BOSTON COLLEGE in October he said there was a slight chance he might still visit OHIO STATE. I checked on Green again last night. He remains committed to Boston College, and says that unless something changes he does not plan to take any other official visits. November 9th QB/Ath Andy Mignery made his official
visit to MICHIGAN this past weekend and saw the
Michigan-Penn State game. However he did not commit to
the Wolverines and in fact is hoping to set up an
official visit to OHIO STATE for the weekend of November
21st to see the Buckeyes play Michigan. As of right now
Mignery still has his visit to TENNESSEE The Buckeyes hosted one outstanding prospect from the state of Michigan on an unofficial visit to see the Ohio State-Michigan State game Saturday, but another wasn't able to make it. OL Joseph Patrick made the trip down to Columbus from Ithaca, Michigan. And despite the Buckeyes loss, Patrick was still very impressed. He liked the OSU coaches and indicated that the Buckeye loss didn't change his thinking, he is still very interested in Ohio State. In fact Patrick scheduled an official visit with the Buckeyes for the weekend of December 11th. He also has a visit scheduled to INDIANA December 4th. If his team loses in the playoffs this Saturday (November 14th) he will make an official visit to MICHIGAN STATE November 21st. If his team is still playing at that point he might visit the Spartans November 28th. Patrick also plans to scheduled a visit to NOTRE DAME. The other two schools he has under consideration are NORTHWESTERN and ILLINOIS. On the other hand, LB T.J. Duckett couldn't line up a ride to Columbus so instead went to the Michigan-Penn State game. Duckett told me on Sunday, "It was a good game. I've set up some tentative official visits. FLORIDA STATE would be November 21st, MICHIGAN STATE December 4th, MICHIGAN December 11th, and OHIO STATE January 8th. But those are all tentative dates. I'd say Florida State, Michigan, and Michigan State are still my top three, but Ohio State is pretty close up there with them. There's not much difference between any of the four. I'm still maybe looking at UCLA and GEORGIA a little too." Staying with prospects from the state of Michigan, QB Craig
Krenzel made an unofficial visit to OHIO STATE
on Saturday. Krenzel of course Other notable Ohioans at the game included QB Scott McMullen, TE Aaron Lumpkin, and QB Brian Camp. Camp remains committed to GEORGIA TECH, but went to the game with his teammate Fred Pagac Jr. Some notable juniors from the Buckeye state were at the game too including OL Alex Stepanovich from Berea, QB Nate Poole from Grove City, and WR Andre Henderson from Dublin Coffman. Back to seniors and back to out-of-state prospects. WR/DB Luke Powell made the trip up to Columbus all the way from Smyrna, Georgia for an unofficial visit to Ohio State Saturday. Powell told me on Sunday, "I liked it at OHIO STATE. I didn't get to see the practice facilities and all, but what I did see I liked. I've got an official visit scheduled to KENTUCKY for November 14th and I'll visit OHIO STATE December 4th unless we're in the playoffs. TENNESSEE, AUBURN, and MICHIGAN are the other schools I'm looking at. Tennessee and Kentucky have offered me a scholarship, but I'd say Tennessee and Ohio State are my two favorites." RB Kerry Carter (CN) made an official visit to WISCONSIN this past weekend and came away very impressed. Carter told me, "I really liked it at Wisconsin, and my mom did too. But I didn't commit. I'd say OHIO STATE still has a slight lead with Wisconsin and MICHIGAN right behind. MICHIGAN STATE is pretty much out of it. I think I'll still visit STANFORD December 4th before I make a decision." WR/TE Bo Scaife (CO) is still on an
official visit to TEXAS. Scaife will be back later today.
Prior to this weekend Scaife had told me that in all
likelihood he would make an official visit to OHIO STATE.
He also has a November 6th Thus far, RB Kerry Carter (CN), DB Lito Sheppard (FL), and WR Maurice Harris (FL) have made official visits to OHIO STATE. The weekend of November 21st the Buckeyes have THE game against Michigan. Scheduled to make official visits to Ohio State that weekend are OL Nick Johnson (AZ), OL Alex Jackson (FL), and OL Shane Lehmann (CA). At least a couple of others will probably also be scheduled for official visits that weekend. The weekend of December 4th, DE Darnell Dockett (MD), RB Art Thomas (PA), and DB Richard McNutt (IL) are scheduled to visit OHIO STATE. LB Matt Farrior (VA) may visit the Bucks that weekend too, and DB Mike Postell (NJ) may visit that weekend or the weekend of December 11th. And speaking of December 11th, LB Clifton Smith (NY), TE Gary Godsey (FL), DB Gerome Sapp (TX), and OL Sean Milligan (GA) are scheduled to visit OHIO STATE December 11th. The weekend of January 8th is going to be a very big one for the Buckeyes. WR Jerry Owens (CA), OL Courtney Morgan (CA), DB Darrell Rideaux (CA), OL Tony Pape (IL), DL Cedric Hilliard (TX), OL Alan Reuber (TX), K/P Nick Setta (IL), and DB Maurice Sikes (FL) are scheduled to visit OHIO STATE January 8th. OL Vernon Carey (FL) may visit that weekend as well. As I mentioned above, OL Courtney Morgan is scheduled to make an official visit to OHIO STATE the weekend of January 8th. However he told me last night he might end up committing to MICHIGAN in December. Morgan said, "I really like Michigan a lot. I'll be visiting there December 4th and they've offered me a scholarship. I might commit that weekend." The Buckeyes are interested in Morgan, but do not currently have a scholarship offer on the table. There is going to be plenty going on this weekend in terms of players who will be at Ohio State for the Buckeyes game against Michigan State as well as players the Bucks are pursuing who are making either official or unofficial visits elsewhere. In fact one of the fastest rising prospects in Ohio, LB/SS Ty Myers (6'4 200 4.55) from Springfield North told me he will likely be at the Ohio State game on Saturday. Myers is playing LB, SS, and QB this year, but will be either an OLB or SS in college. He is looking at OHIO STATE, WEST VIRGINIA, MICHIGAN STATE, SYRACUSE, PITT, and ILLINOIS, and says, "Ohio State and West Virginia are my two favorites." He has scholarship offers from West Virginia, Pitt, and Illinois thus far. DL Darrell McMurray (6'4 280 5.0) from Akron Buchtel (OH) will be at the OSU-Michigan State game even though he has committed to PITT. McMurray told me last night, "I'll be at the Ohio State game this weekend. I'm still committed to Pitt, but I'm definitely still interested in Ohio State. They want to see more film on me." QB Scott McMullen (6'4 195 4.8) from Granville (OH) says he will likely see the Buckeyes play on Saturday too. McMullen, who have thrown for over 2000 yards thus far this season and completed over 60% of his passes tells me, "I'm mostly looking at the MAC schools like MIAMI (O) and BOWLING GREEN, as well as FLORIDA STATE, WEST VIRGINIA, PITT, BOSTON COLLEGE, and OHIO STATE. Ohio State and West Virginia are the only two that haven't offered me a scholarship. I don't have any favorites yet, I'm pretty wide open to all those schools. I haven't set any visits up yet, I have to check on our basketball schedule." Plenty of other prospects will be at the game as well including many of the Buckeyes 13 verbal commitments. One other one I want to mention now is "Blue-Chip" LB T.J. Duckett (MI). Duckett told me he may be in Columbus this weekend for an unofficial visit with the Buckeyes. Duckett said last night, "I'm going to try to go down to Ohio State this weekend to see the Ohio State-Michigan State game. Bill Kurelic's Previous Month Posts |