Strongsville (Ohio) junior OT Brandon Bailey visiting #OhioState on Saturday: mbd.scout.com/mb.aspx?s=145&…

— Allen Trieu (@AllenTrieu) November 2, 2012

Hearing IU has pulled out of BeeJay Anya recruitment to focus on Noah Vonleh.

— Evan Daniels (@EvanDanielsFOX) October 31, 2012

• South Carolina & Pittsburgh offers Garrett Dickerson
• Josh Malone unofficially visits Western Kentucky
• Purdue offers Davonte James

BN$--Battle For Bell Tight As It Gets '13 GA DB Vonn Bell

• Coach Mark Mariakis says Vonn is down to Ohio State, Tennessee and Alabama with all three being even. He is not sure about official visits but thinks he will take The Game to see tOSU's atmosphere.

BN$--Will Buckeyes Survive Munger's Cut? '13 OH DT Donovan Munger

• Coach Jarvis Gibson says Donovan does not have a leader and will likely take all of his visits. He may visit for The Game but will likely take an official visit to tOSU in December.

First round of high school football playoffs is a big one (tennessean)

Every high school football team in Tennessee that’s still alive hopes it will make it to Cookeville in a month.

Eight state champions will be crowned Nov. 30-Dec. 1 at Tennessee Tech’s Tucker Stadium.

For 176 teams, the journey begins Friday night in the first round of the playoffs.

For 24 others that earned first-round byes, the journey starts next week.

Ensworth (10-0), ranked 14th nationally by USA TODAY, will be going for its third straight Division II-AA title.

But history teaches us not to assume anything. Ensworth took a 9-0 record into a home quarterfinal in 2009, but Montgomery Bell Academy stunned the Tigers 27-24.

This Ensworth team seems better. Running back Corn Elder probably will break 6,000 career rushing yards in next week’s quarterfinal against the McCallie-St. Benedict winner.

The major-college prospect has 5,954 career yards and 74 touchdowns.

Don’t be surprised if the Tigers play Memphis University School (8-2) or Brentwood Academy (8-2) in the final.

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Mr. Football candidate Ryan Timmons heads state all-star roster (courier journal)

Franklin County High School’s Ryan Timmons, one of the top contenders for Kentucky’s Mr. Football award this season, was among 39 players selected for the Kentucky all-star team that will face a group of Louisville all-stars in December.

The 2012 Best of the Bluegrass All-Star Game is set for 2 p.m. on Dec. 9 at St. Xavier High School.

The Greater Louisville Football Coaches Association will announce the roster for the Louisville-area squad at a later date.

Timmons has helped Franklin County post a 10-0 record entering next week’s Class 5-A playoff opener against Scott. He has rushed for 1,004 yards and 21 touchdowns while also catching 24 passes for 827 yards and 14 TDs.

Timmons and Trinity wide receiver James Quick are considered by many to be the top candidates for this year’s Mr. Football award.

Timmons’ teammate, quarterback Logan Woodside, also was selected for the Kentucky squad. Simon Kenton’s Jeff Marksberry is the head coach, with Monroe County’s John Petett the head assistant.

Here is the entire roster:

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CLA Sports Recruit Interview: Sebastian LaRue 2013 USC Commit (college level athletes)

The 2013 recruiting class at USC features three of the top wide receivers in the nation in Sebastian LaRue (Santa Monica, CA), Steven Mitchell (Bishop Alemany, CA) and Eldridge Massington (West Mesquite, TX). LaRue and Mitchell are both versatile slot-type players just under 6'0", while Massington has a long frame at 6'3" 205.

LaRue has great top-end speed and a knack for making difficult catches in coverage. The Santa Monica HS senior has a natural ability to make defenders miss when he has the ball in his hands and has superior route-running skills as high school wideout.

"I have setup two visits so far. One to Washington State... when they play UCLA in a couple of weeks and I setup one to Ohio State when they play Michigan. So those are the two games that I'll be checking out and just checking out the school environments. Right now I'm fully committed to USC. They're my number one right now, that's where I stand," LaRue told CLA Sports.

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Battleground Recruits: East (247sports)

With the presidential election just days away and the battleground states playing a big part in the country's next commander-in-chief, there is not a better time to take a look at six key "battleground recruits" for the East region in the 2013 class.

6. Corey Clement, RB, Glassboro (NJ)


The New Jersey running back has gone from a Pittsburgh commit, to a Notre Dame lean, to de-committing from Pittsburgh to leaning to Wisconsin with just one day left before he announces his final decision. The 5-foot-11, 205-pound record-setting runner is thought to be headed to the Big 10 to follow in the footsteps of another South New Jersey great.

National Analyst Steve Wiltfong on Clement’s recruitment: “Been a lot of different leaders in this campaign. First it was Pittsburgh who won Clement’s vote only for him to reconsider and de-commit. While Clement was still a Panthers pledge, he took an official visit to Notre Dame the weekend of Sept. 21 and the Irish became the front-runner. While Notre Dame waits on another running back candidate in Tarean Folston, Clement took an official visit to Wisconsin the weekend of Oct. 19. Following the stop on the trail in Madison, Clement de-committed from Pitt and named the Badgers his leader. He’ll announce on Nov. 2 and we expect this vote to go to Wisconsin unless Notre Dame does something last minute to try and sway him.”

5. Derrick Green, RB, Richmond (Va.) Hermitage


Four-star running back Derrick Green has been one of the most talked about prospects in the 2013 class. With the in-state programs not having pushed Green for a commitment, his recruitment has literally covered the map from Michigan to Auburn to Tennessee, and now to Oregon and possibly Ole Miss.

National Analyst Steve Wiltfong on Green’s recruitment: “This campaign has a chance to end with the biggest surprise. Nobody is sure who the true leader is. Michigan is in a good spot as the Green camp told 247Sports his latest stop in Ann Arbor, an official visit over Oct. 19 weekend was another great trip. He took an official visit to Tennessee the weekend of Sept. 14 and word out of Knoxville is the Vols are still in the fight. He’s scheduled to visit Auburn on the weekend of Nov. 9. The Tigers were always figured to be one of the leaders but will their struggles this fall hurt in the Green race? Can Oregon make a major move when Green visits the weekend of Nov. 17? Ole Miss is still involved, Will Green eventually be a Rebel? This one’s impossible to call at this point as the Green party still collects all its data.”

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Trib HS Insider Q&A: Belle Vernon’s Dorian Johnson (trib live)

When the high school football season started, 6-foot-6 Dorian Johnson weighed a hefty 290 pounds.

With the start of WPIAL playoffs approaching, he’s down to 270.

“A lot of water, I guess,” said the Belle Vernon senior offensive tackle, who was committed to Penn State but backed out in September following the sanctions levied against the storied Nittany Lions program.

No matter his size, Johnson has been rated a four-star recruit and the 23rd-best offensive tackle prospect in the Class of 2013, according to Rivals.com. Pitt, Ohio State and Virginia Tech are his main targets, now that Penn State isn’t an option.

“It’s going pretty good,” said Johnson, who recovered a fumble for a touchdown during a 35-0 victory over Albert Gallatin last Friday in the regular-season finale. “It hasn’t been as hectic as it was in the summer, now that we’ve been in the season. I’ve been talking to their coaches every week.”

Johnson and Belle Vernon (4-5) open the WPIAL Class AAA playoffs Friday at No. 6 Central Valley (7-2), which was upset in its regular-season finale last week by Beaver Falls.

cont...

A member of the ESPN Watch List as a defensive end, junior Garrett Dickerson (Oradell, N.J./Bergen Catholic) is a good enough athlete that at least two teams plan on using him on offense.

Pittsburgh joined Ohio State on Wednesday as teams to offer Dickerson as a tight end. A few others like him as an athlete and will decide later where he fits best.

"I was very excited once I heard the news of Pitt offering me," Dickerson said. "I'm glad another program believes in my talents. I'm just really happy to see that teams are starting to see what I can do on the field."

cont...

It turns out two quarters of Ezekiel Elliott (St. Louis/John Burroughs) was better than an entire game from John F. Kennedy on Wednesday.

The Ohio State commit and ESPN 300 running back was the main reason the Bombers rolled to a 56-14 win in a Class 3 District Semifinal on Halloween.

John Burroughs (9-0) sat the 6-foot, 205-pound senior after a first half where he rushed 13 times for 119 yards and scored 4 touchdowns. He added another touchdown on an attempted onside kick by JFK.

The Bombers will play Soldan in the round of 16 on Monday. John Burroughs is trying the state championship for the third straight year.

cont...

One ESPN Watch List tight end will wait until the Michigan game to see Ohio State play, while another is taking in this weekend’s contest against Illinois.

Ethan Wolf (Minster, Ohio/Minster) plans to see the Buckeyes play the Wolverines on Nov. 24, but Jeb Blazevich (Charlotte, N.C./Charlotte Christian) is slated to see Ohio State take on the Illini.

That Blazevich should be here this weekend is a big deal, as he already has 19 Division I offers on his plate. The list includes Alabama, Clemson, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Michigan, Ohio State, Notre Dame, South Carolina, Vanderbilt and Virginia Tech.

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Noah Vonleh Shuffles Visits (zags blog)

Noah Vonleh remains one of the most sought after players on the board in the Class of 2013 and the New Hampton (N.H.) forward has shuffled his visits somewhat because of his busy schedule.

The 6-foot-9 Vonleh will not make his visit to Syracuse this weekend as originally scheduled, but will still make the trip to Indiana Nov. 9-11, New Hampton coach Pete Hutchins confirmed Tuesday to SNY.tv.

Indiana just landed a commitment from Oak Hill (Va.) small forward Troy Williams and remains in the hunt for both Vonleh and DeMatha Catholic big man Beejay Anya, who told SNY.tv Monday he is down to the Hoosiers and N.C. State.

Vonleh will also visit Ohio State the weekend after Thanksgiving (Nov. 30-Dec.2).

Vonleh is also considering Syracuse, Georgetown, UConn and North Carolina and Hutchins said they are “working on” visits to the aforementioned Big East schools.

“It’s difficult with his New Hampton basketball schedule,” the coach said.

Hutchins said they are also “planning an unofficial to North Carolina” sometime between Dec. 27-29 while the team is in Raleigh (N.C.) for a tournament.