Long snapper Nick Sharick is the newest Ohio State Buckeye.
The Thomas Worthington product joins Ohio State's class of 2013.
In an exclusive from The O-Zone's Tony Gerdeman, Thomas Worthington long snapper and briefly former Tennessee volunteer Nick Sharick will be joining Ohio State in 2013 as a preferred walk-on. He'll provide depth at a position that also includes Bryce Haynes and George Makridis.
Per Gerdeman, Sharick joined Tennessee last summer but left before fall camp, effectively making him a gray shirt and reintroducing him as a class of 2013 recruit. While he's unrated by the major recruiting services, Sharick was also considering an offer to join South Carolina in a similar preferred walk-on capacity.
Sharick becomes the fourth preferred walk-on to commit to joining the Buckeyes for the 2013 football season following fullback William Houston, quarterback Luke Morgan, and wide receiver Devlin McDaniel. While recent attrition may ultimately help Ohio State's 2013 class be deeper than outsiders may have anticipated, it's always helpful to get players of Sharick and Houston's caliber, who under the previous administration may have even garnered scholarship offers. Getting them without impacting the 82 scholarship limit is crucial until Ohio State is out from under that NCAA mandated limitation.
Vonn Bell: 5-star safety sets up visits to Alabama, Tennessee and Ohio State
5-star safety Vonn Bell put his recruiting on hold until after his senior season at Ridgeland High School.
Ridgeland’s season ended with a loss to Sandy Creek in Saturday’s Class AAAA state championship, and Bell has set up his official visits to his three finalists.
Bell will go to Ohio State on Jan. 11, Alabama on Jan. 18 and Tennessee on Jan. 25, his coach told the AJC.
The AJC Super 11 selection grew up a fan of Tennessee.
Ohio State coach Urban Meyer attended Bell’s game last Saturday at the Georgia Dome.
Taking a Closer Look at OSU's In-State Commits and Prospects - Part II
We've already talked about the in-state defensive prospects that the Buckeyes have landed or offered to this point, so now it's time to look at the other side of the ball.
There isn't a large number of in-state prospects on offense with offers yet, but there is certainly some elite talent in the next few classes according to John McCallister.
Things are still very early for the 2014 class, so there will be more names added to these lists in the coming months.
cont...
Midwest Names Likely To Go National
Clifton Garrett, OLB, Joliet (Ill.) Plainfield South - The top prospect in the state according to 247Sports and the nation’s No. 2 outside linebacker according to the 247Composite, the 6-foot-2, 215-pound Garrett is a hard hitter that has already seen scholarship offers come in from Ohio State, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Michigan State, Ole Miss, Nebraska and Wisconsin among others. Garrett is looking forward to seeing more interest come from the SEC conference and would also like to add an offer from USC. The Buckeyes have impressed the most at this point in the process, but we’re not expecting a decision from Garrett until after his senior season.
Jamarco Jones, OT, Chicago (Ill.) De La Salle - A consensus Top100 player with a chance to be a consensus Top50 prospect, the 6-foot-6, 290-pound Jones could be a guard or tackle on the next level. The likes of Florida, Michigan, Michigan State, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Ole Miss, Vanderbilt and Wisconsin have already offered Jones, and when it’s all said and done, he’ll be one of the most highly recruited players at his position in the land. We like where Notre Dame and Ohio State stand, but Florida and Vanderbilt are two programs that will be in a position to grab some momentum when Jones visits in the spring.
Nyles Morgan, LB, Crete (Ill.) Monee - The 6-foot-2, 215-pound Morgan is right there in the debate for state’s top linebacker alongside Garrett. Florida, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, UCLA, Vanderbilt and Wisconsin are several of the many to already extend a scholarship. The Irish have perhaps shown Morgan the most at this point, but like Garrett, we expect Morgan to take his time and not make a decision until after his senior season. He’ll have many more offers to think about by that point.
Nic Weishar, TE, Chicago (Ill.) Marist – A big-play tight end that has caught 166 passes for 2,260 yards and 18 touchdowns over the last two seasons. The 6-foot-5, 215-pound Weishar is a talented athlete that is also a mid-major level basketball recruit. Notre Dame may be in the driver’s seat, but Weishar is also considering offers from several places including Boston College, Iowa, Michigan, Northwestern, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Vanderbilt and Wisconsin.
Enoch Smith Jr., DT, Chicago (Ill.) Mount Carmel – Earned his offer from Notre Dame at camp and went out and backed it up this fall with 23 tackles for loss in a run to a state championship. Cincinnati, Illinois, Indiana, N.C. State and Purdue have also offered the 6-foot-3, 270-pound Smith with interest being generated from coast to coast. Notre Dame is the team to beat at this point.
cont...
The Times' lineman of the year: Cameron Hunt of Corona Centennial
Recruiters, fans and sportswriters have known about Cameron Hunt of Corona Centennial since he was a starting offensive lineman as a sophomore. But what happened over the course of his senior football season revealed that Hunt had become the lineman of the year in Southern California.
"He's probably the best offensive lineman we've ever had, but I think what's even more important is his leadership," Coach Matt Logan said.
The example Hunt set on and off the field was a big reason Centennial went 14-2, won the Inland Division title and knocked off three consecutive unbeaten teams en route to an appearance in the CIF state championship Open Division bowl game.
His goal was to "play my hardest" play after play and be dominant.
"People knew my name but didn't know what I was about," Hunt said. "I think I've shown I play with a physical streak and a nasty streak, and that's going to help me at the next level."
Hunt has committed to California.
QB Drew Barker grabs two more offers 
Drew Barker has two more scholarship offers to consider.
The ESPN Watch List quarterback from Hebron (Ky.) Conner said he recently picked up scholarship offers from North Carolina and Tennessee.
Lonnie Johnson postpones announcement
Lonnie Johnson (Gary, Ind./West Side) announced Monday that he would commit to a school on Friday. On Tuesday, the 6-foot-2, 180-pound wide receiver decided to hold off on a commitment for a little while.
His uncle and coach Jason Johnson confirmed the postponement saying it was a little early in the process for the athlete to announce.
Johnson has offers from Bowling Green, Illinois and Ohio State in pocket right now and interest from Ball State, Cincinnati, Florida State, Indiana, Louisville, LSU, Michigan State, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Oregon and Purdue.
He had been considered a heavy Buckeyes lean after calling the offer from Ohio State a dream come true and one he had been waiting for since he was 12.
The Buckeyes are still very much in the fold, but Johnson has decided to wait on a decision.
Recruited as an athlete, Johnson is being looked at as a wide receiver by most schools.
The junior caught 31 passes for 777 yards and added 13 touchdowns this season. As a defensive back, he had 29 tackles, eight pass break-ups and six interceptions.
Four-star outside linebacker Tommy Sanders (Cordele, Ga./Butler Community College) will likely be No. 20 or No. 34 on Wednesday.
That’s the 20th commit for either Ohio State or South Carolina or No. 34 for Texas A&M in the Class of 2013 after he makes his announcement.
Butler (El Dorado, Kan.) CC coach Troy Morrell confirmed Sanders’ plans for his announcement via text message today.
I'm guessing Blanding commits to FSU, which is a shame. But we'll have other targets on the board...
I also noticed that 247 has Lattimore listed as a CB, but I'm assuming we're recruiting him as a WR/ATH correct?
It's not known where he's being recruited at the moment. But many scouts have said he projects better as a CB, but it seems like a waste of his type of athlete.
I'm not so sure on Blanding. I think he likes Virginia a lot. Wouldn't hurt to get him to visit so he can visit Columbus but he'll be a tough pull from the ACC.
Lattimore will be a lockdown corner or an explosive reciever. Maybe he'll play both ways? Kind of surprised he's a 90 on 247. That's not bad at all but with the way Kurelick raved about him I thought he'd be rated a tad higher.
He should end higher. 247 likes to ease into the rankings, to hedge their own bets. Most guys who are relatively unproven but still majorly talented end up starting out in the 88-92 range, and have room to move. I suspect that since Lattimore was largely "found" by Marc Givler from rivals, 247 is doing their due diligence, and being conservative until camp season kicks into gear.
Interesting. Tate already turned down UM for basketball, and now Hoke offers him for football?
I think Tate said he'd consider playing football at tOSU if given the opportunity, but I believe he sees basketball as his calling.
Couldn't find any highlights on the newly offered prospects but this lone short clip of Chris Williams, sorry guys.
Also of note, Brice Ramsey is the QB of Camden County. We were recruiting him at one point long ago.
Damn, 34th commit. TAM picked up the SEC culture real fast as in S-E-C fast.
"It's just another case of there you are". ~ Doc (1918-2012)
Thanks for these updates, I read them everyday.
Gotta love this Georgia pipeline we're building, great football state with a TON of talent
I know it's probably a long shot, but to start this class off with Blanding would be unreal
Sorry Urban, Woody is still my favorite
Sounds like Tommy Sanders has committed to Texas A&M as expected
I expected S. Carolina actually
Interesting I always felt Texas A&M was his choice, even before Ohio State made a play for him
What is the record for number of players signed in one year? Tex AM is now at 35, and has a number of players stating that they are still considering going there.
The improbably named Houston Nutt signed 37 players (plus a gray shirt) in 2009 for Ole Miss (they are in the Southeastern Conference if you're not sure, football fans). Pretty sure this is the record for the modern era. Not shockingly, it was a widely praised class at the time in the SEC, but, again not shockingly, it blew up in his face along with the rest of the team; common sense would suggest signing 38 teenagers is not a good idea for D1 football team. I believe 21 of them saw the playing field for any significant amount of time.
Copy and paste the previous paragraph for when Kevin Sumlin gets shitcanned in a few years (and adjust the names and numbers accordingly) as this is not only a bad idea for college athletics, it's actually a bad idea for a program as well.
Sadly, there will be no follow-up with the SEC itself (or the NCAA), which will create clauses and allowances so that colleges and coaches can continue to give impressionable, starry-eyed high schoolers a temporary answer to their dreams, only to kick them to the curb the next signing period.
You could probably guess A&M for any recruit left and have a 50/50 shot.
Looks like A&M plans to field a B-team with 85 commits in the 2013 class.
Sounds like they are going the DIII route. My freshman year at Mount Union, we had 110 come in.
Purple Raider
Demarre Kitt will visit Ohio State, more than likely, for the Indiana game on Feb 10th
I wonder if Meyer let off on Sanders to lock up Mitchell
They play different OLB positions, but it's possible.
Is there any LB recruit that plays the same position, maybe Hearns? I'm still hoping for the Mitchell, Johnson, Hearns trifecta...
Being in good position with some of the top 2014 LB prospects along with the 5 guys we brought in last year. I would rather if we took a guy like Timmons or Elder over 3 true LB's, especially with Worley in the fold as well. But if Hearns wants in I really doubt the staff says no.
I would prefer another offensive athlete because in my opinion I think WR is more of a concern than LB, even if just slightly. For the offense to really hum I think we need a few more guys with true big play ability, there are already some in this class, but more cant hurt. A Quick, Gibson, Timmons (preferably) or Elder, Mitchell, Johnson, Worley, and Bell (have to think if hes in the staff will make room) finish would be fantastic.
Miles is reporting on Twitter that Sanders' coach is saying he hasn't heard of any commitment. Announcement still expected tomorrow.
If it's anybody but A&M, we are all gonna look stupid here, but I just don't see it happening. A&M is logical. People deny claims all the time. If the father is saying he's signing with A&M, I would believe his own dad over his football coach.
Then why were we hearing Sanders was trying to commit to OSU a few days back? Did the staff decide they didn't want him or was all the talk just crap?
It was just confirmed by GigEm at 247.
http://tamu.247sports.com/Article/Tommy-Sanders-commits-to-Texas-AM-107454
The numbers never really added up. With the targets we really want and are going hard after, there's no room for Sanders in this class. Unless there is something going on that we are clueless about. I'm sure he had interest with OSU, but he's built a relationship with TAMU way before we even brought him in for a visit. So there had to be mutual interest at one point. If we made a move on him earlier, we probably would have had a better chance.
Also, I would be shocked if we didn't land Mitchell and Johnson, and I think something happened behind the scenes that we don't know about. Hearns is still visiting too, so it's more than meets the eye here. Sanders short recruitment was mystery from the moment he set foot on campus.
About him trying to commit, I heard no such thing from a reliable source. IF he did try, we more than likely turned him down.
^^^^This Gene has it nailed Sanders will be either A&M or Gamecock as its a numbers game this year and next and we arent in the SEC so we cant cut players in the offseason :) Its also indicative of the staff knowing more about where they stand with current recruits than anything which is a great sign for us.
If there was no room for Sanders in this class why did we even waste the time recruiting him?
Probably wasn't confident then with Mitchell or Johnson or even Hearns visiting. I don't know, you're asking the wrong guy. I'm not Urban Meyer here, just trying to give you my opinion.
It comes down to OSU walking away due to numbers, all I can think of.
Jeremy Birmingham believes Ohio State still has a fighting chance tomorrow, not sure why after Hamm from 247 spoke to Sanders directly on the phone confirming his commitment to TAMU.
Everything points to TAMU right now, and OSU walked away. We'll find out for sure tomorrow where he signs. ESPN has an article up about the commitment as well which I will include here.
Anyways, thread is updated and final