St. Thomas Aquinas took Columbus by stormWhile 95,000+ fans watched the Gray squad dominate the Scarlet squad in the annual OSU Spring Game, there was a group of star studded prospects in attendance Saturday. With less scholarships available than usual to give out for the class of 2010, there wasn't nearly the group of commitments that is seen each spring after the classic in Columbus, but that doesn't mean the Spring Game was not a success in the world of recruiting. Here are some recruiting notes from Saturday's Spring Game:
- The Buckeyes landed verbal commitment #5 on Saturday for the class of 2010, when St. Ignatius LB Scott McVey told the staff he was a Buckeye prior to kick off. McVey stands at 6-1, 220 and looks every bit the part of a traditional OSU linebacker. He was timed at 4.55 seconds in the 40 at a Scout.com combine, so the athleticism is there to go with the size. We are very happy Scott chose to don the Scarlet and Gray and we welcome him to the Buckeye family!
- Fort Wayne (IN) RB Roderick Smith was in attendance and almost pulled the trigger for the Buckeyes but wants to visit Iowa, Georgia, and Michigan State before finalizing his decision. Smith is built out of the Beanie Wells mold and stands at 6-3, 215 with great speed and field vision. Smith is a fast rising prospect in the nation and it is good the Bucks got on him early.
- My man-crush, Lamarcus "Mr. Frankenstein" Joyner, was in attendance Saturday and reportedly "loved" Ohio State. Many feel Joyner is leaning towards committing to OSU, but he has said all along he will not announce until signing day. While an earlier commitment is not out of the question, it seems LJ will at least wait until the fall. He will be back in Columbus when St. Thomas Aquinas plays against Upper Arlington in Ohio Stadium and he will also make an official visit during the weekend of a game (reports are the USC game). "6-star", as he is also called, is a must-get for JT and the staff, especially if the secondary plays like it did on Saturday
- Joyner's new teammates at St. Thomas Aquinas, DB Cody Riggs and OL Brandon Linder, are also on OSU's recruiting radar. There have been reports both confirming and refuting an offer for Linder, and either way it is important that the Bucks stay on the trail for the 6-6 interior lineman. Riggs has not received his written offer yet and currently favors Notre Dame, but the visit supposedly opened his eyes up to OSU and the Bucks will be one of his top choices once an offer comes his way.
- Duron Carter, Dorian Bell, Corey Brown, Carlos Hyde, Jordan Whiting, Marcus Hall, Jonathan Newsome, Jaamal Berry, and John Simon were among the 2009 prospects in attendance to watch their future teammates go to work in The Shoe. David Durham and Andrew Norwell were in attendance representing the 2010 commitments.
Overall the Spring Game was a big success for the OSU recruiting effort. While only one player committed, many players in the class of 2010 and 2011 got to see 95,000+ fans pack the stadium for a scrimmage and see first hand why Ohio State is such a great place to play football. It will be interesting to see how the rest of the 2010 class plays out, but this weekend certainly couldn'y hurt in the staff's pursuit of many of the nation's top players.
