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Bill Kurelic September 2000 Posts September 27, 2000 OL Dale Williams from Erie Cathedral High School in Pennsylvania is a 6-6, 300 pound offensive tackle who told me last night that he is interested in Ohio State. He has a 4.0 GPA and a 1210 on the SAT. He tells me he is looking at Michigan, Pitt, Syracuse, Ohio State, Harvard, Princeton, Buffalo, and Iowa. Pitt, Syracuse, and Buffalo have already offered him a scholarship. He said that he has nothing definite on his official visits yet, and he also does not have a favorite right now, and that he will probably wait to make his decision until late in the recruiting process, most likely taking a number of official visits before he makes a decision. WR Greg Jennings from Kalamazoo Central High School in Michigan is a 6-1, 190 pounder who is interested in Ohio State. He tells me that he is currently looking at Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Purdue and Wisconsin. He went to the Michigan State vs. Notre Dame game this past weekend and will likely go to the Wisconsin at Michigan game this weekend. Jennings says that he hopes to play in the Big Ten. Right now he has some scholarship offers from some MAC schools if the Big Ten doesn't work out, but he is most interested in playing in the Big Ten, and one of the schools he likes in the Big Ten is Ohio State. Staying in the state of Michigan, LB James Booker from M.L. King High School, a 6-3, 225 pounder, told me last night that he is currently looking Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Minnesota, Iowa and Indiana. He said he is going to schedule an official visit to Minnesota, and the Gophers are his favorite. He is also planning to make an unofficial visit this weekend to the Wisconsin at Michigan game. Now lets move to a top junior prospect that is interested in Ohio State. Jamario McClain, a WR/DB, is a 6-3, 170 pounder with 4.45 40 speed from Pico Rivero El Rancho High School in California. As a sophomore, he started at wide receiver and this year as a junior is starting at WR and Safety. He has a 2.8 GPA and tells me that some of the schools early on his list are UCLA, USC, Ohio State, Cal, Michigan and Nebraska. Defensive lineman Thomas Derricks from Dallas Jesuit High School in Texas, a player that the Buckeyes have offered a scholarship to, has set up his first official visit. Derricks is planning on making an official visit to Notre Dame the weekend of November 10th. He is a 6-1, 280 pounder and is looking at Notre Dame and Penn State, and quite awhile back he had told me that he would schedule official visits to both of those schools. He also is interested in a number of other schools, including Ohio State. He says that Notre Dame, Penn State, Ohio State, Nebraska, Texas A&M, Texas Christian and Missouri are some of the schools that he is interested in, and all of them have offered him a scholarship. Even though he has set up a visit to Notre Dame and plans to set one up to Penn State, he says that does not mean that those are his favorites, and that he does not have a leader at this time. RB Tremain Hall from Deerfield Beach, Florida, a 5-10, 190 pounder, who played his sophomore season at Huber Heights Wayne High School, has also set up an official visit to Notre Dame. Hall will visit the Irish the weekend of December 1st. Hall says he also will likely make official visits to Florida State, Virginia Tech and North Carolina State. That leaves Ohio State working to get the fifth official visit if he does set up those other visits. Hall is looking somewhat at the Buckeyes, as well as Michigan and Nebraska, and all the schools on his list have offered him a scholarship. In Ohio, LB Trent Cole from Xenia, a 6-3, 220 pounder, was at the Ohio State vs. Penn State game this past weekend. Cole told me he had a good time, saying it was "wild" at the game. He said Ohio State's facilities are nice and the fans are great. He also said that playing at Ohio State is like playing in the Big Leagues. He says he is currently looking mostly at three schools; Ohio State, Michigan State and Miami of Ohio. Cole said Miami of Ohio has offered him a scholarship, but he has not yet begun to set up any of his official visits. Cole did say that he will likely make it back for yet another Ohio State home game later this season. TE Chad Bandiera from Lyndhurst Brush High School in Ohio, a 6-4, 245 pounder, was at Ohio State's game against Penn State on Saturday. He played tight end as a junior, but is playing offensive tackle and linebacker this season. However, he will likely be a tight end or perhaps defensive end in college. Bandiera told me that he thought it was really fun, as he put it, at Ohio State on Saturday. He said the everything was nice and the game was good, and that he is looking at Ohio State, Purdue, and Northwestern, as well as some MAC schools. He says he hopes to play in the Big Ten, but if that doesn't work out, he would most likely be headed to a MAC school. In New Jersey, Justin LaForgia is a 6-5, 210 pounder with 4.5 40 speed and has an interest in Ohio State. He played quarterback and safety as a junior, but is playing WR and OLB this season will likely be an OLB or strong safety in college. He has a 3.2 GPA and a 1010 on the SAT and tells me he is looking at Syracuse, Penn State, Ohio State, Wisconsin, Tennessee, Cincinnati, Virginia and Georgia Tech. Syracuse and Cincinnati have offered him a scholarship, and Temple and Rutgers have offered him as well but he said he is not really looking at those two schools. He said that right now, Virginia would be his leader. The Buckeyes have been in contact with TE/OL Josh Tomsheck from Strongsville, Ohio, even though Tomsheck committed to Purdue this summer. He is a 6-7, 260 pounder with 4.9 40 speed who told me recently that Ohio State and West Virginia had both contacted him, and that both schools said that they are still interested in him if he wants to change his mind. However, he said he is not contemplating changing his mind, and he definitely plans to sign with Purdue on national signing day." OL Robert Bergman from Bakersfield, California, a 6-5, 280 pounder, told me that he watched the Notre Dame at Michigan State game on TV as he is looking at both schools. Michigan State has already offered him a scholarship. He said that he is currently looking at Michigan State, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Nebraska, Washington, USC, Arizona State, Miami, Oregon and Wisconsin. He has not yet begun to schedule any of his official visits, saying he wants to see how the season unravels before he does that. Bergman that Michigan State, as well as Miami, Oregon and Washington have offered him a scholarship thus far. Speaking of prospects from California, DeAndre Belin, a running back from California, is a 6-1, 225 pounder who is interested in the Buckeyes. He has rushed for 720 yards in three games this season and told me that he is currently looking at Ohio State, Tennessee, Texas A&M, USC, Washington State and Washington. He said that Texas A&M, USC, Washington and Washington State have offered him a scholarship, and that right now USC would be his favorite. Defensive back Danny Upchurch from Columbus Brookhaven, a 5-9, 170 pounder, attended the Ohio State victory over Penn State on Saturday, along with several of his teammates, including RB Maurice Hall and WR Rodney Carter. Carter as you know has committed to the Buckeyes but must work on his academics. Also junior James Cooper, a fullback at Brookhaven, also was at the OSU vs. Penn State game. Upchurch said he had a good time at the OSU vs. Penn State game, and attended the Penn State vs. Pitt game the previous Saturday. Upchurch said that Ohio State, Pitt, Toledo and Kent are the schools he is most interested in at this point, though none of them to this point has offered him a scholarship. Standout linebacker Matt Sinclair from St. Louis University High School in Missouri has scheduled an official visit with the Buckeyes. The 6-3, 235 pounder, who is one of the country's top linebacker prospects, will make an official visit to Ohio State the weekend of November 17th. That is the weekend of the OSU vs. Michigan game. Sinclair continues to have Ohio State as one of his top choices. He has Ohio State, Illinois and UCLA as his top choices, and all three schools have offered him a scholarship. He is also looking at Colorado and Missouri, who have both offered a scholarship, and then Notre Dame and Tennessee are on his list as well. Another standout prospect that is planning to make an official visit to Ohio State is Jaja Riley from San Diego Mission Bay High School in California. Riley though, unlike Sinclair, has not yet scheduled an exact date. He is a 6-3, 195 pounder with 4.5 40 speed. He could play running back, wide receiver or safety in college. Riley, who has a 2.8 GPA and a 960 on the SAT has rushed for over 300 yards in two games this season, and also has been playing outside linebacker. Riley tells me that the has not decided exactly who will visit. He says that he is looking at Ohio State, Arizona State, Arizona, Washington, USC, Nebraska, Colorado and Oregon. Just about all of those schools have offered a scholarship. The only one that he didn't think had offered thus far was Nebraska. Riley said that Ohio State definitely has offered him scholarship. He said that while he is focusing on his season and has not yet begun to schedule any official visits, but he did say that Ohio State will be one of his official visits, it is just a matter of scheduling an exact date. Riley said that Washington and USC will probably be two of his other visits, and right now he does not have a favorite. A big offensive lineman from the state of Florida who is one of the better line prospects in the Sunshine State has now added Ohio State to his list. Mike Degory from Melbourne Palm Bay High School is a 6-6, 310 pounder with 5.25 40 speed. He now tells me that he is interested in the Buckeyes. He says that he has about six or seven schools that he is focusing on, and those include Florida, Georgia Tech, North Carolina State, Michigan State, Virginia Tech, Ohio State and Alabama. He said, interestingly enough, that all but Ohio State have offered a scholarship. He said, though, that he has not yet begun to schedule any of his official visits and he has said that the Buckeyes will likely offer a scholarship, it is just a matter of time. On the other hand, a player from the state of Michigan who at one time had Ohio State on his list now says that he is not looking much at the Buckeyes anymore. RB/WR Ashton Aikens from Detroit Country Day High School says he in now really looking at Michigan, Michigan State, Wisconsin, UCLA and Notre Dame. Ohio State had been on his list, but he said he is no longer taking a close look at the Buckeyes anymore. Ohio State has not offered him a scholarship. In addition to the recruits we've also mentioned in this report, there were a number of other recruits in attendance at the Ohio State vs. Penn State game. The rain that day perhaps held the turnout down a little bit, but nonetheless, there was a fine turnout of recruits for the game to see the big Ohio State win. DB/RB/Athlete Jeff Backes from Upper Arlington High School was in attendance. Backes rushed for over 350 yards last weekend and is still considering Ohio State as well as Duke, Notre Dame, Stanford, Virginia and Michigan slightly. Ohio State, Duke and Virginia have all offered a scholarship, and Stanford has said that they will offer soon. FB Kyle Koester (6-1,, 235, 4.7) from Cincinnati Elder was in attendance. He has been offered a scholarship by Michigan State, but he also is looking at Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State, Boston College and some MAC schools. LB Brandon Schnittker (6-3, 240, 4.7) from Sandusky Perkins was at Ohio State's game with Penn State, as was kicker Mike Nugent from Centerville, Ohio. Nugent, a 5-10, 165 pounder is, in my opinion, the top kicking prospect in the State of Ohio this year. He has a very strong leg. Two players who did not make it to the game were Pierre Woods, who had a family problem, and NaShan Gottard, who attended the Indiana vs. Cincinnati game instead. OSU commitment Simon Fraser accompanied Jeff Backes to the game. Also in attendance were committed players Brandon McKinney, Adam Olds, and Andre Tyree. Some outstanding juniors were also at the game, including LB Brian Andrews from Lima Senior High School, a 6-6, 215 pounder who Ohio State has offered a scholarship to, as was his teammate, LB Jim Davenport, a 6-3, 215 pounder at Lima Senior. Davenport is also an outstanding prospect who will be one of the top seniors in the state of Ohio next season. OL Eric Fritz from Dublin, who is the son of former Buckeye Kenny Fritz was in attendance, as was a fine running back from Garfield, Regis Edgerson. September 22, 2000 In Illinois, WR Kevin Noel (6-3, 190) is another player the Buckeyes have offered a scholarship to. He caught 30 passes last season, and has already caught 16 passes in just four games this season. Noel has set up two of his official visits. He will visit Purdue the weekend of October 7th when Purdue plays Michigan, and also has Michigan State scheduled for a December 1st visit. He tells me that he is thinking about setting up official visits to Kentucky and Miami, which would leave just one visit left if he does that. Noel said the other schools he is considering are Ohio State, Georgia Tech, Notre Dame and Iowa. All the schools on his list have offered him a scholarship. DB Grant Mason from Michigan, yet another player the Buckeyes had offered a scholarship to, tells me that he is no longer looking at Ohio State. LB Rocadren Lee from Miami Southridge High School in Florida is a 6-2, 210 pounder that is interested in Ohio State. He plays outside linebacker and runs a 4.7 40, has a 2.5 GPA and will take the SAT next month. He says he is looking at Ohio State, Iowa State, South Carolina, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisville. He said that all of those schools have called him either during the spring or this month. The Buckeyes have a big game this weekend with Penn State. One prospect that had previously said he would come to Columbus to see that game is QB Rahshan Johnson from Middleburg Heights, Ohio, but now says he will not be able to make it to that game this weekend. Johnson said that he is definitely still interested in the Buckeyes, and he said that he might be making it to Ohio State's next home game after the Penn State game. He said that he is currently looking at Ohio State, Michigan State, Georgia Tech, Notre Dame and Penn State. All five of those schools have offered him a scholarship. DE Pierre Woods (6-6, 220) from Cleveland, Ohio has told me that he hopes to make it down to Ohio State this weekend to see the big game between OSU and Penn State. Woods is a very talented prospect and he has Ohio State on his list, as well as Tennessee, Pitt, Georgia Tech, LSU, Miami, Notre Dame, Michigan, Michigan State, Purdue, Indiana, and Iowa. DL Neshaun Gottard (6-5, 240) says that he will either visit Ohio State this weekend to see the OSU vs. Penn State game, or go to the Cincinnati at Indiana game. Gottard is currently looking at Ohio State, Indiana, Georgia Tech, Michigan, Wake Forrest, Boston College and Michigan State. Gottard has been offered a scholarship by Georgia Tech, Wake Forrest and Boston College, but he says his two favorites are Ohio State and Georgia Tech. LB Brandon Schnittker from Sandusky Perkins High school also plans to attend the OSU vs. Penn State game this weekend. He has already seen Michigan play this weekend, and has already seen Michigan State as well as Notre Dame play as well. He also plans to go to the Wisconsin at Michigan game, and perhaps the Michigan State vs. Michigan game as well. He says he is currently interested in Michigan, as well as Michigan State, Notre Dame, Ohio State and Stanford, and that right now, Michigan is his top choice though the Wolverines have not offered him a scholarship. RB Kelly Baraka from Flint, Michigan is another player that the Buckeyes have offered a scholarship to has not completely ruled out Ohio State, though the Buckeyes have plenty of catching up to do. Baraka says he might make an unofficial visit to OSU to one of the Buckeyes' home games, and certainly the Buckeyes coaching staff would love to get him on campus this coming weekend for the OSU vs. Penn State game. Baraka has scheduled one official visit, that being to Purdue the weekend of October 7th, and he says that as of right now, his four other likely official visits will be Notre Dame, Michigan, Michigan State and Nebraska. However, Baraka also adds that he might go to games for unofficial visits at Ohio State, Wisconsin and Penn State. Safety Jovani Ward from Florida, who Ohio State had offered a scholarship to, has committed to Miami. A number of OSU's verbal commitments prospects made unofficial visits to Ohio State last weekend for the OSU vs. Miami game. Those included Blue-Chip running back Eric Shelton (6-3, 230) from Kentucky, and DB Shannon Benton (5-10, 190, 4.5) from Frostproof, Florida, who the Buckeyes are very interested in. Another prospect at that game was OL Zach Strief from Ohio. The 6-8, 320 pound Strief told me that it was the first time he had ever seen a game in Ohio Stadium. He has a number of scholarship offers though the Buckeyes have not offered to this point. He said that Northwestern, Minnesota, Maryland, Vanderbilt and Georgia Tech have all offered him a scholarship. He said he is looking at all of those schools, plus Ohio State and Michigan State. He has set up two official visits thus far. He will visit Northwestern December 1st, and Maryland December 8th. He says that right now, Northwestern would be his top choice. Also on hand at the Miami game was TE Brian Smith (6-5, 230, 5.0) from Bay City, Michigan. He says that he is currently looking at Ohio State, as well as Wisconsin, Arkansas, Michigan State, and he has an offer from Ball State. Buckeye commitments Ryan Cook, Dustin Fox, Angelo Chattams, Brandon McKinney, Simon Frazier, Adam Olds and Andre Tyree all made it to the Miami game as well. Also on hand were defensive backs Jeff Backes from Upper Arlington and Josh Anderson. LB Brian Hulea from Canfield attended the OSU vs. Miami game, as did DL Mike Saylor from Cincinnati, lineman Tony Barker from Lima, QB Joey Conrad from Logan, to name just a few. Also at the game were some fine junior prospects as well, including DL Quinn Pintrock from Piqua and RB Tyler Everett from Canton, McKinley. Also on hand was junior QB Troy Smith from Cleveland, as well as QB Jimmy Skinner from Chillicothe. Also, WR Andre Chattams from Dayton. Lineman Mike Stegeman from Illinois is a 6-5, 255 pounder with 4.8 40 speed who is interested in the Buckeyes. He did not make it to OSU's game vs. Miami last weekend. He was at the Purdue vs. Notre Dame game instead. He is interested in Notre Dame, that's his favorite right now, as well as Purdue, Illinois, Ohio State and Northwestern. Thus far, Purdue and Illinois have offered him a scholarship. He did say that if Notre Dame offered, it would be hard for him to say no. The Buckeyes would love to land TE Marcus Spears (6-5, 265, 4.8) from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and he has Ohio State on his list. He has a 3.0 GPA and an 18 on the ACT. He made 18 catches as a junior for almost 400 yards and six touchdowns. He also made 69 tackles as a defensive end, but he prefers offense. Thus far after two games, Spears has caught four passes for almost 100 yards. He tells me he is looking at Ohio State, Texas, LSU, Texas A&M, UCLA, Georgia Tech, Miami, Florida State, Notre Dame and Michigan. Spears said that OSU offensive line coach George Belu has called him and told him all about OSU, and Spears said that he is definitely interested in Ohio State. WR John Maxwell from Tennessee is a 6-4, 195 pounder who is interested in Ohio State. Maxwell, who runs a 4.55 40, has caught five passes thus far in three games this season. He has a 3.1 GPA and a 19 on the ACT. He tells me he is looking at Ohio State, Georgia Tech, Penn State, Tennessee, and Syracuse. He said that the Buckeyes have called him but have not offered him a scholarship. In Georgia, Keon Newsom is DB/WR from Decatur Columbian High School in Georgia that is interested in Ohio State. He is a 6-0, 170 pounder with 4.5 40 speed. He had three interceptions as a junior, and has a 2.9 GPA and 960 on the SAT. He tells me that he is looking at Ohio State, Illinois, Minnesota, Maryland and Tulane. He said that the Buckeyes' assistant coach Tim Salem called him earlier this month. QB Matt Kubic (6-3, 200) from Youngstown Cardinal Mooney had Ohio State as one of the schools he was interested in, but Kubic has committed to Rutgers. OSU had not offered him a scholarship. Larry McLain is an outstanding prospect from Maryland that Ohio State has offered a scholarship to, and he says the Buckeyes are on his list. He is a 5-11, 175 pounder with 4.4 40 speed. He starts at RB and free safety and rushed for 1380 yards last season, scoring 19 times and averaging 12 yards per carry. On defense, McLain was even better, intercepting 13 passes. He says he doesn't have any preference on a position in college, but I see him as a cover corner. He has a 2.5 GPA and a 23 on the ACT. He tells me that he is interested in Ohio State, Tennessee, Maryland, North Carolina State, Wisconsin, Michigan State, Syracuse and Michigan, and all of those schools have offered him a scholarship. He has told me that he is thinking about making an official visit to Ohio State, perhaps even as soon as within the next month. Speaking of DB prospects, Brett Hamblin (6-0, 190, 4.4) from Fort Thomas Highlands in Kentucky is a player that is interested in Ohio State. He is from the same high school as Buckeye offensive lineman Scott Kuhnhein. He could play either safety or corner in college. He plays both position in high school, as well as wide receiver. He caught 55 passes last season for 1,355 yards and 23 touchdowns, and he also intercepted ten passes. He has a 2.5 GPA and a 910 on the SAT. He tells me that Iowa, Kentucky, LSU, and Louisville have offered him a scholarship, and he is looking at all those schools. He also says he is interested in Ohio State, Michigan, USC and Auburn. RB Maurice Hall made an unofficial visit to the Penn State vs. Pitt game last weekend, and has also set up an official visit with Ohio State, and his top five has changed. Hall previously had a top five of Ohio State, Tennessee, Florida State, Penn State and Miami. However, Tennessee has told him that they are now looking for a bigger back, and Hall said that he hasn't heard from Miami lately, so Tennessee and Miami are out of his top five. Hall now says he has a top five that consists of Ohio State, Penn State, Georgia Tech, Florida State and Notre Dame. Hall has set up official visits to Penn State for December 8th, Ohio State for December 15th, Georgia Tech for January 5th and Florida State for January 12th. His fifth official visit will be to Notre Dame the weekend of December 1st. All of those schools have offered him a scholarship. Hall will make an unofficial visit to Ohio State this Saturday to see the OSU vs. Penn State game. Hall says he has no favorite at this point, but I think his decision will come down to Ohio State and Florida State. Strong safety/outside linebacker Piana Lukabu, from New Jersey, a 6-3, 215 pounder says he will probably make an official visit to Ohio State. He runs a 4.5 40 and has a 2.8 GPA and a 970 on the SAT. He starts at tailback and outside linebacker, but will be either an outside linebacker or strong safety at the college level. He rushed for 730 yards and made 80 tackles as a junior, and tells me that he is looking at Ohio State, Miami, Nebraska, North Carolina State, Rutgers and Cincinnati. North Carolina State, Rutgers and Cincinnati have offered him a scholarship. He said that he has not set up any of his official visits yet, but that he would probably make official visits to Miami, Ohio State, Nebraska and North Carolina State. He said he does not have a favorite right now. September 12, 2000 On the other hand, DE Kevin Vickerson (6-6, 265, 4.9) from Detroit M.L. King High School in Michigan is still very much interested in Ohio State. Even though Vickerson is commited to Michigan State, he told me that he is still going to take his official visits. He made an unofficial visit this past weekend to see the Michigan State vs. Marshall game in East Lansing. He said it was nice and he is still commited to the Spartans, but he is still planning to take an official visit to Minnesota October 6th, and that he is planning to make an official visit to Ohio State as well, though he does not have an exact date scheduled yet. He said he is also looking at Georgia Tech, Miami, and he also added Michigan to his list as well. He said all of the schools except for Michigan have offered him a scholarship. He said that while he is commited to Michigan State, if he would see something that he would like better, he could possibly change his mind. The Buckeyes have offered him a scholarship. The one question mark is academics. He has a 2.6 GPA but will take the ACT again in October. TE Ryan Hamby (6-5, 225) from Cincinnati Moeller High School in Ohio is off to a good start this season, and Hamby is intersted in the Buckeyes. Hamby has helped lead Moeller to a 3-0 record thus far, catching 13 passes and scoring twice in those first three games. Hamby told me that he is keeping all his options open, but schools he mentioned were Purdue, Ohio State, Indiana, Illinios, West Virginia and Miami of Ohio. He said that West Virginia and Miami of Ohio have offered him a scholarship thus far, but if he had to pick a favorite right now, it would be Purdue because of their passing offense. LB Brandon Schnittker from Sandusky Perkins High School is a 6-3, 240 pounder who is planning to visit Ohio State in the near future. He went to the Michigan game two weekends ago when they played Bowling Green, and this past weekend he went to Michigan State to see the Spartans take on Marshall. He says he is planning to go to the Penn State vs. Ohio State game, and he also plans to go back to Michigan for the Michigan vs. Wisconsin game and will go to the Michigan vs. Michigan State game as well. He says that right now, Michigan continues to be his favorite, though he is also looking at Michigan State, Ohio State, Notre Dame and Stanford. None of those schools have thus far offered him a scholarship. The Buckeyes were away last weekend, but some of the recruits that OSU are pursuing attended other games. WR Robert Stickland (6-4, 205) from Detroit is a player that the Buckeyes have offered a scholarship to and visited another school last weekend, attending the Marshall at Michigan State game. Strickland said that it was a good game and he had a good time, but he did not commit to the Spartans. He said that he is still very-much interested in Ohio State. In fact, he said he may be attending one of Ohio State's home games soon, perhaps the Miami game. He says he is hoping to make that game, and he is looking at Ohio State as well as Michigan, Michigan State, Georgia Tech, Purdue, Minnesota and Tennessee, and all of those schools have offered him a scholarship. He says that right now, he really doesn't have a clear-cut favorite. Strickland has said that three schools that he will definitely make official visits to are Ohio State, Michigan and Georgia Tech. RB Kelly Baraka, also from Michigan (Portage Northern), has been offered a scholarship by Ohio State and was at the thrilling Notre Dame vs. Nebraska game this past weekend. The 6-1, 185 pound Baraka said that he had a great time at Notre Dame and he saw some things that he had not seen before on his previous visits, and he came away very impressed. So much so, that Baraka said that Notre Dame has basically moved into a tie with Michigan for the lead for his services. Baraka said that he is still looking at other schools as well, including Nebraska, Purdue, Michigan State and Wisconsin. All of those schools except for Nebraska have offered him a scholarship. Baraka said he is still evaluating Ohio State and Iowa, as he put it, and both the Buckeyes and the Hawkeyes have offered a scholarship as well. One school that he said that he is no longer looking at is Penn State. He will be attending the Notre Dame vs. Michigan State game. OL Robert Bergman from Bakersfield, California is a 6-5, 280 pounder who made the trip cross-country from the state of California to attend the Notre Dame vs. Nebraska game. Bergman, who is looking at Ohio State, said he had a great time at Notre Dame this past weekend, but the Irish have not offered him a scholarship. He is currently looking at Notre Dame, as well as USC, Michigan State, Wisconsin, Ohio State, Miami and Nebraska. Thus far, Michigan State and Miami have offered him a scholarship. While it is not a good year overall for offensive linemen in Ohio, nonetheless, in addition to Adam Olds (who is already commited to OSU) there are at least a couple of other offensive linemen in Ohio that the Buckeyes are still looking at. One of those is Matt Knollman from Lakota, West High School. Like Adam Olds, Knollman is a center. He is a 6-5, 245 pounder with 4.8 40 speed. He has a 3.8 GPA and scored a 31 on the ACT. He also starts on defense, but will be an offensive lineman in college. He tells me that Purdue has now offered him a scholarship, as have Miami of Ohio, Duke, Bowling Green and Akron. He has an interest in all of those schools, but he is also looking at Northwestern, and he said that he would like to go to Ohio State or Michigan. He said that both OSU and U of M have been showing interest, though neither has offered a scholarship to this point. He says that right now, he doesn't have a clear-cut favorite and wants to keep and open mind, and that he is going to go to a Purdue game in the near future, and games at Miami of Ohio and Ohio State as well. RB Gary MaGee from Reynoldsburg, Ohio is a 5-11, 190 pounder with 4.4 40 speed. he is a very talented prospect but does need to make sure he qualifies academically. He tells me that he is currently looking at Bowling Green, as well as Kent State, and then Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State and Florida State are the big schools that he is interested in. McGee said that right now, it would be a toss up between Ohio State and Penn State for his favorite school, though niether has offered a scholarship just yet. In California, Bill Goodman is a fine prospect that is interested in Ohio State. He is a starter at running back as well as on defense, and also is a punt returner. As a junior, he started as a wide receiver, and could play either running back or wide reciever in college. He has a 2.3 GPA and scored an 870 on the SAT. He tells me that he is currently interested in Florida, Florida State and Miami as well as Ohio State and Michigan. He is also looking at all of the PAC 10 schools except Oregon State. Thus far, Washington, USC, and Oregon have offered him a scholarhip, but right now he does not have a favorite. The Buckeyes have offered a scholarshp to fullback Ayo Saba from Gladwood Highland High School in New Jersey. He is 6-0, 255 pound fullback who runs a 4.65 40. He has a 2.7 GPA and a 970 on the SAT. He is a starter at fullback and has been a varsity starter since his sophomore season, and is an outstanding blocker as well as a very tough runner. He is looking at Ohio State, and the Buckeyes are one of his favorites, as well as Kansas State, Florida State, Syracuse, Tennessee, Penn State, Wisconsin and Iowa, and all of those schools have offered him a scholarship. He said that three of his top choices, in no particular order, are Ohio State, Kansas State and Florida State, and that he will make official visits to all three schools. One quarterback that Ohio State has offered a scholarship to is Adrien McPherson in Braidenton Southeast High School in Florida, and McPherson still has OSU on his list. He is a 6-4, 190 pound QB with 4.6 40 speed. He has a 3.1 GPA and a 19 on the ACT. As a junior, he completed 60% of his passes for almost 2500 yards, 33 touchdowns and only eight interceptions. He picked up just where he left off the first game this season, throwing for 340 yards in that first game last weekend, including throwing for three scores with no interceptions. He told me that he is currently looking at Miami, Ohio State, Michigan State, North Carolina, Arkansas, LSU, South Florida and Tennessee a little bit, as he put it. Every one of those schools has offered him a scholarship. He has set up one official visit thus far, that being to Arkansas the week of September 29th when Arkansas plays Georgia. In addition, McPherson says he is planning to make offiicial visits to Michigan State and LSU and probably North Carolina. That would leave Ohio State fighting for the fifth and final official visit. In Ohio, the Buckeyes still have an interest in QB Matt Rycraft from Beloit West Branch High School. He is a 6-2, 180 pounder who has an interest in Ohio State. He has a 2.1 GPA and still needs to pass his test. In his first game this year, he threw for 123 yards and in the second game threw for 327 yards, completing six touchdown passes. He says he is looking at Syracuse, Ohio State, Michigan, Indiana and a few MAC schools like Akron, Kent, Bowling Green and Toledo. The Buckeyes have not to this point offered him a scholarship. WR Sean Coffey from East Cleveland Shaw High School is a 6-5, 215 pound receiver who has an interest in Ohio State. He caught 18 passes as a junior and has already caught nine passes in the first two games this season while scoring two times. His older brother, Kevin, is a starting wide reciever at Virginia, and Sean tells me that right now he is looking at Penn State, Virginia, West Virginia, Central Michigan, LSU, Purdue and Ohio State. Thus far, Penn State, Virginia and Central Michigan have offered him a scholarship. Coffey says that right now, he likes Penn State best, but that he is going to wait before making his decision. He said that he wants to make his official visits, and mentioned the possibility of waiting all the way until national signing day to pick his college. WR Matt Knueven from Cincinnati LaSalle High School is another wide out that the Buckeyes have an interest in. He is a 6-2, 200 pounder who had an outstanding junior season, catching 48 passes. He has qualified academically and caught seven passes and scored twice in his first game this season, and in the second game caught six more though he did not score. He is currently looking at Ohio State, Vanderbilt, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Duke, and Miami of Ohio. He said he is going to go to the Penn State at Pitt game, and will also go to some other games later this season. He said his favorites are Ohio State, Vanderbilt, Duke and Miami of Ohio. The Buckeyes have not offered him a scholarshp. Another offenisve line prospect that the Buckeyes are interested in is Brett Trott from Murphysboro, Tennessee, and Trott says that he plans to visit Ohio State. He is a 6-6, 295 pound offensive lineman with 5.25 40 speed. He has commited to Michigan, but he is going to take other visits and says that Ohio State will be one of those visits. Trott said that he is pretty much sure on his commitment to Michigan, but he said he wants to make absolutely sure, and for that reason wants to visit other schools. He says that he is interested in visiting Ohio State and Tennessee, and he will of course also make an official visit to Michigan. He said that while the Buckeyes are pursuing him, they have not yet offered him a scholarship. Marcus Furman from Pennsylvania is fine two-way prospect that has a number of scholarship offers, and Furman is interested in Ohio State. He is a 5-10, 175 pounder with 4.45 40 speed. He starts at both cornerback and running back, and gained 2,022 yards and scored 30 touchdowns as a junior, and also picked off one pass. While he prefers offense, I see him as a defensive back in college. He has a 3.2 GPA and a 1080 on the SAT and tells me that he is looking at Miami as well as Michigan State, Florida, Ohio State, Bostion College and a few other schools. Boston College, West Virginia, Duke and Akron have offered him a scholarship thus far, but right now he says he does not have a favorite. Also in Pennsylvania, FB/LB Lanfer Simpson from Waynesburg Central High School is a 6-1, 245 pounder who likes Ohio State. He has been a varsity starter since part-way through his freshman year and has over 3000 yards for his career and also has made over 300 tackles for his career. Simpson says that Penn State is definitely his favorite school, but other schools he is interested in are Ohio State, Northwestern, Bostion College, Pitt and the Ivy League schools. Another WR prospect that the Buckeyes have offered a scholarhip to is Jomo Fagan from Fort Lauderdale Saint Thomas Aquinas High School in Florida. The 6-2, 175 pound Fagan will probably be a WR in college, but there is a chance he could play on defense as he is a fine cornerback prospect as well. he a one point had told me that Ohio State was his leader, but now says that he no longer has a leader but is definitely still interested in the Buckeyes. Fagan says that he knows that he will make official visits to Michigan and Tennessee, as well as probably Ohio State. Fagan says that he is going to wait until after the season to narrow things down. He is looking at Miami, Florida, Purdue and a lot of others, as he put it, as well as the three schools he is intending to visit. Fagan says that all of the schools on his list have offered a scholarhip except for Florida. Another prospect that the Buckeyes are interested in landing and have offered a scholarship to is Lorenzo Alexander from Albany St. Mary's High School in California. He is a 6-3, 280 pound DL who is one of the best on the West Coast. He tells me that he is looking at Ohio State, Staford, USC, Miami and Michigan and all of those schools have offered him a scholarship. Alexander has set up one official visit thus far, that being with Miami on the weekend of December 8th, but he said that his two favorites are Stanford and USC.
September 1, 2000 DL Neshaun Gottard won't be able to make it to the game this weekend. Gottard had a very good opening game this weekend. The 6-5, 240 Gottard had ten tackles including a sack this past weekend as his team beat Toledo Scott. Gottard said that he is looking at Ohio State, Georgia Tech, Boston College, Wake Forrest, Michigan and Michigan State. Gottard says that Georgia Tech, Boston College and Wake Forrest have offered him a scholarship thus far. He says that he is probably favoring Georgia Tech right now because they are showing so much interest in him, but he is still interested in the Buckeyes, and don't be surprised if the Buckeyes take a closer look at Gottard after his opening game performance. I spoke last night with quarterback Rahshan Johnson from Cleveland. Johnson is of course the son of former Cleveland Brown LB Eddie Johnson. He had a huge first game, accounting for 300 yards of total offense as he passed for 252 yards and rushed for another 48 yards. He connected for two touchdowns with one interception and on defense made five tackles. Johnson told me that Ohio State, Penn State and Michigan State are still his top three choices, and he also is looking at Georgia Tech and Notre Dame, and LSU would probably be number six on his list. All six schools have offered him a scholarship, but he says he is not particularly close to making a decision, but did also say that he wants to check out an Ohio State game this season. In California, a super prospect from Los Angeles tells me that Ohio State is his number one choice. Terrence Whitehead, from Los Angeles Crenshaw High School is a 5-10, 190 pounder with 4.4 40 speed. Whitehead starts at both free safety and wide receiver, and would like to play on both sides of the ball in college. As a junior, he made 90 tackles and had seven interceptions. He also caught 60 passes for 1,100 yards and rushed for over 800 more yards. He scored 16 times. He has a 2.8 GPA and will take the SAT in October. He tells me that OSU is his favorite. He says they have a tough secondary every year and those guys always go to the pros as being a couple of reasons why he likes Ohio State so much. He said after Ohio State, he is also looking at Michigan, USC and Arizona, those are his top four. All but Arizona have offered a scholarship. He said that after Ohio State, Michigan would be his second choice, with USC number three. Other schools that have offered him a scholarship are San Diego State, Washington, Washington State and UCLA. He says he does plan on making an official visit to Ohio State, though he does not have date as yet. LB Brandon Schnittker (6-3, 240, 4.7) from Sandusky, Ohio is interested in Ohio State. Schnittker, though, will be going to Michigan's game against Bowling Green this weekend. He also is going to go to Michigan State's game the following weekend. He says that right now, Michigan is his top choice, but he is looking at Michigan State, Ohio State, Notre Dame Stanford as well, though none of those schools have offered him a scholarship to this point. There is bad news, as a prospect that the Buckeyes certainly wanted to land has committed elsewhere, and he has committed to rival Michigan. Tim Massaquoi is a super WR/TE prospect from Pennsylvania who has committed to the Wolverines. He had scholarship offers from the Wolverines, as well as Penn State, Ohio State and many others. If fact, he had as many as 50 scholarship offers, but he has committed to Michigan. Certainly, that is a big disappointment for the Buckeyes as he is a player that the Buckeyes had a legitimate chance to land him. In fact, at one point Massaquoi had said that Ohio State and Penn State as his top two choices, but that was some time ago and he has now committed to Michigan. Another player that at one time was looking at Ohio State has committed elsewhere. RB Ricky Cook from New Jersey has committed to Virginia. Cook had previously said he was interested in Ohio State, but the Buckeyes had not offered him a scholarship. Also out of state, DB Josh Taylor from Bolling Brook, Illinois, a 5-11, 190 pounder with 4.4 speed, is interested in Ohio State. He made 32 tackles and had three interceptions from his CB spot as a junior. He has a 2.9 GPA and an 18 on the ACT. He said that he is looking at Michigan, Penn State and Ohio State, and he is also looking at Western Michigan, Central Michigan, Cincinnati and Miami. Central Michigan and Cincinnati have offered him a scholarship thus far. A quarterback that told me that Ohio State has offered him a scholarship is Mike Robinson (6-3, 215, 4.4) from Richmond Verina High School in Virginia. Robinson combined for over 2100 yards passing last season. He threw for eleven touchdowns and rushed for twelve. He is a drop-back quarterback who scrambles around and alludes the rush very effectively. He has a 3.4 GPA and a 950 on the SAT. He told me that he is looking at Michigan State, Tennessee, Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, Penn State, and he also has an interest in Ohio State and Michigan also. Robinson said that all of those schools have offered him a scholarship. He said that if he had to chose right now, he couldn't do it. He said that all the schools in his top five (Michigan State, Tennessee, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, and Penn State) are about equal, though he did not rule out Ohio State. Another player that has certainly not ruled out Ohio State is MLB Chad Anderson (6-3, 235) from Canton McKinley High School. Anderson, who made 128 tackles last season, says that Kentucky continues to be his slight leader over the likes of Ohio State, Michigan, Miami, West Virginia, Pitt and Indiana. All of those schools have offered him a scholarship, but it looks like he is going to wait and take at least some of his official visits before he makes a decision. Anderson is, of course, the cousin of Antonio Hall, the super offensive lineman who signed with Kentucky this past February. In Pennsylvania, Josh Ley from Aliquippa is a 6-2, 180 pound DB with 4.5 speed in the 40 who is interested in Ohio State. He intercepted nine passes as a sophomore and five more as junior. He has a 2.7 GPA but will not take his test until this fall. He tells me that he is looking at Penn State, Arizona State, Pitt, Michigan and Ohio State as well as Nebraska. He said that Penn State, Arizona State, and Pitt have offered him a scholarship thus far, but he said that right now he doesn't have a favorite and does plan to wait and take official visits before he makes a decision. |