Bill Kurelic's July Posts July 24, 1998 Unfortunately a player that the Buckeyes had offered a scholarship to has committed elsewhere. RB Brent Cummings (5-11, 185, 4.4) from Belding, Michigan made an unofficial visit to Ohio State in June, and subsequently made an unofficial visit to Michigan. Cummings narrowed things down to those two schools as well as Michigan State before committing to Michigan. The Buckeyes came in second for Cummings who is one of the top prospects in the Midwest. On the other hand, another outstanding talent from the state of Michigan is still considering Ohio State. OL Joseph Patrick (6-7, 300, 5.3) from Ithaca is considering Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Northwestern, Stanford and Purdue, and has also added Nebraska and USC to his list. Patrick is one of the top prospects in the Midwest and has been offered a scholarship by schools from coast-to-coast. While he does have many offers on the table, he wants to keep an open mind for at least a while longer. Patrick has made an unofficial visit to Ohio State. Moving to the state of Ohio, let's give you the very latest news on two standouts the Buckeyes have offered scholarships to. OL Adrien Clarke (6-5, 305, 5.2) from Shaker Heights High School tells me that Ohio State and Michigan State remain his top two choices, but he also is looking at Penn State, Syracuse, Colorado, and Maryland. The only one of the five that has not yet offered a scholarship is Syracuse. Clarke says the race for his services is "pretty close" right now and that he will likely wait and take some official visits before he makes a decision. I spoke this morning with QB/TE/Punter Andy Mignery (6-5, 225, 4.8) from Hamilton High School. Mignery is one of the top athletes in the Buckeye state this year and told me if he had to take his five official visits right now they would be to Ohio State, Michigan, Indiana, Tennessee and Northwestern. The first three have offered scholarships. Mignery said that Tennessee has indicated that coach Fulmer might soon be ready to offer a scholarship as well. Mignery says he is leaning toward making a decision in late August, though he did not rule out the possibility of deciding something sooner, or perhaps waiting to take some official visits. The weekend of August 1st will be one for the Buckeyes to keep an eye on as rival Michigan will be having an open house on that Saturday. For instance, one player that has an interest in the Buckeyes that will be at that open house is RB/DB Jesse Avant (5-10, 180, 4.45) from Indianapolis Ben Davis High School in Indiana. Avant rushed for a little over 2000 yards last season and also picked off two passes. He is interested in Michigan, Ohio State, Indiana, Purdue, Notre Dame, Kentucky, and Ball State, and he said that Indiana and Purdue have offered him a scholarship. One of the top line prospects in Florida is very interested in Ohio State. In fact, he made an unofficial visit with the Buckeyes last winter. Jeff Faine (6-4, 300, 5.1) from Sanford Seminole High School is a standout OT that will likely move to center or guard in college. Faine has a 3.0 GPA and scored a 1050 on the SAT. He has a cousin who lives in Toledo and flew up and visited with his relatives last winter. While in Ohio, Faine made an unofficial visit to Ohio State, and he also made an unofficial visit to Michigan while in the Midwest. Faine tells me that he is looking at Ohio State, Michigan, Notre Dame, Nebraska, Auburn, Kentucky and maybe Miami. While at Ohio State, Faine met a number of the Buckeye coaches, toured the facilities, and was very impressed. In fact Faine says he will likely make an official visit to Ohio State. Staying in the South, WR Reggie Brown (6-1, 180, 4.4) from Carrollton, Georgia is a standout talent who caught 66 passes and scored 15 touchdowns last season. Brown has a 3.0 GPA and scored an 890 on the SAT. He tells me that the Buckeyes have called him, and he has Ohio State and Georgia as his two favorites. Brown says the Bulldogs have offered him a scholarship. However he mentions that he likes the tradition at Ohio State, the fact that Ohio State always goes to a bowl game, and that so many standout wide receivers are going from Ohio State to the NFL. July 17, 1998 Another standout from the state of Florida that the Buckeyes would love to land is OL Vernon Carey (6-6, 320, 5.15) from Miami Northwestern High School. Carey is one of the top OT prospects in the South, has a 2.9 GPA and a 930 on the SAT. I checked again with Vernon Carey and he told me that Ohio State is either number 1 or 2 on his list right now. Carey says it is very close for his top spot between Ohio State and Miami of Florida. The other schools he is looking at are Florida State, Florida, Michigan State and West Virginia, and all six schools have offered him a scholarship. Carey says he has set up one official visit. He will visit the Seminoles to see the Florida State/Florida game. Carey also mentioned that he is definitely planning on taking an official visit to Ohio State, he is just not sure when at this point. Yet another standout OL that the Buckeyes have offered a scholarship to is August Hoffman (6-4, 310, 5.1) from Park Ridge St. Joseph High School in New Jersey. Augie, as he goes by, helped lead his team to an 11-0 record and a state championship last season. He is one of the country's strongest players, benching over 400 pounds, and has great leg strength as well. Hoffman has a 3.2 GPA and an 860 on the SAT. Hoffman is looking at Michigan, Syracuse, Ohio State, Notre Dame and Boston College. He says those are his top 5, although he is also looking at Iowa, Nebraska, and West Virginia. Hoffman has been offered a scholarship by every one of those schools except for Notre Dame. However he is not close to making a decision, and he definitely plans to take some official visits before he makes a commitment to anyone. Hoffman says that he will visit Michigan and Syracuse, and there is a good chance he will visit Ohio State as well. Another OL from the East that is interested in the Buckeyes is Keith Leavitt (6-8, 285, 5.15) from Fitchburg High School in Massachusetts. Leavitt, who starts at both OT and DT, perhaps like defense a little better but seems more likely to end up on the OL at the next level. Leavitt has a 3.4 GPA and has passed his test. Among the schools that he are considering is Penn State, Syracuse, Boston College, and Pitt, and those four have offered him a scholarship. Others that he is hearing from and is interested in include Notre Dame, Ohio State, Michigan, North Carolina, and Georgia. Moving closer to home, in fact right here in the Columbus area, Calvin Murray Jr. (5-11, 175, 4.45) attended the Ohio State football camp in June and turned some heads. Murray is from Columbus Waterson High School and played running back and wing back last season. However, he might end up as a DB or WR in college. Murray showed excellent speed and quickness at the Ohio State football camp and definitely improved his stock. Murray is the son of former Ohio State RB Calvin Murray Sr. Calvin Jr. has Ohio State, Maryland, Tennessee, West Virginia, Boston College, and some MAC schools included on his list. July 13, 1998 8:30 AM Another offensive lineman the Buckeyes would love to land is Alex Jackson (6-5, 285, 5.1) form Quincy Shanks High School in Florida. Jackson, who has a 3.4 GPA and a 23 on the ACT, is one of the top linemen in the South. Awhile back Jackson had told me that Ohio State and Kentucky were his two favorites and that he was considering making an early decision. Thus, I contacted Jackson again. Jackson says that Ohio State and Kentucky remain his two favorites, but he is also is still considering Georgia Tech, Syracuse, Alabama, and North Carolina. All six schools have now offered Jackson a scholarship. He told me that at one point he had been contemplating an early decision, but now says that after thinking things over, will probably wait and make some official visits before making a decision. On the other hand, one offensive lineman that the Buckeyes will not land is Brennan Curtin (6-8, 295, 5.2) from North Palm Beach Benjamin High School in Florida. Curtin committed to Notre Dame awhile back, however he was still waiting to hear from the Notre Dame admissions department in regards to acceptance. Curtin now has been accepted by the admissions department and is definitely headed to Notre Dame. He had considered Ohio State, Michigan, Florida, and Florida State, and many others, and all had offered him a scholarship. Offensive lineman Sean Milligan (6-5, 280, 5.0) from Norcross High School in Georgia is another of the South's top offensive line prospects. Milligan has a 3.4 GPA and a 22 on the ACT. He went to camp at Notre Dame in June, and has the Irish as one of his top two choices along with Michigan. However, Milligan says that the other three schools he is most interested in are Ohio State, UCLA, and Michigan State. Of the five, UCLA is the only one that has not yet offered a scholarship. Milligan said that he probably would make some official visits before making a decision, and he is pretty sure that one of his trips will be to Ohio State. Offensive lineman Shane Lehmann, (6-5, 270, 5.05) is another standout that the Buckeyes are interested in. Lehmann, from Corona High School in California, is one of the top offensive linemen in the West. He has a 3.1 GPA and an 860 on the SAT. Lehmann tells me that his top 5 are UCLA, Nebraska, Colorado, Notre Dame, and Ohio State. UCLA, Nebraska, and Colorado have offered him a scholarship. Lehmann says his leader is UCLA. Switching to the defensive side of the ball, I checked again with DL Cedric Hilliard (6-4, 290, 4.9) from Arlington Lamar High School in Texas. Hilliard, who has a 3.5 GPA and a 1080 on the SAT, is an outstanding DT prospect who had 9 sacks last season. Hilliard continues to have Notre Dame as his favorite, but is also very interested in Ohio State, Florida State, Texas, and Tennessee. He told me that Florida State is the only one of the four that has not offered him a scholarship. The Buckeyes of course have a verbal commitment from DB Michael Doss (6-0, 195, 4.5) form Canton McKinley High School in Ohio. Doss is not the only prospect at McKinley High School that the Buckeyes are interested in. Steve Smith (6-4, 235, 4.9) is a fine center prospect who has a 4.0 GPA and has passed his test. Like his teammate, Michael Doss, Steve Smith is also very interested in Ohio State. Smith in fact would probably commit to the Buckeyes if an offer were extended. Among his current favorites are Ohio State, Northwestern, Michigan, and Michigan State. July 6, 1998 12:30 PM The Texas Longhorns have been creeping up on the Buckeyes for the country's lead in verbal commitments. The Longhorns have now landed 10 commitments. Not to be outdone, the Buckeyes have now upped their total to 11 verbal commitments. B. J. Sander (6-4, 195) , the top specialist in the state of Ohio and arguably one of the top two specialists in the Midwest, has committed to Ohio State. Sander, from Cincinnati Roger Bacon High School, had a spectacular junior season. He made 9 of 10 field goals, with the only miss coming from 50 yards out (though one other kick was blocked). Sander connected from 54 yards out, which was a school record, 51, had two from 47, and another from 43. He also hit on 33 of 34 extra points, and most of his kickoffs reached the end zone or went beyond. As talented as Sander is as a kicker, he will at least begin his career at Ohio State as a punter. Sander averaged 44 yards a boot last season. He went to camp this summer at Notre Dame, Michigan, and Ohio State for one day. His day with the Buckeyes proved very fruitful, as Sander was very impressive and was offered a scholarship by Ohio State. He did not immediately accept, however after talking things over with his family, he then called Ohio State and gave the Buckeyes the good news that he was ready to commit. Sander told me that close to 50 schools had been in contact with him. He also had scholarship offers from Ohio U. and Eastern Michigan, and said that Notre Dame and Michigan were talking about a possible offer as well. Sander said that he picked the Buckeyes in large part because the Ohio State has academic programs in both horticulture and criminal justice, the two areas he is interested in academically. Very few schools have both of those programs, and many schools don't have either, so Sander chose the Ohio State. Another factor he mentioned as far as choosing Ohio State was, as he put it, "Ohio State is close to home, but far enough to get away." Sander has a 2.4 GPA, a 22 on the ACT, and 1050 on the SAT. He is a left-footed kicker and has been Roger Bacon's varsity kicker since his freshman season. Sander says that he will initially be the Buckeyes' punter and feels he has a great chance to move in right away his freshman season since Brent Bartholomew will have graduated. He hopes to also to be Ohio State's backup place kicker initially, and perhaps down the road add that to his duties when Dan Stultz graduates. The Buckeyes would also like to add RB Jesse Kline (6-2, 210, 4.5) from Upper Arlington High School to their commitment list. Kline is still contemplating offers from Ohio State and Michigan, and is still interested in Notre Dame as well. However, he simply has not yet made a decision. Kline did stop in at Ohio State's football camp in June, though he did not participate in the camp. Another very productive running back from the state of Ohio is Nate Colon (5-11, 190, 4.45) from Granville. Colon rushed for 1901 yards as a sophomore, and 1596 as a junior. His yardage total was down last season due to a sprained ankle which limited him to 6 1/2 games. Colon did average 9.5 yards per carry. He went to Ohio State's camp in June and told me his is very open minded about his college choice, but did name Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan, Kentucky and Indiana as some schools he is interested in. Colon's teammate, QB Scott McMullen (6-3, 195, 4.8) is another fine prospect at Granville that went to the Buckeyes' camp in June. McMullen competed 49% of his passes for 1442 yards last season, connecting for 14 scores with 4 interceptions. McMullen camped this summer at Ohio State, Indiana, and Purdue, and names those three among the schools he is looking at. He have scholarship offers from Toledo, Bowling Green, and Akron. Moving out-of-state, a lineman that had previously named Ohio State as one of his favorites has committed elsewhere. Peter Friedrich (6-4, 260, 5.1) from Stevens Point, Wisconsin has committed to Wisconsin. Friedrich had previously named Ohio State as one of his favorites, but the Buckeyes had not offered a scholarship. An outstanding prospect from out-of-state that the Buckeyes have offered a scholarship to is DB Richard McNutt (6-0, 175, 4.45) from Park Forest Rich High School in Illinois. McNutt picked off five passes as a sophomore and 8 more as a junior. He is one of the country's top cover cornerbacks. He also plays WR and returns punts and kick-offs. McNutt has a 3.0 GPA and a 19 on the ACT. He tells me that he does not have a favorite school at this point, but among the schools he is considering are Ohio State, Notre Dame, Penn State, Illinois, Purdue, Kentucky, and Boston College, and he says that all of those schools have offered him a scholarship. McNutt also mentioned Michigan, Florida and Tennessee as other schools of interest, though those three have not offered. Another prospect from the state of Illinois that tells me that Ohio State has offered him a scholarship is OL Aaron Hodges (6-5, 275, 5.0) from Olympia Fields Rich Central High School. Hodges is one of the top line prospects in the Midwest, has a 3.2 GPA, and scored a 22 on the ACT. He could play either guard or center in college. Hodges went to camp at Illinois and names the Illini as his favorite, but says it is a very small lead. His top five is rounded out by Northwestern, Notre Dame, Michigan State and Ohio State, and all but the Irish have offered him a scholarship. Hodges did tell me that he is hoping to make and unofficial visit to Ohio State this month. Yet another OL from the state of Illinois that the Buckeyes are interested in is Sean Bubin (6-7, 275, 5.2) from Rantoul. Bubin has a 2.5 GPA and a 16 on the ACT. He went to Illinois' camp this summer and was offered a scholarship by the Illini. Bubin names Illinois, Purdue (who has also offered) and Michigan as his three favorites, but he is also looking at Ohio State, Michigan State, Indiana (who has offered) and Iowa as other schools he is interested in. OL Brian Ottney (6-6, 280, 5.2) from Troy, Michigan committed to Michigan State last December. However, a number of other schools have offered Ottney a scholarship as well, and while he is still committed to the Spartans, he has not totally ruled out taking some official visits elsewhere. Ottney has been offered a scholarship by not only Michigan State, but Ohio State, Indiana and Minnesota, and Michigan has been showing strong interest too. Ottney had a 3.1 GPA and scored a 21 on the ACT. And speaking of prospects from the state of Michigan, I did check once again with RB Brent Cummings (5-11, 185, 4.4) from Belding. Cummings still has not made a decision between Michigan, Ohio State and Michigan State, all three of which have offered a scholarship. Michigan continues to be Cummings leader though it is a small lead over the Buckeyes. He is still considering making an early commitment, though he also is considering delaying his decision and taking official visits. |