• Bo Pelini from Nebraska visits Thaddeus Snodgrass
• Illinois offers Eric Glover-Williams
• Coach Tom Izzo from Michigan State watches Cliff Alexander
• Urban Meyer & Stanford's David Shaw visit Jabrill Peppers
• Mike Vrabel visits Wisconsin commit Jaden Gault
• Well, now Tommy Sanders MAY still announce Wed. He's not sure. Will still visit Auburn or Gamecocks this weekend though
• Kyle Meadows taking an official visit to Louisville this weekend, says Lakota West coach Larry Cox
• New Auburn DC Ellis Johnson visiting Trey Johnson today 
• Nyles Morgan is eyeing a return visit to Michigan
• Michigan plans on visiting Dominique Booth next week
• Jamarco Jones says Florida was in the school today
• Roy Williams from North Carolina visited Joel Berry

Rivals$--Mitchell completes his Ohio State visit '13 TX LB Mike Mitchell

• Ken Mitchell says he knows Mike had a blast and there was zero need for the parents to accompany him as they trust their son to make a solid decision. He expects a family discussion tonight and does not know of any future visits or commitment deadlines.

Scout$--Munger Discusses Buckeye Commitment '13 DT Donovan Munger

• Donovan says Mom was very impressed with the players and staff...especially Coach Vrabel. He realized this weekend that tOSU was his best choice. 

Rivals$--Decision coming soon for Bell '13 GA DB Vonn Bell

• Head Coach Mark Mariakis says Vonn will make a quick decision after the championship game this weekend but he is not speaking with recruiting sites until the game is over. 

Ohio State and Michigan State are showing interest in Walnut Hill junior DB Nilijah Ballew, according to Walnut Hills coach George Kontsis.

Ballew, who is 6 feet 1 and 190 pounds, was named a Rivals.com Top 250 prospect to watch in the 2014 class this fall.

Ohio State recruiting: '13 OH DE Tracy Sprinkle talks about his official visit

We chatted with 2013 DE Tracy Sprinkle to get thoughts on his official visit to Ohio State over the weekend as well as what the future of the Ohio State football program has in store.

Ohio State's perfect 12-0 season has now come and gone. But with it, so too were Ohio State fans presented the chance to not only celebrate perfection, but show a group of future (and prospective future) Buckeyes what Ohio State football is all about. One of those Buckeyes is soon-to-be 2013 early enrollee Tracy Sprinkle.

It was also a banner fall for Tracy as he named the Associated Press' 2012 Ohio Division 1 Co-Defensive Player of the Year (along with future d-line running game, fellow 2013 commit, Billy Price). We spoke with the future Buckeye defensive lineman to give us the inside scoop on his official visit to Ohio State and what the perfect season celebration this past weekend was like from a visitor's perspective.

cont...

Ohio State recruiting: '13 OH DL Billy Price talks about his official visit

Ohio's 2013 D1 Co-Defensive Player of the Year Billy Price joined us to discuss what his Ohio State official visit was like, the Buckeyes going 12-0, he and his classmates' own recruiting of LB Mike Mitchell, and much more.

The Ohio State Buckeyes are 12-0. No NCAA punishment could deny a motivated, angry group from doing what few what have predicted they'd done going into the season. While they didn't have any post season glory to show for their troubles, the team can reflect positively on a divisional championship and a year in which they defeated their arch rivals, 26-21, which in the storied Michigan-Ohio State rivalry can be worth as much as any bowl win ever would be. But for all the spoils and pride that goes along with accomplishing something that had only been done five times previously in Ohio State's long, storied football history, what comes next for the Buckeyes?

Enter Billy Price and the rest of the 2013 Ohio State verbal commitments. They, along with a few guys still in the process of making up their minds, were in attendance for the Buckeyes' "Celebration of Perfection". This group will form the crux of the future of Ohio State football...but that's not going to stop them from taking in the moment in the here and now. The vast majority of these recruits were also in town for the weekend on their NCAA allowed official visits.

We chatted with Price about his official visit, the class of 2013's intra-recruiting of Mike Mitchell, and what the future of the Ohio State defensive line is going to look like.

cont...

Recruiting wars: the height of the silly season

In college football, we like to call the off-season the 'silly season'. Silly because if your team is looking for a new coach, you stay up until 3 in the morning gleaning information from message boards wondering where the university Learjet has filed a flight plan to in FlightAware.

Silly because if you're an avid follower of a team like say, for instance, Ohio State, you follow blogs (not unlike this one) and the darkest nooks and crannies of message boards hoping to glean insider information about where a 17 or 18 year old kid will go to school at.

For Michigan and Ohio State, it's no different. And historically, it's been a bit more personal. Michigan's success, in large part, has hinged on them being able to recruit Ohio. Guys like Charles Woodson and Desmond Howard, both Ohio natives, went to Ann Arbor and found Heisman glory. Michigan native Craig Krenzel came to Ohio State and won a national championship. Also, the original 'Michigan Man', Bo Schembechler,was an Ohio native, was an assistant at OSU, coached at Miami of Ohio, and then landed at Michigan, touching off the 10 Year War.

And it feels almost personal when an Ohio kid spurns the state university to go to their arch rival. Which is a wildly inappropriate way to feel about a kid who you'll never meet going to a school that he feels is best for his academic and athletic future. Almost creepy, actually.

But it's football. So yeah, there's that.

cont...

Ohio State recruiting: State Secrets, 12/10

The coaching carousel is slowly dying down and recruits have already reacted to some of the decisions, either by decommitting or looking seriously at other options. Ohio State continues to be in play for many of these recruits, but are most focused on finishing strong in the class of 2013.

Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer has been a busy man these past couple of days, from hosting a bevy of recruits to speaking at a 12-0 celebration rally, Meyer has continually done the things he has had to do to try and finish the class of 2013 off strong. The class has already reached 19 total commitments with the announcements of '13 defensive back Gareon Conley (OH) and '13 defensive lineman Donovan Munger (OH). Conley's commitment came on Friday afternoon, only a week or so after decommitting from Michigan. Although Conley was rumored to be leaning towards becoming a Buckeye, the finality of his decision brought some relaxation to Buckeye Nation as they wrapped up one of the better corners in the country.

Munger, meanwhile, was a surprise commitment to most. On Sunday afternoon, following the culmination of a visit to Columbus, word leaked out that Munger had indeed committed to Ohio State. The 6'4", 285-pound Munger, a starter the past three seasons at his high school on both sides of the line, has been recruited by the Buckeyes as a defensive tackle. Munger is the 18th best tackle in the country, which is pretty impressive given that there are over 140 defensive tackles on radars nationwide.

But the real story of the weekend was Mike Mitchell and his official visit. Mitchell's been said to be an Ohio State lean since he first took the recruiting world by storm with a breakout performance at Nike's The Opening 2012. We heard whispers all weekend that Mitchell was having a great time, and while he's yet to officially commit to the Buckeyes, all signs are sounding very positive ($):

cont...

I believed Johnathan Hankins when he said last summer that he wanted to help Ohio State win a championship.

But some NFL draft decisions are made for you. And when you're a virtual lock in the top 15 of the draft, you make the jump, no questions asked.

Hankins surprised no one Monday in announcing he'll forgo his senior season and enter the 2013 NFL draft. The Ohio State junior defensive tackle boosted his stock this season, eating up space and ball-carriers in the middle of the Buckeyes' defensive line. Many NFL draft prognosticators, including our own Mel Kiper Jr. and Todd McShay, have Hankins as the first Big Ten player off the board in April.

Hankins won't help Ohio State try to win a national title in 2013, but he undoubtedly made the right call.

"I will always be grateful for the family I have gained here at Ohio State," Hankins said in a prepared statement. "I want to thank coach [Urban] Meyer, coach [Mike] Vrabel and strength coach [Mickey] Marotti for bringing the best out of me as a football player and person, and for their constant support. I also want to thank coach [Jim] Tressel and coach [Jim] Heacock for recruiting me and giving me an opportunity to be a part of this great school and great program."

Hankins added that he intends to finish his degree at Ohio State, which is great to hear. He started every game the past two seasons and finishes his career with 138 tackles (58 solo, 80 assists), including 16.5 tackles for loss and five sacks.

Although Ohio State expected Hankins to leave, his departure underscores some potential depth issues the team will have up front in 2013. Defensive end John Simon, the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, moves on along with nose tackle Garrett Goebel and defensive end Nathan Williams.

The good news is Urban Meyer has recruited very well at defensive line, securing blue chippers Noah Spence and Adolphus Washington in his first class (both played this fall). Linemen like Michael Bennett, Steve Miller, Tommy Schutt and Joel Hale all should see increased roles in 2013. Ohio State also is bringing in several standout D-line recruits like ESPN 300 selections Joey Bosa and Michael Hill.

Ohio State has a lot of young talent along the defensive line, but the Buckeyes need those players to grow up in a hurry if they want to take another step forward on defense.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- There was no real hype for Bradley Roby before the season, no watch lists building buzz and giving a head start on becoming a nationally recognized name.

Even within the program, the conversations in August typically focused more on getting consistent effort instead of praising all the natural gifts Ohio State's top cornerback possessed.

Roby essentially had to go the old-fashioned way to start generating attention and picking up accolades -- the redshirt sophomore had to earn it with his play instead of his reputation.

Urban Meyer and the Buckeyes never rest, especially when it comes to the trenches.

With six defensive linemen in the fold in the class of 2013, the school has set its sights on 2014 and is going after one of the most sought after defensive ends in the country.

Ohio State already knows about Norcross (Ga.) High School as it is actively pursuing running back Myles Autry.

After going over two months without a commitment, Ohio State landed some two big names in big ways last week to highlight a very busy seven days of recruiting as the Buckeyes look to close out the 2013 class strong.

When Gareon Conley (Massillon, Ohio/Washington) and Donovan Munger (Shaker Heights, Ohio/Shaker Heights) gave their pledge to Ohio State Friday and Sunday, respectively, it marked a huge day for the Buckeyes, who now have eight ESPN 150 athletes in their recruiting class.

Conley brings raw talent to the mix and is an incredible asset to an already strong secondary in the class.

When Korrin Wiggins (Durham, N.C./Hillside) took an official visit to Ohio State at the end of November, it caught nearly everyone off guard, as Wiggins committed to North Carolina in February and had not shown any evidence of changing that commitment.

"I am still considering Ohio State and I wanted to see what school fits me best," said the three-star safety. "I'm doing pros and cons with everything right now. It's pretty much Clemson, Ohio State, and UNC that I am weighing out. I am going to be picking from those three schools."

At Ohio State, Wiggins said he was surprised at how much he was able to learn while the Buckeyes took on Michigan.

Kansas State picked up a huge commitment Monday evening. An MVP-type player, if you will.

Junior college outside linebacker Martrell Spaight (Coffeyville, Kan./Coffeyville Community College) announced via Twitter that he verbally committed to the Wildcats. The commitment was then confirmed by the Red Ravens coaching staff.

"Everything they do is just like us at Coffeyville; the coaches really made me feel at home," Spaight said.

Urban Meyer might be calling Cam Burrows, Ezekiel Elliott, Tim Gardner, Darron Lee, Evan Lisle, Billy Price, Tracy Sprinkle, and Jayme Thompson his elite eight by the time they get to campus.

Either that or the octet might have bright futures as recruiting coordinators, as they were a big part of an incredible weekend for Ohio State.

ESPN 150 wide receiver Gareon Conley and outside linebacker Mike Mitchell took official visits, as did ESPN 300 defensive tackle Donovan Munger and junior college linebacker Tommy Sanders.

Nebraska continues to put an emphasis on recruiting as the Huskers sent out another offer in the Buckeye State.

Springfield, Ohio, receiver Thaddeus Snodgrass reported to ESPN.com he added an offer from the Huskers on Monday.

He is the fourth Ohio prospect in the Class of 2014 to earn an offer from the Huskers.

Snodgrass now has 11 offers, with Michigan State, Notre Dame and Ohio State among his favorites. He planned a November commitment but backed off of it.