Buckeye Blogger Network
All smiles
You know what would make a great Mother’s Day present? Flowers. Oh, and a new member of the Class of 2014.
Well, you’re on your own for all things floral, but today’s announcement from Gary Indiana playmaker Lonnie Johnson certainly helps make the day festive…
Johnson, a Buckeye lean for quite some time now, initially visited for The Game in November, and had been rumored to have been on the verge of a commitment for several months. His announcement today was moved up from the June 2 date that he said was his target earlier this week.
There was speculation that he was planning on making an official commitment on an official visit with his parents in January, but that visit never manifested leaving some to posit that there were some outstanding concerns on the part of the OSU staff. If true, his commitment today would indicate that those have been addressed.
Johnson is a member of the Core 6 training program that also includes Clifton Garret, Jamarco Jones, and Dylan Thompson as well as current OSU verbal Marcelys Jones.
A 6’2″ wide receiver, Johnson’s list of finalists included Purdue, Kentucky, Missouri, Indiana, Cincinnati, and Nebraska, and said that OSU was a finalist with Mizzou and Kentucky.
After the jump, check out the speed that this young man brings to the Buckeyes: Read More
After a weekend with some big names on campus, Ohio State has added another member to the 2014 recruiting class in linebacker Kyle Berger.
It certainly seems as if the strategy for this class will be to offer nationally, but ensure that the top Ohio talent stays home to play in Columbus- Berger joins several others from the Buckeye state for this group.
A 6′ 3″, 205 pound student athlete from state runner up Cleveland St. Ignatius, Berger had for a while been considered an Ohio State lean. He also held offers from Michigan, Michigan State, Tennessee, Arkansas, Boston College, Maryland and others.
Berger becomes the seventh member of the recruiting class, and is ranked as one of the top rising juniors in the state of Ohio as well as the second outside linebacker in the country by Scout.com. Here’s a link to his Hudl.com video; be sure to check out this future Buckeye in action:
Welcome to the Ohio State Family, Kyle!
Cincinnati To Columbus
One of the “bigger” recruiting weekends of the spring has gotten off to a great start, as Cincinnati Moeller’s Sam Hubbard has verballed to Ohio State to become the 6th member of the 2014 class.
Hubbard was initially a verbal commitment to Notre Dame for Lacrosse, but decommitted in the past couple of weeks and has said that he was going to focus on football for his college career. This decision came shortly after receiving a scholarship offer from Ohio State; many insiders saw “the writing on the wall” regarding his eventual choice.
In addition to Notre Dame (lacrosse), Hubbard held offers from Michigan State, Michigan, Stanford, Illinois, Boston College, and The University of Miami. At 6’6″ and 225 pounds, he’s projected as defensive threat- he plays safety/linebacker for Moeller; similar to Ohio State’s “Star” position. There’s also speculation that he may be a “Leo” in OSU’s system.
After the break, check out his junior season highlights. For a different look at his speed and athletic ability, his Hudl.com profile includes some lacrosse action.
Montini’s Finest
In the middle of March Madness’ first weekend, it’s important to note that recruiting never ends at Ohio State.
Illinois Offensive/Defensive lineman Dylan Thompson didn’t forget that, and becomes the latest member of the Buckeyes’ 2014 recruiting class, which currently stands at five new commitments.
A 6′ 5″, 270 lb. lineman from Montoni high school in Lombard Illinois, Thompson is a part of the Core 6 training program that have been a presence at Ohio State camps and games for a while now. Linebacker Clifton Garrett is another member of this group held in high regard by Ohio State.
Thompson held offers from Illinois, Indiana, Purdue, Arkansas, Old Miss, Tennessee, Clemson, Vanderbilt, and Southern Cal, and is projected to be a defensive player for the Buckeyes.
You can check out his junior highlights at Hudl.com, or his sophomore highlights and an interview with him after the jump. Read More
| UPDATE: After visiting Michigan State on Tuesday and Michigan on Wednesday, Marshall has decided to re-open his recruitment and has decommitted from Ohio State.It’s certainly a long way until Signing Day 2014, and Ohio State is still very much involved in this process. That being said, Coach Meyer has certainly shown that the Buckeyes are able to replace people who choose to go elsewhere- See Anzalone, Alex. |
Marshall
And they keep on coming… Ohio State’s 2014 Class has just grown by one more, with a top target from that state up north verballing to the Buckeyes!
Southfield’s Lawrence Marshall joins Damon Webb as being another top 5 recruit from Michigan to commit to Ohio State for this incoming class. The 6’3″ 205 pound junior is a four star defensive lineman, and the fourth member of the 2014 class.
It’s been well documented that Ohio State’s coaches are working diligently to establish a presence in Michigan, with several coaches joking that Kerry Coombs might just need an office in their high schools. Marshall is obviously the fruit of those relationships.
Recruited by both Michigan schools, he was receiving interest from Indiana (ironically), Pittsburgh, Syracuse, and Tennessee. After the jump, you can see why he was so highly regarded: Read More
Performance In The Post
Thad Matta picks up a quick verbal from the third member of the 2014 class, as Garfield Height’s David Bell commits following his visit.
Bell, a 6′ 7″ forward, was on campus yesterday for a visit, and received his official offer today. He accepted shortly thereafter.
Bell is averaging 17. 3 points a game to go with 4.6 blocks and 8.1 rebounds per contest. He’s been on the Buckeyes’ radar for a while, and is currently rated as a three star recruit by several services. Again, at this point he’s only in his junior season, so there’s a tremendous upside for the young man.
His interest list included DePaul as well as a number of smaller schools in Ohio (Dayton, Cleveland State, Miami of Ohio). After the jump, check out his work in last summer’s “Flyin’ To The Rim” competition.
Parris Is A Burner
A bit late on this, with all the shootyhoops happening, but Ohio State gained their third commitment of the day in about a 35 minute period this morning when Akron St. Vincent St. Mary’s Parris Campbell verballed to be the fifth member of the 2014 class.
A 5’11″ 170 pound speedster who currently plays running back for the Fighting Irish, Campbell is more than likely being recruited as a “pivot” in Coach Meyer’s offense.
Campbell held interest from Indiana, Michigan State, and Tennessee, and is listed as a four star athlete early in the recruiting process.
Parris is also a track star for the SVSM team that recently made news at the state relays. After the jump, you can see the speed that Ohio State is excited to have on the field. Read More
Home Grown
Remember when Ohio State had an awesome National Letter Of Intent Day, and we all stopped caring about recruiting?
Well, the first part of that was amazing, but the second part couldn’t be further from the truth- Recruiting never stops, and today’s addition to the 2014 class is proof of that.
On Wednesday, Coach Meyer said that Offensive Line was one of the areas he hoped to strengthen in future classes, and also mentioned that he was hoping to see more Ohio natives in future classes. Kyle Trout’s commitment today meets both expectations.
The 6’6″ 280 pound tackle from Lancaster Ohio is a four star athlete on many recruiting sites, and is ranked among the top fifteen tackles in the country. He’s been on “commitment watch” for a couple of weeks now, but decided to pull the trigger during this weekend’s visit.
The junior also was receiving attention from Wisconsin, Stanford, Texas, and UCLA, but chose to become the second offensive lineman for this class, and the third member of the 2014 group overall. He’s in Columbus today with several other highly targeted recruits; there’s speculation that the class may expand over the next few days.
After the jump, you can take a look at some of the highlights from his career thus far: Read More
