Eleven Warriors

2014 Lima (OH) DB Darius West was one of the top performers for Ohio State's Friday Nights Light Camp back in July. He was the fastest man in the secondary as well at the camp. 

West has been to OSU a few times, and was in Columbus again for the Michigan game. 

• West on the experience: "It was a ridiculous atmosphere and by far the best game I've been to."
• West got to talk to Coaches Withers and Hinton. Hinton recruits his area and was glad to see Darius make the trip.  Coach Withers informed Darius that he would be making it out to his school soon to see him.  Darius told me he appreciated the attention they gave him while on his visit because he knew they didn't have to and were tight on time with all the other recruits in attendance.
• The talented defensive back said that at the game he hung out quite a bit with 2014 Beavercreek (OH) LB Airius Moore and 2014 Toledo (OH) QB DeShone Kizer.   West and Moore are very close.
• The Ohio State coaches should be expecting a visit from West over the winter.  West also plans to take a trip to Wisconsin for a bowl practice.
• West's favorite schools are Indiana, Illinois, Ohio State, Cincinnati, Wisconsin, and Purdue.  All have offered except for Ohio State and Wisconsin.  He expects Wisconsin to offer when he visits for the bowl practice.
• Cincinnati continues to recruit West the hardest.  West said that the Bearcat coaching staff is who he has the best relationship with up to this point.

Ohio State is squarely in the mix for this talented in-state defensive back early on.  An offer from the Buckeyes would soar them to the top of his list in all likelihood.  Whether that offer comes will be the question, but like 2013 commit Darron Lee of New Albany did, expect West to do whatever he can to attract an offer from Ohio State.

Wanted to re-post as a blog. Here is the scoop on Glenville 2014 OL Marcelys Jones from my forum post the other day:

I spoke to Marcelys Jones about his experience at The Game on Saturday.

He was impressed by the atmosphere and was able to speak to Coach Meyer, Drayton, and Warinner.

Ohio State and Indiana are still his only offers but he is hearing plenty from USC and UCLA.

Aundrey Walker, offensive lineman for USC, is his cousin. Also of note, he is very close to Donovan Munger, as they are related as well.

Jones told me that the staff spoke to him yesterday about the possibility of playing defense, not offense. He is being considered at defensive tackle.

The fact that Jones is now being looked at on the defensive side of the ball is very intriguing. It appears Meyer is going to want the block eater type that Hankins currently is and Jones can be this type of player. It appears Ohio State is in great shape with Jones and we would be very suprised if he ended up anywhere else besides Columbus.

Stay tuned for more from the Eleven Warriors staff as we will talk to recruits throughout the week about their THE GAME visit experience.

Nathaniel Devers is a 2014 Offensive Lineman of Massilon, OH that is considered to be among the best in Ohio.  Devers visited Ohio State for the UCF game and came away impressed with what he saw.  Devers is a target on the Buckeyes' board that will continue to receive heavy recruiting attention from the scarlet and gray along with other top programs throughout the country.

• Devers enjoyed the atmosphere in Columbus for the game and paid close attention to the play of the Ohio State offensive line.
• He was able to speak to Coaches Vrabel, Warinner, and Pantoni before and after the game in the recruiting room.  Devers was told that they love his sophomore film but now at a big time school competing against other top Division 1 programs, Ohio State, and other teams, want to see film of his first 4 or 5 games to see if he maintained his high level play.  If it all pans out, expect Devers' offers to multiply in the coming weeks.
• The Central Florida at Ohio State game was the first college game Devers has attended as a recruit.  He will be visiting West Virginia this upcoming weekend for their game.  Devers also plans to see games at Northwestern, Notre Dame, and Michigan.  Devers will be back in Columbus for the last game of the year to see Ohio State host Michigan.
• I asked Devers about his favorites and how it is perceived that Michigan is his favorite, to which he did not completely disagree.  He currently has one offer, from Toledo, but Devers says Michigan and Northwestern are his favorites right now.
• It was not Devers' first time on Ohio State campus.  He attended the Friday Night Lights camp at the end of July and was a participant at an Ohio State camp as a freshman.
• Devers plays guard along the offensive line right now as well as noseguard for Massilon.  He is being recruited as a guard and a defensive lineman at the next level.

I expect Nathaniel Devers to be a highly wanted man once his game film from junior season begins to circulate.  If Ohio State offers they will be a player in his recruitment but I would imagine Michigan will be tough to beat.  His recruitment will definitely be one to keep an eye on moving forward.

Last Friday I took in the Middletown vs Springfield High School game.  Middletown boasts Ohio State commit Jalin Marshall and Springfield is led by Ohio State targets Thaddeus Snodgrass and Davonte James, both of whom are juniors.

Middletown controlled the entire game and was able to take out starters during the 4th quarter.  They defeated the Wildcats of Springfield 31-0.  With Springfield keying on Marshall's ability to run, and Middletown having no problems with the Springfield defense, Marshall showcased his ability to get the job done through the air.  He threw for three touchdowns in the first half.  Marshall is probably not even 6 foot but did well from the quarterback position.  Despite his success last Friday, Marshall projects as a wide receiver at the next level.  I could also see him get action from the backfield in some cases.

Thaddeus Snodgrass showed off his blistering speed a few times against the Middies during the game last Friday, burning the Middletown secondary badly on three separate occasions.  Snodgrass did not have a chance to catch any of the three passes, however.  The first pass was a post pattern to the middle of the field which was underthrown by about ten yards.  The other two were also underthrown balls and Snodgrass got mugged by the defender each time, resulting in pass interference calls.  Snodgrass ended the game with only one catch.

I would like to see Springfield attempt to get the ball in Snodgrass's hands more.  If they can not get it to him down the field, then other ways shoud be tried, such as getting the ball to him off the line of scrimmage.  His speed and athletic ability are not in doubt at all from the two games I have seen.  To get results, he will need better opportunities.  Fans of teams hoping to garner the signature of Snodgrass on National Signing Day 2014 should not be worried at all by the lack of production in the box score from Snodgrass.  

Davonte James had a quiet, but effective game from the defensive side of the field.  He was used as a spy on Jalin Marshall to limit his running space for much of the game. He accumulated a few tackles in the losing effort before being hobbled by an ankle injury towards the end of the game.  Davonte James is definitely good enough to play high level college football but with Ohio State in good shape with some other elite linebackers, he may struggle to get an opportunity to claim an Ohio State offer.

I was at last Saturday's showdown at Dayton Welcome Stadium that featured Springfield and Hamilton.  Springfield has several players that will attract recruiting attention such as juniors Thaddeus Snodgrass and Davonte James, along with freshman running back Xavier Garland.  Hamilton also played a freshman at CB in A'Shon Riggans that could definitely attract some top schools in years to come.  

What I saw from Thaddeus Snodgrass:

• Had 3 catches for 76 yards in the game
• 1st catch was a 17 yard reception where he was able to break a few tackles.  He showed some strength I wasn't sure he had. 
• 2nd catch He beat his man on a route down the sideline for a 48 yard reception.  
• 3rd catch was a ball he caught in the last drive that stalled inside the 10.  It would have given Springfield the lead with under 2 minutes to go.  Snodgrass found a spot in the middle of the field for an 11 yard reception.
• Snodgrass had two other targets in the first half but the balls were not catchable.
• From the little action he got I was impressed with Snodgrass.  Springfield really did not feature him on offense like they should but he did well with what he was dealt with.  He also was active blocking down the field which is what you like to see.  He never took plays off.

What I saw from Davonte James:

• He is listed at 6'3 and 218 pounds.  The size is there but sometimes he is exposed because he needs to get a bit stronger, as he is challenged with shedding blockers from time to time.  
• Regardless of the strength question, he performed well.  He plays inside and really close to the line of scrimmage.  James was in on a lot of tackles.

From Snodgrass:

• He is looking to take some visits at games this season but unsure of which ones exactly.
• Snodgrass hoping to be more involved on offense as the season proceeds.
• Has no favorites and has offers from the likes of Michigan State, Notre Dame, and Ohio State.

From James:

• Was thrilled with his performance and can't wait for the challenge of Middletown's offense.
• He is planning on visiting West Virginia, Georgia Tech, and Ohio State for games.  James may get to West Virginia's game against Marshall this weekend.
• Looking forward to keep performing at a high level and attract more offers from top programs. 

Montae Nicholson attended the Ohio State camp on June 10th.  It is widely known that Nicholson grew up a pretty big Ohio State fan and his stock is beginning to increase tremendously.  I caught up with Nicholson to get the latest on his recruitment.

• Nicholson said that last year he was still a young unpolished player and didn't know the game very well.  He has since progressed and became a student of the game in the offseason.
• He has attended camps at Penn State, Pittsburgh, Michigan, and Ohio State.
• On his Penn State camp: "It went very well.  I thought I put on a good performance but it wasn't my best day.  I received an offer from Penn State and got to talk to Coach O'Brien.  It was a very informing conversation 
• On his Pittsburgh camp: "I went down there more for the camp experience and less of a visit.  I played as hard as I could which earned me an offer I wasn't really expecting."
• On his Michigan camp: "I got to see the Big House which was pretty cool.  I got to meet the coaches and everyone was so nice.  I put together a solid performance in which I gained another offer that I wasn't really expecting.  Hopefully the Michigan coaches get to see me on a good day."
• On his Ohio State camp: "It was definitely the best camp I thought I performed at.  I was able to meet all of the coaches including Luke Fickell and Urban Meyer.  I took a tour of the facilities and liked how well it was all laid out."
• Academics are really important to Nicholson.  The academics, facilities, and the coaching staff are really what stood out on his Ohio State visit.
• Nicholson also has offers from Toledo and Bowling Green.

Nicholson definitely is on the radar of the Ohio State coaching staff and that interest is being reciprocated on his end.  Nicholson pointed out that his childhood fandom of Ohio State would have little impact on his recruitment.  I have a feeling that an offer from Ohio State could come at some point, and if it does, Eleven Warriors will have it covered as always. 

Last night I got a chance to speak with 2014 wide receiver Dominique Booth who camped at Ohio State this past week.  Booth had told me in a previous conversation about a month ago that the Ohio State staff assured him of an offer if he performed the way they thought he would.

• Booth said he thought he performed up to the staff's expectations.  The staff will meet Monday or Tuesday to discuss other camp offers.
• He will call the coaching staff on Wednesday 
• He said he made 3 or 4 spectacular one hand catches that really caught the staff's eyes.
• Coach Smith and Coach Coombs are in contact with him and will be throughout the recruiting process.
• Coach Meyer pulled him aside during drills outside and had him meet inside with a select group.
• Booth will visit USC next. 

Booth racked up several offers during the spring evaluation period and has camped at several spots.  We could know by Wednesday if the staff was impressed with him enough to deserve an offer.  As always, the staff here at Eleven Warriors will bring you that information if it occurs. 

I spoke recently with Brandon Simmons, a teammate of Ohio State 2014 CB offer Edward Paris, about his new offer from the Buckeyes:

• Had OSU offer for a while, but coach forgot to tell him about it until last week
• Dad owns a camp that he is in so he has already seen a bunch of schools 
• Got to go to Ohio State while in the 7th grade and was able to walk onto the Horseshoe and said "It was incredible"
• Was at a Texas Tech camp recently and will be going to a National 7 on 7 tournament in New York shortly
• Even though Paris has voiced his opinion that he and Simmons will be a "package deal", Simmons says it may not happen that way
• Given all schools a fair chance and would like to visit Ohio State
• Said he knows about the tradition of Ohio State and the glory of the Ohio State-Michigan rivalry.
• Has no leaders and giving every school an equal chance
• Would like to see as many schools as possible 

Even though Edward Paris seems like a lean to LSU, I think Simmons will do his research and take his time more before he makes a decision.  He could very well end up at LSU with Paris but I don't think it is a foregone conclusion like many.  Ohio State may be behind the 8-ball with Simmons but anything can happen if he comes to Columbus for a visit, which could be possible.