• Galion (OH) Athlete Dareian Watkins will be at Ohio State July 27th for FNL
• Drew Barker & Josh Malone attends Tennessee camp
• Derrick Green attends Ole Miss camp 
• DE/LB Tyquan Lewis will be at FNL

BG$--Sherit narrowing his list, making plans '13 FL DE Jordan Sherit

• Jordan is in the process of cutting his list down and planning official visits. He claims to be wide open but admits Notre Dame, Stanford, Florida, and Vanderbilt are standing out. 

BG$--Clifton Garrett talks Friday Night Lights '14 IL LB Clifton Garrett

• Clifton plans to attend FNL but may not participate. He is building relationships with other 2014 prospects and has a top five of Ohio State, Michigan, Notre Dame, Michigan State and Illinois. 

Scout$--The Opening: Taquan Mizzell '13 VA RB Taquan "Smoke" Mizzell

• Taquan has a top three of Virginia, WVU, and Clemson with tOSU and ND still in consideration.

Scout$--The Opening: Eli Woodard '13 NJ CB Eli Woodard

• Eli says he did well after a tough start. He worked on recruiting some prospects and notes that he is 100% solid to tOSU. 

Scout$--A New List for Finley '13 MI OL Dennis Finley

• Dennis was very impressed with Wisconsin and the coaching staff. He is focused on getting ready for his senior season. 

Scout$--Devers Is A Top 2014 Prospect '14 OH OL/DL Nathaniel Devers

• From The Bank...Nathaniel says Michigan is his current favorite with Northwestern and tOSU also near the top. He plans to attend Michigan's BBQ and also tOSU's FNL.

Scout $ - Barker on Southern Swing '14 KY QB Drew Barker

• By Trieu....Recaps camps at Alabama & Tennessee. Will be at Cincinnati for the Five-Star Cookout this Friday & then Ohio State for Friday Night Lights next week. Plans on taking several unofficials for games this fall, including one at tOSU. 

Haden rare blend of speed, power

Jonathan Haden might not be big, but he's turning into a big-time college football prospect.

With scholarship offers from Ohio State and North Carolina long in hand, Haden said he believes Penn State and Virginia could be close to offering him a scholarship. Not bad for a 2014 prospect.

So why is Haden so in demand? First, he is 5-foot-8, but he's stocky at 180 pounds. Second, he's strong. Haden already bench presses 325 pounds and squats 425, but most importantly, he's quick. That was evident during a recent camp at Ohio State.

cont...

Recruit Talk: Jimmy Byrne 

It is only July, and already most of the offensive lineman on Ohio State's radar have gone elsewhere in the 2013 class. The staff does have a commitment from Centerville's Evan Lisle and are still pursuing several others, but at this point the attention is quickly shifting to the 2014 class. Thanks to some defensive lineman jumping to the offensive line, the staff has the breathing room for this to happen.

One of those 2014 offensive lineman is Jimmy Byrne. The 6-4 285 pound product of St. Ignatius High School is one of the top players in the state of Ohio, and was in fact the first in-state prospect to get an offer from Urban Meyer and company. The Buckeyes are far from the only school to be showing an early interest in Byrne either.

He did camp at Ohio State back in June, an experience he really enjoyed. He also got a chance to chat with Urban Meyer on that visit, and Meyer made it clear that he was a top priority for the Buckeyes. In case you were wondering, Byrne was also the teammate of Buckeye freshman Blake Thomas. So, we caught up with Byrne to see how his summer went and where thing stand for him as fall is quickly approaching.

What did your summer look like in terms of recruitment and camps?

JB: I visited Michigan and Notre Dame and then camped at Notre Dame, West Virginia and Ohio State.

You were at the Ohio State camp back in June, how did you feel that went?

JB: I felt I did pretty well in one on ones and I think coach Warinner agreed.

You got to spend time with Meyer and Warinner during that camp, have you had any contact with the staff since then?

JB: I call my recruiting coach (Stan Drayton) and Coach Warinner every couple weeks. We mainly just talk about how the recruiting process is going and try to get to know each other a little better.

Besides the Buckeyes, are there any other schools that you have interest in?

JB: I'd say I'm most interested in Ohio State, Michigan, and Notre Dame in no particular order at this point.

How would you summarize your game? What are your strengths?

JB: I'd say my biggest strength is pass blocking and being able to handle speed ends and big, powerful ends.

What are you looking forward to most this upcoming season?

JB: The thing I'm most looking forward to this season is seeing how all the work I've put in this off season will pay off. I'm up 25 lbs. and feel comfortable at 285 and I've got a lot stronger and powerful, so I think that should really help my run blocking this year.

Any idea when you want to make your college decision?

JB: I plan on making my decision before my senior year. Whether it's right after the season, in the spring, or in the summer I'm not sure yet, but when it feels right.