Bill Kurelic October and November 2001 Posts

November 27, 2001

It's official, or as official as a verbal commitment can be. Stan White Jr., the standout TE/LB from Baltimore Gilman School in Maryland has officially selected Ohio State. I just spoke to one of the assistant coaches at Gilman School, and he said that Stan White Jr. has picked the Buckeyes. He said the official press release would be out within a couple of hours. (In fact, Stan White Sr. sent the release to The O-Zone this afternoon). White selected OSU over Stanford. White, 6-3, 225, 4.6 40, is one of the country's top linebacker prospects. He also is a fine TE. White helped lead Gilman to a 6-4 record this season. He had scholarship offers from OSU, Stanford, Michigan and many others before narrowing things down to OSU and Stanford. His sister was a fine athlete at Stanford. His father was a LB at Ohio State. White becomes verbal commitment number 17 for OSU. He is an outstanding student as well. He has nearly a 3.9 GPA and scored a 1390 on the SAT.

The Bucks are certainly interested in landing QB/Ath Troy Smith from Cleveland Glenville HS in Ohio. Smith, 6-1,200, made his first official visit this past weekend making a trip to E. Lansing to visit the MSU Spartans. He did not commit to MSU. I spoke with Smith's head coach at Glenville H.S. this morning and he said that Smith will make his next official visit to W.Va. He said Indiana is scheduled for Dec. 7 and Toledo for Dec. 14. He said his star QB would visit OSU in January. His coach said all the schools have offered a scholarship. He said in his opinion, OSU and W.Va. would be the leaders. Smith has been saying that OSU has the edge over the Mountaineers. Smith accounted for 1,370 all-purpose yards this season. He threw for 1,000 yards and 12 TDs.

With the Buckeyes' huge win over Michigan on Saturday should certainly help kick-start the remainder of the Bucks' recruiting efforts. In fact, in Jim Tressel's post game interviews, he mentioned that the OSU staff would be back at work today specifically working on recruiting. It is time to get ready for the first regular recruiting weekend of the season.

One prospect who will be at OSU for an official visit this coming weekend is TE George Cooper from Westerville North H.S. Cooper, 6-5, 250, has now scheduled his visit for the weekend of Nov. 30. He also is scheduled to visit Pitt Dec. 7 and Georgia Tech Jan. 18. All three schools have offered Cooper a scholarship. He is trying to set up an official visit to Tennessee as well. The Vols also have offered. Arizona State is another school in the picture. Cooper has indicated that Ga. Tech has been his favorite. When I spoke to his father, George Cooper Sr. who is a former OSU player, he said, 'It's going to come down to either Ga. Tech or OSU.' He said that everything could change once his son takes official visits. He also mentioned that there is nothing that OSU has to sell him on but he will back his son 100 percent. He said he doesn't want to put any pressure on his son.

LB Bobby Carpenter from Lancaster, OH has set up two official visits. He will visit N. Carolina this coming weekend and OSU has now been scheduled for Dec. 7. Carpenter did not go to the OSU-UM game. He went to the MSU-Penn State game for an unofficial visit with the Spartans. He is still considering MSU, Notre Dame, Stanford and Wake Forest. All those schools have offered him a scholarship. Carpenter had previously said that OSU and Northwestern were his favorites but potential good news is that his father Rob Carpenter said that NW is still in there but when Bobby went to the NW-Iowa game he came back disappointed. He said he would not really say that NW is up there as high on his son's list any more.

OL Kyle Ralph from Cincinnati St. Xavier H.S., one of the top prospects in the state of Ohio, de-committed from Vanderbilt when head coach Woody Widenhofer resigned and he now has two official visits set up. Ralph will visit Illinois Dec. 7 and N. Carolina Jan. 11. He also is considering OSU as well as Florida. He plans to visit those two schools also. Tennessee, S. Carolina, Boston College and Ole Miss are vying for the fifth visit. Ralph said that Vandy for the most part is now out of the picture. He said that he has a top four, in no order, of OSU, Florida, N. Carolina and Illinois.

LB Mike D'Andrea starts an official visit to Notre Dame Monday (Nov. 26) and follows that up with a visit to OSU on Thursday and Friday Nov. 29-30. He will visit Michigan Dec. 7. QB Troy Smith and TE Zack Zwilling from Missouri, both with offers from OSU and planning to make official visits to Columbus, both are making official visits to MSU this weekend.

DT Kwaekou Robinson, 6-4, 315, from Brooklyn Poly Prep in New York, made his official visit to OSU for the Wisconsin game. He more recently made an official visit to Virginia and after that visit said that OSU and Va. were tied for is top spot. However, there were rumors that he had committed to Va. but they are simply not true. Robinson said that he has not committed to anyone. He said that he will likely take additional official visits and that they may not happen until January. He said that he is looking at Miami and Notre Dame. He did say that Va. is his leader at this point but his high school coach said that he tends to think that Robinson will end up at Ohio State.

RB John Scott from Zanesville, OH, 6-0, 185, 4.4 40, is interested in OSU and the Buckeyes have been in contact but they are recruiting his as a DB. Scott as a junior rushed for 1,382 yards. However, this season he played mostly CB and made 96 tackles and had four interceptions. He has committed to W.Va., doing so long ago. He told me that he is going to take all five official visits. He already has made an official visit to Ohio U. and will visit W.Va. Dec.7 and Akron Dec. 14. He said that he is planning to make visits to OSU and Northwestern. He said that all the schools on his list except for OSU have offered him. Scott said that Coach Dantonio has been calling and has, through his high school coach, asked Scott to make an official visit. He said he would visit the Buckeyes. He said that he is still committed to W.Va. Scott said that Ohio and W.Va. are recruiting him as TB while OSU, Akron and NW are recruiting him as a DB.

CB JoJo Walker from Carrolton Creek H.S. in Texas plans to make an official visit to OSU. Walker picked off five passes last season doesn't have an official visit set up right now but tells me that he plans to set visits to OSU, Wisconsin and Purdue. He said the other school on his list is Maryland and he said all four schools have offered. He said he does not have a favorite right now.

There have been rumors circulating about RB Maurice Clarett from Warren Harding H.S. and whether or not he will make official visits to schools other than OSU. Clarett committed to OSU almost immediately after Jim Tressel was hired at OSU. He said that he's going to call OSU to set up his official visit with the Buckeyes. He said it will probably be the weekend of Nov. 30 but it's not definite. Clarett said that he might set up some other official visits, possibly to Fresno State, Miami and Notre Dame. As to why he would visit other schools, he said he just wants to see some of the places he has seen on TV. Clarett said that his commitment to OSU is final. He said he definitely would sign with the Buckeyes. He said he plans to graduate from high school in December and start at OSU in January. This would make him eligible for spring practice. Clarett said that one of his goals is to play as a true freshman at OSU. He rushed for 2,200 yards and averaged nearly 15 yards per carry and scored close to 40 TDs this season.

A Michigan star has put OSU back on his list. RB Kyle Brown from West Bloomfield, 6-1, 195 and one of the top prospects in Michigan made an official visit to Purdue. He said that he liked it but did not commit to the Boilermakers. Brown said on a scale of 1-10 he would give the visit a seven or eight. He said that he would visit USC Nov. 30, MSU Dec. 8 and Oklahoma Dec. 15. He said that if he takes one more visit it would be to Penn State, Ga. Tech or Ohio State. All those schools have offered. Brown said that MSU is his favorite by a small margin. He said that OSU has been calling and he's been talking to Coach Dantonio which is why he has put the Bucks back on his list. Brown was injured during the third game of the season with a torn ACL. In two-and-a-half games he rushed 324 yards and 230 yards receiving. He does prefer WR in college.

November 18, 2001

The Buckeyes as is always the case hosted a group of recruits on unofficial visits at the Illinois game Saturday.

Among the prospects on unofficial visits were many of the Bucks' current verbal commitments including Michael Roberts from Canada. Also at the game were OL Doug Datish as well as LB A.J. Hawk, DB Tyler Everett, DE Mike Kudla, DE Jay Richardson, DE Joel Penton and DB E.J. Underwood.

The top senior prospects that have not yet made a decision that attended the Illinois game was LB Bobby Carpenter from Lancaster, OH. Carpenter who is one of the top LB prospects in the Midwest has OSU and Northwestern as his two favorites.

Among the other seniors attending the game were two huge OL, Mike Donaldson, 6-6, 330, from Mansfield Senior and Eric Clackson from Lakewood St. Edward. Also, Brandon Jones, a WR from Gahanna Lincoln, 6-1, 170, who played RB this season attended the Illinois game.

A couple of outstanding juniors were at the game. DB Eric Thatcher from Cincinnati Moeller attended, as did OL Zack Slate from Massillon Perry.

A prospect form Florida says he continues to be interested in OSU. S Abe Brown from Sarasota Booker, 6-4, 205, made 115 tackles from his FS spot this year and intercepted three passes. Brown already has taken one official visit to Virginia and one to Indiana is scheduled Dec. 7. Brown said he has not set up his other visits yet but schools that he is considering are Florida, Florida State, Michigan State and Ohio State. Brown was attending the Florida-FSU game this weekend on an unofficial visit with the Gators. He said that Florida would probably be his favorite with Virginia next.

The Bucks are the leader for DL Kwaekou Robinson from Brooklyn Poly Prep in New York. Robinson, 6-4, 300, made an official visit to Virginia over the weekend. He is also looking at Miami and Notre Dame and his decision is pretty much down to those four schools. All four have offered a scholarship. Robinson said he is not sure if he will make official visits to all four or not. He said he probably likes OSU best. He said he likes the coaching staff and felt a connection with the players while on his official visit. He said that the Bucks continue to call every week.

LB Mike D'Andrea from Avon Lake, one of the country's top overall prospects, has now schedule three in-home visits. He still has two official visits scheduled, Ohio State Nov. 30 and Michigan Dec. 7. His father Bob D'Andrea said I think we are going to wait to schedule official visits to Notre Dame and Nebraska based on playoff results. Avon Lake was eliminated last weekend by Toledo St. Francis DeSales. They have set up in-home visits with Ohio State right before the Nov. 30 official visit. Notre Dame makes an in-home visit on Dec. 3 and Nebraska on Dec. 4. D'Andrea senior indicated that if the Bucks were to land Kwaekou Robinson and Quin Pitcock, he felt that would be to OSU's advantage in landing his son. He said it is important that there are outstanding DLs in front of Mike. Both say that OSU is their current leader.

OL Doug Datish tells me he would like to see action as a true freshman. Datish committed to OSU long ago picking the Bucks over, among others, Michigan and Colorado. Datish told me that from he understands, he will not be redshirted at OSU. Lack of depth on the OL at OSU is a definite issue and Datish should at least provide OL depth next year. His official visit will be the weekend of Nov. 30.

Another OL that plans to visit OSU is Anthony Wollschlager from Ft. Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas. He is a 6-6, 300, told me that has not officially set up any of his visits yet. He said that he will visit Miami and OSU in January and then either ND or Northwestern. He said in December he would visit Stanford and maybe ND but the Irish could end up being in either Dec. or Jan. Right now it's basically those five schools that he's looking at. He said that of the five, only Miami has not yet offered a scholarship. Wollschlager said he just talked to OSU assistant coach Bill Conley and that it was the normal recruiting conversation and Conley wished him luck in his playoff game with his 11-0 team.

DB I Perfection Harris from Brooklyn Poly Prep in NY, 5-10, 165, says he is still interested in OSU though his interest seems a bit low. The Bucks have not offered a scholarship. Harris is a teammate of Kwaekou Robinson. Harris intercepted one pass this season and also rushed for 980 yds. He has set up two official visits, Duke Dec. 7 and Georgia Tech Jan. 4. Harris says he also is looking at Arizona, Miami, Stanford, USC and OSU a little bit. Ga. Tech has offered him a scholarship and is his favorite.

The Buckeyes hope to land their 17th commitment this week but as of now LB Stan White Jr., 6-3, 225, from Baltimore Gilman in MD has not announced the decision to OSU. White says OSU is his big leader over Stanford and he could announce a decision any time now. White seems very likely to commit to OSU.

Another prospect that I think OSU has a great shot at landing is DL Quin Pitcock from Piqua, OH. He is the top DT in Ohio and has OSU as his leader. I think eventually he will end up in this Buckeye recruiting class.

Also don't count out the possibility of OSU landing another OL, Kyle Ralph from Cincinnati St. Xavier. Ralph has officially de-committed from Vanderbilt and he is very interested in OSU. I think the Bucks have as good a shot, perhaps better, than anyone of landing Ralph, who is the second-best OL in the state behind Datish.

DE Baraka Atkins from Sarasota Booker, 6-5, 250, 4.6 40, was in Big Ten country recently making an official visit to Michigan State. Atkins indicated that the visit went well though he did not commit. He is currently looking at Michigan State, Miami, LSU, Florida and OSU. He plans to make an official visit to Florida and then he will visit Miami Nov. 23 although it's not certain if that will be an official or unofficial visit. He plans to visit LSU Nov. 30 and his fifth official visit will likely be to OSU. All five schools have offered him a scholarship. He has said the Miami is his favorite and his father indicates that he believes his son is still favoring the Hurricanes.

TE Mel Bryant from Muncie Central in IN, 6-6, 215, is still planning to schedule an official visit to OSU. He has scheduled a second official visit to Illinois Nov. 30. He says he will visit Indiana Dec. 7. He plans also to visit Michigan State and Auburn. He said all of those schools have offered him a scholarship. He said he likes Illinois a lot and MSU and OSU.

LB John Kerr from Cleveland St. Ignatius, 6-1, 230, 4.7 40, remains interested in OSU. He has helped lead his team to an 8-4 record and into the playoffs. Kerr says he has one official visit he will take for sure and that's to Toledo. He will wait until after the playoffs for the rest of his visits. He is looking at Toledo, OSU, Colorado State, Louisville, Northwestern and Pitt. OSU had been his favorite but Kerr now says he just wants to play big-time college football. He said his coach has said he has offers but he said he wasn't sure exactly which ones have offered.

November 9, 2001

There is potentially very good news for the Buckeyes and their offensive line situation on the recruiting front. Kyle Ralph, 6-5, 280, from Cincinnati St. Xavier High School is on the verge of de-committing to Vanderbilt and he is very much once again interested in Ohio State. He is the second-best offensive lineman in the state of Ohio and one of the finest in the Midwest. He is a player the Buckeyes offered a scholarship to early. He ultimately picked Vanderbilt over OSU, however news has come out the Vandy coach Woody Weidenhoffer has resigned, and Ralph is on the verge of reopening the entire recruiting process. Ralph said he has heard the rumors going around and is expecting the resignation. He went on to say that he has talked things over with his parents and will probably de-commit from Vanderbilt within the next few days. He listed Ohio State, Florida, South Carolina, Notre Dame, North Carolina, Illinois, Ole Miss and Boston College as schools he is looking at. All but Florida, Ole Miss and North Carolina have offered a scholarship. Ralph said that OSU offensive line coach Jim Bollman called him and explained that the Buckeyes had not contacted him because they were honoring his commitment to Vandy. Ralph says he definitely is once again interested in OSU.

The Buckeyes don't have any official visits lined up this weekend, but it will be a big weekend of unofficial visits. Many of the OSU verbal commitments will be in attendance at the game, and many of the top juniors in the state of Ohio will also attend. Also in attendance will be TE George Cooper, 6-5, 250, from Westerville North High School. Cooper says that he plans to attend on an unofficial visit. He says that he has not set up his official visits yet, but for the most part knows where they will be. He will likely visit Georgia Tech, Pitt, Tennessee, Arizona State, and probably Ohio State. All but Arizona State have offered him a scholarship. Cooper did say that Georgia Tech is probably his leader right now because they have his major, Media Production, and it's warm.

DL Quin Pitcock from Piqua,Ohio has Ohio State scheduled for an official visit the weekend of November 30th, however that might have to be changed. Pitcock has led his team to a 10-1 record and another playoff game this weekend. If they continue to win, then they could be playing on the weekend scheduled for his official visit. If that happens, he will move OSU back one weekend to December 7th, then move Notre Dame one weekend to the weekend of December 14th. He tentatively also has Penn State scheduled for January 11th, Duke January 18th and Florida January 25th. All five schools have offered him a scholarship. He says that OSU is his "medium sized" leader with Penn State number two and maybe Notre Dame number three.

The Buckeyes would certainly love to land WR Rayma McKnight 6-3, 180, from La Palma Kennedy High School in California. He is one of the country's top WR prospects. He is playing WR, QB and FS and has scored 17 times in eight games this season. He has a 35" vertical jump and told me that he is looking at UCLA, Florida, Georgia Tech, Tennessee, Notre Dame, Washington, Ohio State, Oregon as well as Oklahoma. He says OSU assistant Tim Spencer is calling him every week, and that Coach Spencer has visited him at his high school. He has not set up any official visits yet, but that he will probably visit Florida and Georgia Tech, but that did not necessarily mean that those were his two favorites.

The Buckeyes continue to recruit DE Roman Fry, 6-4, 245, from Ironton. Fry has scheduled official visits to Indiana, Wake Forest and Clemson. He is also talking to West Virginia about a visit. He has been offered by all four of those schools, but the Buckeyes have not yet offered, but Coach Snyder is still calling him for the Buckeyes.

RB DeShawn Wynn, 6-0, 215, from Cincinnati Redding will not be attending any games this weekend since his team is still in the playoffs. He has rushed for over 2,300 yards and scored 31 times thus far this season. He is averaging over 10 yards per carry. He has official visits set up with West Virginia December 7th and Florida January 11th. He is also considering Indiana, Ohio State, Alabama and Michigan. All of those schools have offered him a scholarship. He says it is down to those six schools and that he does not have a leader right now, though he says he likes Indiana a lot, and he likes Ohio State and West Virginia a lot as well.

LB Bobby Carpenter from Lancaster has scheduled his first official visit. He will visit North Carolina the weekend of November 30th. He said he will also visit schedule a visit with Ohio State and probably one with Michigan State. Carpenter says he will visit Northwestern this coming weekend, but that will be an unofficial visit. He will also make an unofficial visit to OSU to see the Illinois game and might schedule an official visit to Notre Dame. He adds that Stanford may be a candidate for a fifth visit. He says that OSU and Northwestern are probably still his two front runners. All the schools on his list except for Stanford have offered a scholarship. He made 109 tackles including seven sacks this season.

OL Davin Joseph, 6-3, 260, from Florida made an official visit to Michigan State this past weekend. He told me that he had a great time at MSU and that it was all that he was expecting and even a little more. He also added that he likes the opportunity that would be available there, though he mentioned that he didn't like the dorms very much, but added that those were things that could be dealt with. He did not commit to MSU. He now says he will wait until after December 7th to take any more official visits. He said he is pretty sure he will make official visits to Ohio State and Oklahoma. He says MSU is his leader right now because he knows about them since he's been there, but his top three remain MSU, OSU and Oklahoma.

WR Devon Aramashuta 6-2, 185 from Miami Spring Florida also made an official visit to MSU over the last weekend. He also liked it quite a bit but also did not commit to the Spartans. He is next going to visit Auburn November 16th and Northwestern November 30th. He says he is not sure about his scheduled December 7th visit to Ohio State because he has not heard from OSU in about two weeks. He also mentions North Carolina but he has no leader at the moment.

WR Shawn Tucker 6-1, 172 from Parkland Florida is being recruited by the Buckeyes. He has caught 28 passes and scored eight times this season. He has set up official visits to Rutgers December 7, Auburn January 4, Ohio State January 11 and North Carolina State January 18. All of those schools have offered him a scholarship. He may visit Wake Forest for his fifth official visit or Florida State. He is being recruited by Bill Conley and has family in Cleveland. He says OSU and North Carolina State would be his two favorites.

LB Stan White Jr., 6-3, 225, told me that he has not made a commitment yet and has not decided between OSU and Stanford and will not do so until after his last game this weekend. He said he would decide "pretty quick" after his last game this coming weekend, but that OSU continues to be his leader.

LB Mike D'Andrea from Avon Lake still has scheduled only two official visits, Ohio State November 30 and Michigan December 7 are still the only two official visits he has scheduled, according to his father. However, his team certainly could make it to the state finals, and if that happens, he would have to reschedule his OSU visit, most likely to December 14. He did tell his father to go ahead and schedule a couple more visits. He wants to schedule visits to Nebraska and Notre Dame. His father said, however, "Who knows? In December he might just change his mind and pick either OSU or Michigan as those two schools continue to be the schools that he is focusing on the most. He is still planning on an unofficial visit to the OSU vs. Michigan game, but if his team is in the playoffs that weekend, that may bet canceled.

OSU has entertained just three official visits this season, those being by WR Richard Washington, OL Derek Morris and DL Kwaekou Robinson. The Buckeyes remain very much in the running for all three. In fact, OSU would be at or near the top of the list definitely of Richard Washington and Kwaekou Robinson. The next big official visit time will be the weekend of November 30 when OSU will host an outstanding group of recruits.

October 19, 2001

The Buckeyes have another home game this weekend playing San Diego State and that means it's recruiting time as well as as game time for OSU as one of the country's top linebacker prospects, Stan White Jr., 6-3, 230, is making an unofficial visit to Ohio State on Saturday. White has narrowed things down to OSU and Stanford and has been saying that the Buckeyes are his leader and that he will likely make a decision in the not-too distant future. Certainly the Buckeyes are hoping that means a commitment from White very soon. White and his father will attend the OSU game on Saturday, then go to Cleveland to see the Browns play the Ravens on Sunday. It is not totally out of the question that White could commit to the Buckeyes this weekend.

Another player the Buckeyes would absolutely love to land is OL Tony Ugoh 6-6, 275, 5.0 from Houston Westfield High School in Texas. He is one of the country's top offensive tackle propspects. Hugo has led his team to a 5-1 record. He told me that he is still looking at everybody that has offered him a scholarship and that would include Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Florida, Baylor, Rice, UCLA, USC, Arkansas, and Alabama. He has approximately 40 scholarship offers on the table. He has not yet begun to set up his official visits and says he will probably wait until after the season to do so. He did say from the Midwest Ohio State and Notre Dame call him every week and he says there is a definite chance that he will make an official visit to one of those two schools.

On the other hand, OL Shadu Moore from Patterson Catholic High School in New Jersey does not look like he will be making an official visit to Ohio State. He tells me that he hasn't recently heard from the Buckeyes. Moore says that he hasn't started scheduling his official visits yet but plans to do so soon. The schools he mentioned are Boston College, Syracuse, Notre Dame, Miami, Rutgers, Wisconsin, Maryland Georgia Tech and Pitt. All but ND and Wisconsin have offered a scholarship.

A couple of more out-of-state prospects are now planning on making official visits to Ohio State. TE Mel Bryant 6-6, 215, from Muncie Central High School in Indiana told me that he will be making an official visit to Ohio State. Bryant has helped lead his team to a 5-4 record. He has caught close to 40 passes and also has registered 13 sacks on defense as a DE. Bryant will visit Illinois November 30 and told me that he will visit Ohio State as well. He said he would probably also visit Indiana and he plans to visit Michigan State. The fifth visit would be between Miami, Auburn and Tennessee. Bryant said that all of the schools on his list except for Miami and Tennessee have offered him a scholarship. He says he doesn't have a favorite, that he really likes all of them. He said that Ohio State is recruiting him as a tight end.

DB Jo Jo Walker, 5-10, 165, 4.4, from Carolton Creekview High School in Texas plans to make an official visit to Ohio State. Walker, who is playing free safety and wide reciever, will be a corner back in college. Walker has intercepted two passes and made 39 tackles as his team is 5-1. Walker told me that he is looking at Ohio State, Wisconsin, Maryland, Iowa, Kansas, Purdue and Toledo. He said all of those schools have offered him a scholarship and his two favorites are Ohio State and Wisconsin. He said he plans to schedule visits to both though he doesn't have any exact date for any trip lined up just yet.

LB Scott White 6-3, 230, from California is interested in making an official visit to Ohio State, though it is not certain as yet. He is from the same high schools as Buckeye freshman JaJa Riley. White told me that he is going to make two more trips, he has already made two official visits. He has been to Oklahoma and Washington, and says he is going to visit Oregon and Colorado though he has not worked out exact dates. He said his fifth visit will be to either Ohio State, Notre Dame or LSU. He said that all the schools on his list except for Ohio State have offered a scholarship. White said that Coach Spencer has been calling him. White had a huge game last weekend, making 22 tackles. He is also averaging 104 yards per game as a running back, but will be a linebacker in college.

The Buckeyes are still in the running for WR Devin Aromashodu 6-2, 185, 4.4, from Miami Springs, Florida. He told me that he has rearranged his official visit schedule some. He will visit Michigan State November 2, Auburn November 16, Northwestern November 30 and then Ohio State December 7. All four schools have offered a scholarship. He said he might visit Notre Dame, though he is not sure. He also says he is looking at Miami, North Carolina State, North Carolina and Florida. All the schools on his list have offered a scholarship. He says he doesn't have a leader right now but probably Miami and Auburn would be at the top together because he has already seen them.

TE Zach Zwilling 6-6, 250, 4.8 from Missouri has been offered a scholarship by the Buckeyes. He says that he has been to a Missouri game and will go to the Wisconsin at Illinois game this weekend as he is looking at both of those schools. Zwilling says he is currently looking at Missouri, Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan State, Arizona State, Ohio State, Iowa, Kansas, Oklahoma State and Vanderbilt. He says that every one of those schools has offered him a scholarship. He said the Buckeyes continue to call every week and that he will definitely visit Illinois and Missouri, but as far as the rest go, he really doesn't know which he will visit. The Buckeyes are hoping that one of those visits is to Ohio State.

DE Baraka Atkins 6-5, 250, from Sarasota Booker High School tells me that he will probably make an official visit to Ohio State. Atkins has nine sacks in the first six games, including four his last game. He is playing both DE and DT. He has not yet set up any of his official visits but says he will probably visit Ohio State, Miami and Florida. He says he is looking at those three as well as Virginia Tech, Virginia, Georgia Tech, LSU, and Michigan State. All of those schools except Florida have offered a scholarship. Atkins says he has watched the last two Buckeye games on TV, those being the Wisconsin and Northwestern games. He said that it was a tough loss for Ohio State against Wisconsin but he likes the way the defensive line played.

DT Chris Turner 6-3, 265, from Jacksonville (Florida) White High School says that he is still looking at OSU, but just a slightly. He said he is looking at Oklahoma, SMU, Florida State, UCLA, USC, Arizona State, Nebraska, Georgia, Michigan, Michigan State, and that Ohio State and Purdue are still in it a little bit.

Lineman Kwaekou Robinson 6-4 1/2, 315, 5.2, from Brooklyn, New York made an official visit to Ohio State last weekend. Robinson said that his visit went extremely well and left his visit with Ohio State as his top choice. Robinson said that he enjoyed the game, the players, the coaches and was extremely impressed by the Ohio State business school. He was hosted on his visit by Will Smith. Robinson said the Ohio State loss did not affect his thinking on the Buckeyes. He said that Ohio State played hard, they didn't quit, and he had a good time. Robinson has said for some time that he plans to take official visits and that has not changed. Schools that he is considering for visits are Maryland, Notre Dame, Michigan State, Virginia and Penn State. He said he is pretty sure he will schedule an official visit to Penn State, though he has not worked out any exact dates for any other visits at this time.

OL Jim Martin 6-8, 295 from Indianapolis, Indiana made an unofficial visit to the Ohio State vs. Wisconsin game last Saturday. Martin said that he had never been to Ohio State before. He said that he liked what he saw despite the fact that Ohio State did not win. He said the loss by OSU did not change his thinking about the Buckeyes at all. He still plans to make an official visit to Ohio State, he's just not certain when. He said he got to talk to coaches Daniels and Bollman and was introduced to Coach Tressel. He says he still plans to visit Boston College for one official visit and will also schedule official visits to Ohio State, Tennessee, and Northwestern. All four schools offered a scholarship. He says he does not have a favorite.

OL Dustin Blaylock 6-4, 330, from Plano, Texas says he remains interested in Ohio State. He is one of the top guard prospects in the country. He says that right now he is looking at Texas, Florida, Oklahoma, Florida and Michigan as well as Nebraska, Ohio State and Northwestern. All of those schools have offered a scholarship. He says he has not scheduled any official visits yet but he would likely schedule official visits to Texas, Oklahoma, Florida and Michigan and one of the other three. Blaylock says that the Buckeyes call him every week, primarily Coach Bollman.

October 11, 2001

It looks like DL Chris Salamona from Torrance El Camino Community College in California will not be making an official visit to Ohio State this weekend. Salamona, 6-5, 285, had planned to make an official visit to OSU this weekend since his team had a bye this weekend. However, he said that he had not heard back from Ohio State this week. He said "So I don't think I'll be visiting Ohio State this weekend." He said that he is still interested in the Bucks as well as Washington, Oregon, maybe BYU and Kansas State. All those schools except for Ohio State have offered a scholarship. Salamona committed to Washington and is still planning to go there though he wants to take some official visits. But it doesn't look like one of those visits will be to Ohio State this weekend.

Speaking of official visits, LB Buster Davis from Daytona Beach Mainland High School has scheduled an official visit to Ohio State. Davis told me that he has scheduled two official visits, one to Nebraska the weekend of Nov. 10 and one to Ohio State the weekend of Dec. 14. Davis said that he also is looking at Florida State, Notre Dame, USC and Tennessee. All the schools have offered a scholarship. Davis had previously said that he might be close to committing to OSU though he now says that OSU and Nebraska are dead even, tied for the lead with FSU right behind. Davis said that he did watch the OSU-Northwestern game. He said he was very impressed with Ohio State's defense. He said that OSU's defensive coordinator did a good job of scheming and he said he liked how the LBs run to the ball. Davis is one of the country's top LB prospects. He is 5-11, 228 with 4.48 40 speed.

OL Kyle Ralph from Cincinnati St. Xavier High School committed to Vanderbilt this summer, choosing Vandy over OSU. Ralph had said earlier that if there was a coaching change at Vandy, which has been the rumor, he might consider some other schools. Ralph says that Vandy is off to a 1-3 start though he feels they are playing good football and could be 3-1. He said there is always a chance there could be a coaching change but right now he is still a solid commitment to Vandy. He said that South Carolina, Tennessee, Northwestern, Pitt and B.C. are all still in contact and all have offered a scholarship. He said that the Buckeyes have not, to this point, called him back.

LB/TE Stan White Jr. from Baltimore Gilman High School is still planning to make his unofficial visit to OSU the weekend of Oct. 20 when the Bucks take on San Diego State. I spoke again with White and he said that he and his dad are planning to make the trip up to Columbus to see the Bucks take on SDSU. He said it would be an unofficial visit. He said that he isn't going to visit any school the week of Oct. 13 because he has a game on Saturday followed by his homecoming. He also said that he hasn't scheduled any official visits yet. He said that any talk of him scheduling an official visit or telling Stanford that he will make an official visit is not accurate. White said that he is still probably going to decide as he put it, pretty soon. He said the Bucks continue to hold the lead. I think it's quite possible that White could commit to OSU when he and his Dad make the visit on Oct. 20. He did say that OSU is recruiting him more as a LB. Stanford is recruiting him as a TE. He said he doesn't have a preference.

The Buckeyes have offered a scholarship to OL Jeff Edwards from Atlanta Marist High School in California. Edwards, 6-7, 250, told me he watched the OSU-NW game on TV and said he was very impressed with the Buckeyes. He said OSU seemed to be right on track and called OSU pretty impressive. Edwards, who has moved from OT to OG this season, said that he is looking to visit Ohio State the weekend of Dec. 1 but that's not yet firm. He said that he also is looking at Stanford, Vanderbilt, Northwestern, Ga. Tech, Maryland, Clemson and Duke. All but Stanford and Duke have offered a scholarship. When I asked Edwards about his favorite, he said that OSU, MD, Stanford and NW would be his favorites.

Both WR Richard Washington and OL Derek Morris had excellent official visits to Ohio State last weekend and lots to say after they returned home on Monday. Washington, the standout WR from Ft. Myers, FL, told me that the visit to OSU went great. He said that it was amazing there. He said he liked it a lot, the game was exciting, and the field and the stadium were what he liked the most. He was hosted by WR Chris Vance. He said the cool weather really didn't bother him because if he plays in the NFL, he could end up playing in Green Bay. He said you have to play in cold weather sooner or later. He also said that Ohio State emphasizing the running game didn't bother him. He said that the coaches explained that the running game was working so that's what they did. He said he liked the coaches at OSU and he got to speak with Massillon QB Justin Zwick. He said he just had a great time at Ohio State. Washington did not commit to the Bucks but he did say that OSU is his leader. He has N.C. State scheduled for a visit Oct. 13 and he has Ga. Tech scheduled for Nov. 24. He's also looking at FSU and Florida as well as Clemson and Alabama. All have offered. He is 6-1, 179 with 4.4 40 speed.

OL Derek Morris from Huntersville North Mecklinburg High School in North Carolina is one of the country's top OLs and he too had a great visit with the Buckeyes Saturday. Morris was hosted by Lydell Ross. Morris' father told me that they were extremely impressed. Morris Sr. said that we loved it there and he even mentioned that if Derek Jr. picks OSU the family would think about relocating to Columbus. He said that OSU is definitely a top choice. He said the academics are excellent as is the football and Derek would fit into a starting position quickly. Sr. said that the stadium is beautiful and he said that they really like the coaching staff. He said Coach Tressel should be mayor of Columbus. He is a good coach and a good Christian man. Morris will visit Ga. Nov. 9. He will visit Tennessee and Florida in the coming weeks.

OSU hosted P/K Dan Pelfry from Orange, TX. Pelfry, 5-11, 175, from Little Cypress Maruiceville High School, has a long FG this season of 39 yds. He has missed just one PAT in two years. Pelfry, who has a 3.3 GPA, has an uncle who lives in Columbus. He visited his uncle and made the unofficial visit to the OSU-NW game. Pelfry was at the OSU football camp this summer and won a punting contest. Pelfry, who is a second cousin of kicking specialist Ray Pelfry and has another cousin, Doug Pelfry, who was an NFL kicker, is looking at OSU, Texas A&M and BYU. None have offered a scholarship.

OL Jim Martin from Indiana is planning to be at the OSU-Wisconsin game but that is for an unofficial visit. He has only one official visit set up and that's to B.C. Nov. 9.

Derek Morris' teammate, Anthony L.A. Adams did not make an official visit to the NW game. Adams was going to visit but he told me that Coach Jim Bollman called and indicated that, as Adams put it, OSU has lost a little interest because of Adams injury, a broken ankle. He said OSU is still recruiting him and that he is still looking at OSU. He is looking at Ga. and Tennessee.

LB Mike D'Andrea from Avon Lake, OH, one of the country's top LB prospects has scheduled two official visits. He is going to visit the OSU-Wisconsin game on an unofficial visit. According to his father, Mike will not make it to a Nebraska game but might make it to a Notre Dame game. He will also visit the OSU-UM game in Ann Arbor. D'Andrea has decided to visit Ohio State officially either Nov. 29-30 or Nov. 30-Dec. 1. He also has schedule Michigan for Dec. 7. Those are his only two official visits scheduled thus far. Most likely he will visit Nebraska and ND later in Dec. His father said Mike likes UM assistant coach Stan Parrish a lot and he said the OSU's coach Mel Tucker is doing a great job for the Buckeyes. I think OSU has made some big strides with Mike his father said.

October 1, 2001

The Buckeyes of course have a huge game this weekend against Northwestern, and it's going to be a big recruiting weekend as well. Not only will the Buckeyes be hosting some outstanding prospects on unofficial visits but Richard Washington 6-1, 170, Fort Myers, Florida, for instance, confirmed to me yesterday that he is all set to make his official visit as scheduled this coming weekend. Washington says that he will be leaving on Saturday morning for his official visit to Ohio State. He said that he is looking forward to the visit, and that he also has tentatively scheduled two other official visits, October 13th to North Carolina State when they play Clemson and then November 24th to Georgia Tech when they play Georgia. Washington said that things are about 50-50 now between Ohio State and Georgia Tech. He is also looking at Florida State, Florida, Missouri, North Carolina, Alabama, and he mentioned Texas A&M and UCLA as well. He said that he has also talked to Purdue as well as Minnesota. All the schools on his list except Texas A&M and UCLA have offered him a scholarship.

OL Derrick Morris from North Carolina will also visit Ohio State this weekend. He said that he thinks that he'll be leaving on Friday night after his game and he said that his teammate, RB Anthony L.A. Adams, 5-11, 210, also would be visiting OSU for an official visit. Adams is looking at Ohio State, Tennessee and Florida, those are his top three choices. The Buckeyes to this point, though, have not offered him a scholarship. Morris did mention that he has a November 6th visit to Georgia Tech scheduled, a December 7th visit to Tennessee scheduled, and possibly he will schedule one with Notre Dame also. Morris said that South Carolina, Mississippi State, Florida, Miami, Clemson and North Carolina are other schools under consideration. All the schools on his list have offered him a scholarship. There has been much discussion about Tennessee being his favorite, but he says that he doesn't have a favorite right now, but I still feel that Tennessee is the school to beat for his services. Morris is playing both ways in his senior year and his team is currently 4-0.

Quarterback Justin Zwick from Massilon Washington High School is planning on being at the Ohio State game on Saturday against Northwestern and Richard Washington mentioned that he will be talking with Zwick at the OSU vs. Northwestern game. Zwick will be one of many Ohioans on unofficial visits in attendance at that game.

A couple of other players that were possibilities to make official visits to Ohio State this weekend include WR Devin Aromashodu from Miami Springs, Florida. Aromashodu will not be able to visit the Buckeyes this weekend as he has homecoming. He continues to be interested in Ohio State and plans to reschedule his visit with the Buckeyes. He however continues to have Notre Dame as a slight leader right now and then he has Miami high on his list also as well as Northwestern, North Carolina State and a few others. The Buckeyes have offered him a scholarship. The Buckeyes had also been interested in having DL Chris Solomona from Torrence El Camino Community College make an official visit to OSU this weekend, however, he will now visit the week that the Buckeyes play Wisconsin instead because he has a bye that weekend while he has a game this coming weekend. He is a 6-5, 285 pound defensive lineman who runs a 4.9 40. He has committed to Washington buy says that he is keeping his options open and is planning to make an official visit to OSU. He is originally from San Pedro, California and graduated from San Pedro High School in 2000 but went off to Community College after high school. He is now in his second year there and is playing defensive and having a fine season. He had committed to Washington coming out of High School. He said that a Buckeye coach stopped by when he the Buckeyes were in California to play UCLA to find out if he would be interested in visiting Ohio State and that is when the visit was scheduled. He says that he has always seen Ohio State as a great program, that you turn on the TV and they're on, so he want to check out the Buckeyes. He will also make an official visit to Washington as well as Colorado and Kansas State. He is one of the top defensive linemen in the JUCO ranks.

Speaking of California prospects, Scott White, a linebacker from San Diego Mission Bay, is a 6-3, 230 pound inside linebacker who runs a 4.58 40. White is from the same high school as JaJa Riley. He has a 2.7 GPA and an 1110 on the SAT. He is looking at Ohio State as well as Michigan, Notre Dame, Florida State, LSU, Washington and Oklahoma. White made an official visit to Oklahoma last weekend. He says that Oklahoma, Washington and LSU have offered a scholarship. He has Washington scheduled for an October 6th visit and he will visit Notre Dame either in December or January. White said that if the Buckeyes would offer a scholarship he would probably make an official visit to OSU as well. He said that when Coach Tressel and Coach Spencer were recruiting JaJa Riley last year that he got to meet the Buckeye coaches and has been interested in Ohio State ever since. White said that Coach Spencer has called him and that he had got nothing but positive feedback from JaJa Riley. White also watched the Ohio State vs. UCLA game and he liked the defense that the Buckeyes played. White however has not been offered a scholarship by Ohio State.

Stan White Jr., 6-3, 225, 4.6, from Baltimore told me recently that he is getting closer to a decision and it is sounding better and better for the Buckeyes. White is one of the country's top linebacker prospects and also a very good tight end prospect as well. He is still down to two schools, Ohio State and Stanford. He said that he has been involved with the season, but he is not thinking that he will make a decision on his college pretty soon, probably within the next few weeks. He says that OSU is still in the lead over Stanford and that it is a bigger lead than last time I talked with him. He is going to go for an unofficial visit to the Ohio State vs. San Diego State game the weekend of October 20th, and the next day the Baltimore Ravens play in Cleveland against the Browns so he and his father will attend that game as well. White said that he watched OSU on TV vs. UCLA and that he was impressed with how the Ohio State defense played, in particular how they tackled and how the Ohio State defense gang tackled. It is sounding better and better for OSU to land Stan White Jr.

LB/SS prospect Mike Ross from St. Petersburg Catholic High School in Florida, a 6-0, 185 pounder who runs a 4.5 40 tells me that he has had conversations with Ohio State. Ross is playing mostly outside linebacker this season and has made 41 tackles in just three games. He has been offered a scholarship by some schools as an outside linebacker and others as a strong safety. He says that he doesn't want to burn any bridges and that he is looking at everybody that is showing interest, but that South Carolina, Purdue, Virginia Tech, Boston College and USC have already offered a scholarship and he is looking at those schools. He mentioned that he also is interested in Ohio State. Ross has already made one official visit to Boston College, but says that right now he does not have a leader.

OL Joe Ainslie from Minnesota, a 6-7, 305 pounder, has said for some time that he is interested in Ohio State. He want to go into architecture and Ohio State has that program and his grandparents went to Ohio State. However, he said recently that while he is still interested in the Buckeyes he is not quite as interested as he had been. Ainslie said that he is currently looking at Minnesota, Nebraska, Bowling Green, Illinois, Virginia and Oregon. He said that those schools have all called and that Minnesota has offered a scholarship, and he is "sort of" still looking at Ohio State. He says the Minnesota is his favorite.

Florida linebacker Buster Davis, 5-11, 228, 4.48, is one of the south's top linebacker prospects. He spoke recently with Buckeye assistant coach Joe Daniels. Davis said that the conversation went very well, that the two talked about what is going to happen on the field, what they would want Davis to do on the field if he selected Ohio State. Davis also mentioned that they talked quite a bit about academics and about social life as well. In fact Davis said they talked more about non-football related items than football related items. Davis said that he is still very, very high on Ohio State, that if he goes to Ohio State he will play baseball and football and hopefully win two Big Ten championships. He says he is planning to visit Ohio State on an official visit on December 14th and he has USC scheduled for a late January official visit as well. Davis also mentions that he will probably also schedule visits to Nebraska and Notre Dame and Florida State remains on his list also. All the schools have offered a scholarship but Davis says that Ohio State and Nebraska remain his top two choices. Davis high school coach is from Ohio and coached at Massillon Washington High School. Davis says that he and his coach have decided that they are going to relax on recruiting for now. His coach knows that he really likes Ohio State a lot but he just wants to relax on the possibility of a commitment at this point in time.\

Another top prospect that is interested in Ohio State is RB/WR Wali Lundy from Riverside Holy Cross High School in New Jersey. He is a 6-0, 195 pounder with 4.4 40 speed. He plays both WR and RB. Lundy, who has already qualified academically, has already rushed for 530 yards and 10 touchdowns and has catches. His team is off to a 3-0 start. Lundy could play either WR or RB in college. Lundy says that he cannot say who he is most interested in right now. He says he is being recruited by Clemson, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Michigan State, Miami, Nebraska, Georgia Tech, Georgia, or as he put it, everybody. Lundy said that all those schools have offered him a scholarship. He says he has about 40 offers at this point. Lundy said that the Buckeyes have called and that he is interested in Ohio State. He says a lot of backs come out of their school as well as wide receivers, and that the Buckeyes as well as Notre Dame and Michigan State call him every week but he has not yet begun to schedule any official visits.

RB Deshawn Wynn, 6-0, 215, from Cincinnati is one of the country's top running back prospects told me recently that he is still very much considering Ohio State. Wynn bruised his ribs earlier in the season and missed one game, but he has played in four of his team's five games. Wynn has a little over 700 yards in four games, has scored 13 times and averaged over 11 yards per carry. He told me that he hasn't scheduled any exact dates for official visits yet, but he has told both Ohio State and West Virginia he will make official visits to both schools. He said that he also is looking at Michigan, Alabama and Penn State. Those five schools head his list, but the says that he also will take a look at a couple of other schools and mentioned Indiana and Florida. All of those schools have offered him a scholarship. Wynn says he really does not have a leader right now. He did go to see Alabama play earlier this season when the Tide played UCLA.

WR Jason Avant from Chicago Carver High School in Illinois is one of the country's top wide receiver prospects. At one point he had OSU among his top four choices. He is still looking at the Buckeyes but he says that his top choices are now, in no particular order, Michigan, Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia and Illinois. Those are his top five. He said he is still looking at OSU and Miami but not quite as much as the other schools. He will make an official visit to Michigan the weekend of November 3rd and will take at least three or four official visits before making a decision.

Bill Kurelic August and September Posts