Demarre Kitt Junior Highlights

Vonn Bell Senior Highlights

Free - In-Depth: Final Scout 300

Free - Final Scout 300 rankings for 2013

The Final 2013 Scout300

#25 Vonn Bell (5-star)
#28 Mike Mitchell (5)
#32 Jalin Marshall (5)
#38 Joey Bosa (5)
#47 Ezekiel Elliott (4)
#72 Evan Lisle (4)
#73 Marcus Baugh (4)
#111 Eli Apple (4)
#123 Cam Burrows (4)
#129 Gareon Conley (4)
#149 Michael Hill (4)
#151 J.T. Barrett (4)
#152 Shelton Gibson
#203 Trey Johnson (4)
#204 Billy Price (4)
#214 Donovan Munger (4)
#222 James Clark (4)
#225 Tyquan Lewis (4)
#246 Jayme Thompson (4)
#287 Cameron Hunt (4)
#291 Cornelius Elder (4)

You could basically put together a starting 11 on D with just OSU's Scout300 commits...

DL - Bosa, Price, Hill, Munger
LB - Johnson, Mitchell, Lewis
DB - Apple, Burrows, Conley, Thompson

• @MarcGivlerBG WR James Clark tells me he is still visiting #Clemson this weekend but #OhioState still in the picture.
• @Miles11W: 2013 OT Dan Skipper will be in Columbus this Saturday through Monday. 
• @AllenTrieu ND, OSU and Michigan State all at Chicago De La Salle today: Jamarco Jones, Mikale Wilbon, Shelby Spence
• @NateClouse 2014 RB Jonathan Hilliman plans on attending junior days at #OhioState, #Michigan, #BC, and #NorthCarolina
• @Derek11W 2014 DB Nick Glass was expected to visit OSU the weekend of Feb. 10 but he tells me he will be at UCLA instead that weekend. 
• @Derek11W 2014 Sam Mustipher says he'll visit #NotreDame this weekend. Plans to visit #OhioState a 3rd time in near future. 
• Kyrin Priester will take his official visit to tOSU on 1/25 per Marc Givler & Kevin Noon 
• Brian Kelly from Notre Dame visits Jabrill Peppers
• Urban Meyer visits Enoch Smith Jr., Parrker Westphal & Clifton Garrett
• Kirk Ferentz from Iowa visit Orlando Brown Jr.
• Jerry Azzinaro from Oregon visits Enoch Smith Jr.
• Dan Roushar & Mark Dantonio from Michigan State visits Clifton Garrett
• Ohio State visits Kyron Watson
• Tennessee visits Vonn Bell
• Dan Ferrigno from Michigan visits Tyler Luatua
• UCF offers Quincy Wilson
• Florida State offer Jeffrey Holland & Isaiah Ford
• Penn State & Michigan offers Kyle Berger
• Louisville offers Lorenzo Carter & Kevin Mouhon
• Minnesota offers Daniel Cage
• Indiana offers Darrin Hall
• Georgia Tech offers Derrell Scott
• Tulane offers Josh Malone
• 2015 Cass Tech RB Michael Weber named Ohio State his leader. Currently only holds offers from Illinois & Syracuse.

Rivals $ - Hester set for busy off-season '14 NJ ATH Kiy Hester

• Thinks Ohio State and Vandy are close to offering...has visited MSU and Rutgers...offers from Arkansas, BC, UConn, Illinois, Maryland, Miami (FL), Michigan, MSU, Pitt, Purdue, Rutgers, Syracuse and West Virginia.

Rivals $ - Jacobs talks official visit to Ohio State '13 MD WR Taivon Jacobs

• Committed to OSU because he felt like it was a place where he could make a positive change in his life...recaps his visit...staff projects him in the slot...talks about how he heard from a lot of people that he wasn't worthy of an OSU offer and set out to prove them wrong this year.

Scout $ - Bates Making Waves '14 FL LB Dillon Bates

• By Beth Long...up to 22 offers and enjoyed the Army combine...top schools are Notre Dame, South Carolina, Tennessee, Ohio State, Oklahoma and Florida and plans to visit all in the near future.

BN $ - OSU Target Clark Makes Visit Choice '13 FL WR James Clark

• Will visit Clemson this weekend but might switch Florida to an unofficial so he can visit OSU. 

Scout $ - Malzahn Impresses Talented 2014 Prospect '14 GA LB Kevin Mouhon

• Spent this past Sunday at Auburn with his friend Ben Bradley and got a tour of the facilities from Gus Malzahn.

Scout $ - Tuesday Morning Recruiting Update

• By The Bank.....Says he isn't surprised about the recent WR offers, as Ohio State wants to add playmakers to this class. Doesn't believe anything has changed regarding Vonn Bell & Ohio State is definitely in the game. Also believes there are two, possibly three, spots left in the 2013 class. 

Scout $ Video - Recruiting Hotline: Jacobs talks OSU '13 MD WR Taivon Jacobs

• By Kenney....Loves Ohio State & the family atmosphere. Says he had a great time on his official visit & is building a great relationship with the other commits.

Scout $ - All the Latest on Drake Harris '14 MI WR Drake Harris

• By Trieu.....Says meeting Coach Meyer & receiving the offer was great. Still committed to Michigan State, but says he's now going to focus on just playing football in college. No visits set up yet, but has interest in checking out Michigan, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Florida, Alabama, Georgia & Florida State. 

ESPN $ - Vonn Bell spends time with finalists '13 GA DB Vonn Bell

• Says he enjoyed spending time with the OSU coaching staff & hanging out with current players on his visit. Goes on to talk about his interest in Alabama & Tennessee. Will announce on NLOID or the day before.

Ohio State recruiting: State Secrets, 1/15 - James Clark, Kyrin Priester offered

No rest for the weary. Barely 24 hours removed from the huge commitment of Damon Webb, Urban Meyer and the Buckeyes are hitting the ground running with offers out to three huge new wide receiver targets.

Urban Meyer and his 12-0 Ohio State coaching staff simply refuse to rest on their laurels. Just a shade more than 24 hours following securing the commitment of consensus 4-star class of 2014 CB Damon Webb (who some have said may be the best cornerback in that class when everything's said and done), Meyer's wasted no time in making headway on a perhaps even more interesting Michigan based prospect.

Monday evening, Ohio State officially offered '14 4-star WR Drake Harris, a current Michigan State commit. Where things get interesting (beyond the fact that this is only sure to further rile former Ohio State defensive coordinator Mark Dantonio and the ever prone to accustations of dirty pool, MSU DC Pat Narduzzi), is that Harris also happens to be a 4-star 2014 basketball recruit. Not only is Harris expected to potentially suit up and catch the pigskin for Sparty, but Tom Izzo was banking on him playing the off guard for the always dangerous Spartans men's basketball team, too.

As of yet, it doesn't appear that Thad Matta is interested in recruiting Harris in the same capacity. Maybe Urban should consider getting on the phone with his basketball counterpart and figuring out how to work together for the greater Buckeye good.

Sticking with hoops for a quick moment, it sounds like Matta, Jeff Boals, and the men's basketball staff have their eyes on a prospect straight out of the 2015 recruiting circuit. North Atlanta (GA) big man Noah Dickerson is expecting a visit from the Buckeyes' staff tomorrow. With other interest from Xavier, Notre Dame, and George Mason, Ohio State would quickly become the largest fish in a smaler pond for the power forward's services. The 6-7 Dickerson is said to be the prototypical Buckeye big and could be a huge get for Matta.

But now to the news you came for: Despite an in-home visit Monday night from new Florida Gators wide receivers coach (and former Kentucky head man) Joker Phillips, '13 WR James Clark is still in the process of ironing out just how serious he's going to consider the Buckeyes. Ohio State officially gave Clark a committable offer Monday. We should know later this morning whether or not Clark will be visiting Ohio State this weekend or not:

He also said he should know by Tuesday which school he will visit this weekend between Ohio State and Clemson. He is coming off a visit to Nebraska and has also visited Purdue, so he has just two official visits remaining.

"It's still in the air," Clark texted. "I'll talk to both tonight so I'll know in the morning."

But the Buckeyes naturally aren't putting all their eggs in one basket:

Offered By The Ohio State Today #Blessed!

— KYRIN PRIESTER (@KyPriester) January 15, 2013

3-star WR Kyrin Priester is currently committed to former Wisconsin defensive coordinator Dave Doeren and the NC State Wolfpack. He's long been one of the favorites in that class by Wolfpack faithful, and with his offer Monday evening, could represent a sentiment amongst the coaching staff that Shelton Gibson may not have his standardized test scores situation ironed out or that Corn Elder either isn't interested or not a good fit.

The situation is only further compounded by the drama surrounding JUCO WR Corey Smith. Some early reports Monday inaccurately attributed a report to Scout's Bill "Bank" Greene that Smith was an imminent commit for the Buckeyes. As we discussed in our article about former Buckeye Verlon Reed, what Greene actually stated was that while things were looking good with Smith, they were by no means a done deal yet:

Scout's Bill "Bank" Greene said on 97.1 The Fan's "Bishop & Rothman" radio program earlier today that, "I think there's still some i's that need dotted, maybe some t's crossed. But I think that's going to get worked out this week. I think Urban's going to go down there to Mississippi, talk to his coach, check out the transcript a little closer and I think if everything fits, then I think Corey Smith will flip from Mississippi State."

If we were ever to put someone on commit watch, however, Smith would almost certainly fit that bill.

Speaking of erroneous reports, there were some rumors from an ESPN radio host in Chattanooga late Monday afternoon that Vonn Bell, who left his official visit to Ohio State without committing, may have given a "soft-verbal" to Alabama head coach Nick Saban during an in-home visit Monday afternoon. It didn't take long for these to be disproven.

While it's not hard to imagine Bell still winding up in Tuscaloosa when the dust settles, at least for now, he's sticking to his plan to commit on National Signing Day 2013, February 6th.

Finally, in one more bit of visit news, it sounds like Kerry Coombs, Ohio State's emphatic defensive backs coach, is on his way to meet with '15 RB Jordan Scarlett and '14 S Quincy Wilson. Let's just say they don't call him the closer for nothing, folks:

Ohio State Recruiting Board Update: 1/15/13

Smyrna Beach WR James Clark enjoys in-home visit with UF assistant Joker Philliips

New Florida wide receivers coach Joker Phillips has been courting New Smyrna Beach star James Clark quite heavily since he arrived in Gainesville last month. Phillips was visiting the 5-foot-11, 170-pound receiver again Monday night and Clark said he enjoyed his visit.

"In-home visit with Coach Phillips from Florida went well today," Clark wrote in a text message Monday night. "It was really a good chance to strengthen our relationship and get to know each other better."

Clark, however, who still has a visit remaining this weekend to either Clemson or Ohio State, and then his final official visit will be Jan. 25 to Florirda, wasn't quite ready to say the Gators had moved in front of the rest of his four finalists. Northwestern, which Clark visited in November, is also in the mix.

"Ehh, can't really say that until I visit," Clark texted.

He also said he should know by Tuesday which school he will visit this weekend between Ohio State and Clemson. He is coming off a visit to Nebraska and has also visited Purdue, so he has just two official visits remaining.

"It's still in the air," Clark texted. "I'll talk to both tonight so I'll know in the morning."

The speedy receiver, who has clocked a 100-meters in 10.4 seconds, caught 49 passes for 1,112 yards and eight touchdowns this past season. He said he would definitely entertain the idea of running track at the next level if the situation was right.

Ohio State Football Recruiting: Why the Buckeyes' 2014 Class Has Started Strong

Ohio State's 2013 class is a few weeks away from signing, and the Buckeyes have already begun work on putting together their 2014 recruiting class.

OSU started its 2014 class back on Christmas with the verbal commit of big OT Marcelys Jones out of Cleveland Glenville. They added to a class that will be their last to be affected by NCAA scholarship reductions by landing a big fish out of their biggest rival's backyard: DB Damon Webb from Cass Tech in Michigan.

Jones is a big young tackle at about 325 lbs. who impressed Urban Meyer's staff enough to earn an offer. Glenville has historically been a great pipeline to Ohio State, with several players like Ted Ginn Jr., Troy Smith and starting safety Christian Bryant coming to Columbus and having success.

Jones fills a big need for the Buckeyes, largely because of the need in the class to come for offensive linemen, with four starters set to graduate after the 2013 season.

Webb's commitment came so far out of left field that even he didn't think he was going to commit to the Buckeyes, he told Tim May of the Columbus Dispatch.

But whatever made Webb decide to commit at this stage of the game worked because the highly touted corner, No. 7 on Scout.com's early cornerback rankings, pulled the trigger on a verbal shortly after the basketball Buckeyes ended Michigan's perfect season.

cont...

Ohio State recruiting: Why Michigan product Damon Webb's commitment is a big deal

This was a great weekend for Ohio State. Anytime the Buckeyes beats Michigan in anything, it's reason enough to rejoice, and the men's basketball team dispatched the previously unbeaten Wolverines, 56-53.

But in what is even potentially bigger news, Ohio State football received a verbal commitment from Detroit Cass Tech junior Damon Webb. Webb is arguably the top player in the state of Michigan for the class of 2014, and when recruiting services finish their 2014 scouting reports, it's expected he'll be one of the top 3-4 cornerbacks (some say even the best) in the country.

Not to sound all stereotypical-Ohio State fan, but that seems par for the course – OSU regularly attracts top talent from all over the country. As fans, we're accustomed to getting the cream of the crop from the state of Ohio, and that's still the case under Urban Meyer. But Meyer has a recruiting philosophy that's more national in focus, and leaves no stone unturned. Although Ohio will still be a huge part of OSU recruiting classes, there's been a change in philosophy, and Damon Webb is an example of that.

Although there have been a few noteworthy Buckeyes from Michigan, they are a lot less common than Ohio kids going to Michigan, for a couple reasons. There's just a richer pool of talent in Ohio, and what talent the state of Michigan does produce almost always goes to Michigan or Michigan State. Because of that talent gap, OSU historically focuses on Ohio first, and generally neglected the state of Michigan. This isn't a dig at the state of Michigan, but let's face it: OSU has to work hard just to keep the kids in Ohio they want from going elsewhere, so they have focused their attention within Ohio's borders.

That started to change last year. Urban Meyer targets the best guys at each position, regardless of location, and that might mean a guy from Ohio that would almost be an OSU lock in past years might not necessarily be a lock anymore. Meyer won't get every guy he targets, but he will cede no ground to anyone, and Webb is exhibit A in that.

And the shot across the bow was last summer.

Michigan has an annual Sound Mind, Sound Body football camp, and it's quickly become a premier camp in the state in the eight short years it has been around. The last few years, both Michigan and Michigan State increased their presence at the camp, and just sort of assumed Ohio State would pass. Maybe past coaching staffs, but not this one. Urban Meyer was given an opening last year and took advantage of it, while catching both UM and MSU off guard. A quote from the Free Press by camp director Curtis Blackwell:

cont...

UGA's Mark Richt makes time for one of state's top juniors

You’re a pretty big deal if you’re a high school junior and Mark Richt stops by to see you three weeks from signing day.

  Cedartown High School’s Nick Chubb is a pretty big deal.

  He’s likely the state’s No. 1 prospect at running back for 2014.

  Richt stopped by Cedartown on Monday in between visits to Walton and Kell high schools, among other places.

  “It went good,” Chubb told the AJC. “He came up to see me. We didn’t talk much but he just wanted me to know that they’re interested in me.”

  “It always means a lot when a head coach comes by to see you.”

  The 5-foot-11, 210-pounder holds early scholarship offers from Georgia Tech, Ohio State, Tennessee and Purdue. After proving himself at last month’s RisingSeniors game, Chubb also talked with UGA running backs coach Bryan McClendon.

  “The last time I talked with (McClendon), he said to consider myself ‘offered,’” Chubb said. “But they haven’t done it officially yet because they’re finishing up with the 2013 class.”

  How does Chubb feel about Georgia? “I like Georgia. I like them a lot.”

  What about Georgia Tech? “I like them, too. I like every school that is interested in me.”

  Chubb said Richt was the first coach to stop by his school during the current NCAA contact period, and that Georgia Tech may be by there later this week.

  Chubb plans to make unofficial visits to Georgia Tech on Jan. 20, Alabama on Jan. 26, and Ohio State on Feb. 10.

cont...