Scout $ - Buckeyes Land First For 2014 Class '14 OH OG Marcelys Jones

• By The Bank.....Says it is an honor to be one of the few Ohio Juniors offered & committed to Coach Meyer today. Wanted to be the first commit for the 2014 class & is going to work on recruiting others to join him, starting with Marshon Lattimore. Also says he is cousins with Donovan Munger.

Buckeye targets to be on display in Baltimore

Regardless of which state you follow, the high school football season has just recently ended in the last few weeks. Already there are some big Winter showcases coming up that will display some top underclassmen talent. One of the first of these showcases is the Next Level Nation Underclassmen Showcase being held on Wednesday, December 26th in Baltimore, Maryland. The event will feature some of the top young prospects on the east coast, several of which are either already being recruited by Ohio State or will be at some point down the road.

Apple will get some work in before heading to San Antonio.

The headliner of the event won't be an underclassman, however, as Ohio State commit Eli Apple will be on hand to get some work in before heading to San Antonio, Texas for the U.S. Army All-American Bowl. The 6-foot-1, 190-pound corner is the No. 28 ranked player in the nation by Rivals.com.

Apple will lead a strong group of defensive backs, including class of 2015 corner Dionte Austin out of Towson (Md.) Calvert Hall. The 5-foot-10, 165-pound sophomore camped at Ohio State over the summer and certainly turned heads with his performance. Austin holds early offers from Boston College, Connecticut, and Toledo, and could be the next big-time corner to come out of the state of Maryland.

Austin's partner in crime in the Calvert Hall secondary, safety Juantez McRae, a fellow sophomore, will also be competing. Like Austin, McRae camped with the Buckeyes back in June and holds early offers from Toledo and Youngstown State.

This showcase will also put on display perhaps two of the top class of 2016 prospects on the East Coast, starting with Calvert Hall defensive end/tight end Rahshaun Smith. 'Shaq' as he is more commonly known, was also an Ohio State camper back in June and has early verbal offers from Boston College and Maryland.

The second big-time freshman that plans to work out on Wednesday is Philadelphia (Pa.) St. Joe's Prep wide receiver Cameron Chambers. The 6-foot-3, 180-pound is already generating plenty of buzz and is hearing from several division I programs, including Ohio State.

The above prospects certainly won't be the only highly regarded players at the event as plenty of the top young talent in Maryland should be on hand, providing a platform for some lesser known prospects to jump onto the radar.

FOOTBALL DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: RAEKWON MCMILLAN

FOOTBALL DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR

RAEKWON MCMILLAN

SCHOOL: Liberty County

POSITION: Linebacker/Running back

AGE/GRADE: 17/junior

HEIGHT/WEIGHT: 6-foot-3, 235 pounds

ACHIEVEMENTS: McMillan was named the defensive player of the year in Region 3-AAAA. Ranked as a 5-star prospect by Rivals.com, McMillan has offers from all of the top Division I schools, including Georgia, Alabama, Ohio State and South Carolina. This season he recorded 151 tackles with seven sacks, one interception, five forced fumbles and a fumble returned for a touchdown. He also ran for 316 yards (6.45 yards per carry) and scored nine rushing touchdowns. He is playing in the third annual AT&T Georgia Junior Bowl in Atlanta on Dec. 31 and was named by USA Today as a second-team All-USA selection.

INTERESTS: McMillan maintains a 3.4 GPA and also was a basketball player for the Panthers until this season, when he decided to focus solely on football.

WHAT’S NEXT: McMillan thinks the Panthers will be strong next year and hopes to end his high school career on an extended playoff run. He says Ohio State, Georgia, Clemson, Alabama and South Carolina are his top five schools. He plans to visit campuses and make his decision public at the Under Armour All-America game in 2014.

What they are saying ...

MCMILLAN ON MCMILLAN: “I think I improved this year by dedicating myself to the weight room. I also really learned the playbook — so I know where I’m supposed to be to make plays. My most memorable game this year was against South Effingham. I had 16 tackles, four tackles for a loss and rushed for 93 yards and two touchdowns. It was unfortunate we lost, but I played my heart out in that game.”

LIBERTY COUNTY COACH KIRK WARNER ON MCMILLAN: “Raekwon keeps improving physically and he is getting better in the mental game by leaps and bounds. He became the quarterback of our defense this year — he knows where everyone should be. He works hard in the weight room, you just can’t keep him out of there. We were blessed to have Shadrach (Thornton, now at N.C. State) the last few years, and Raekwon has taken the torch from him. He’s become our leader.”

Urban Meyer’s 2013 Christmas got a whole lot nicer Tuesday morning when Marcelys Jones (Cleveland/Glenville) committed to Ohio State.

In doing so, the 6-foot-4, 325-pound offensive tackle became the first commitment in the class of 2014 for the Buckeyes.

While the junior isn’t sure whether or not he’ll stay on the offensive side of things with Ohio State, he is quite certain he picked the right school.