DeShaun Watson Interview with Radi Nabulsi

Demarre Kitt Interview with Radi Nabulsi

Marshon Lattimore Junior Highlights

Nick Watkins Junior Highlights

Tony Brown Junior Highlights

• @MarcGivlerBG When it comes to 3 finalists, 5* S Vonn Bell told me this morning.. "It's dead even right now. There isn't anybody in front of anybody." 
• @Bill_Kurelic Urban Meyer and Tom Herman will be in Florida to visit WR James Clark on Wednesday
• Brady Hoke from Michigan visits Damien Harris
• Dominique Booth unofficially visits Missouri
• Texas Tech offers Jacob McCrary
• Rutgers offers Anthony Moten
• Alabama offers Drake Harris
• Pittsburgh offers Eric Glover-Williams
• Michigan offers Michael Weber
• Rivals and Scout is reporting an offer for '14 MD DE Jesse Aniebonam
• Marc Givler reporting that the Robinson twins will not visit OSU this weekend

Rivals $ - Jones to make another Ohio State visit '14 IL OL Jamarco Jones

• Visiting with his mom 2/9-2/10...wants to see the campus and meet with the coaching staff...also wants to visit ND and will decide before his senior season. 

Scout $ - Nicholson Continues to Add Offer '14 PA S Montae Nicholson

• By The Bank...Georgia Tech and Temple have offered...wants to visit Illinois, Georgia Tech, Ohio State, Notre Dame and Michigan this winter/spring.

24/7 $ - Top junior WR meets new staff '14 GA WR Demarre Kitt

• Visited Auburn yesterday and met the new staff and will be back on Saturday...Clemson and Ohio State lead Oregon, Auburn and Georgia. 

24/7 $ - Garrett Gears Up For Next OSU Visit '14 IL LB Clifton Garrett 

• By Wiltfong...Meyer was at his school last week...will visit on 2/2 (Not sure if this is correct) with his family...enjoyed his visit to Iowa this past Sunday and left with an offer. 

24/7 $ - Alabama offers top 100 2014 OL '14 FL OL Mason Cole

• Spent last weekend in Tuscaloosa and left with an offer...trips to Clemson and Michigan up next.

Rivals $ - Buckeyes still lead for Indiana speedster '14 IN ATH Lonnie Johnson

• By Givler...thought he did well at the showcase but needs to improve...visiting Illinois this weekend and OSU in two weeks.

BN $ - Meyer Visits Wilson - Official Next '13 TX RB Dontre Wilson

• By BK...still committed to Oregon but will visit OSU this weekend and may possibly make a visit to another school the following the weekend. 

BN$--Johnson On OSU "That's The School" '14 IN ATH Lonnie Johnson

• Lonnie says he is excited to walk and talk with Coach Meyer and is he probably still going to announce shortly after NLOID. (I'm assuming in a few weeks then)

247 $ Duck commitment schedules OSU visit '13 CA WR Darren Carrington

• By Kurelic... Has scheduled a visit over the February 2nd weekend. No offer yet, but Coach Meyer may be visiting him next week.

Ohio State recruiting: State Secrets, 1/22 - Buckeye Nation's eyes turn to Ryan Timmons (land grant holy land)

Could 4-star ATH Ryan Timmons be the answer to Ohio State's recruiting depth woes for 2013 at wide receiver?

National Signing Day is t-minus two weeks away. While Ohio State is all but sure to secure a top 3 caliber class when everything's said and done, there's still plenty of work to be done to sure up the few remaining holes in the class, plus add valuable depth for the future of Urban Meyer's Ohio State football program.

Mountain of a man, 3-star OL Dan Skipper was in Columbus over the weekend ($), and with the likes of Jack Mewhort and Taylor Decker showing him the ropes, it looks as though the Buckeyes remain in good standing with the Tennessee commit. But old friend Bret Bielema and Arkansas are reportedly close on his tail as well. With the Buckeyes apparently fixating on Skipper as the lone remaining piece of their 2013 o-line recruiting puzzle (in a year by and large considered a bit down across the board on the line at that), we'll have to keep an eye to see if Urban Meyer and Ed Warriner can close.

Staying class , with the Buckeyes having struck out on James Quick and with Shelton Gibson becoming West Virginia's eligibility risk, and now with James Clark appearing to have Ohio State further down his list and Kyrin Priester committed to Clemson, it appears the Buckeyes last ditch quest for one more weapon at the skill position might come down to their plan D or E. With Tom Herman visiting Dontre Wilson recently (and more and more rumors suggesting his process may be more open than he was initially letting on), it remains to see how realistic those possibilities may be. But if all else fails, the Buckeyes might just have their guy in 3-star ATH Ryan Timmons. Timmons doesn't have a committable offer as of yet, but that could all change Tuesday ($).

TImmons just got an offer from Florida and while he only has one official visit remaining, he could take an unofficial to Columbus to help make up his mind. Timmons is thought to be a lean to Mark Stoops and Kentucky but is also considering Illinois and Purdue in addition to the Gators and Buckeyes.

Look forward to the class of 2014, there's some updates in terms of who's visiting and when. We start off with 2014 4-star OL Jamarco Jones:

4* OL Jamarco Jones tells me he will visit #OhioState Feb. 9-10 #buckeyes

— Marc Givler (@MarcGivlerBG) January 22, 2013

And while we already knew about some of these, add 2014 S/ATH Todd Kelly to the list of junior day visitors for the Bucks:

My boy@toddkellyjr6 visiting Ohio state feb 8-10th with me and @shaunwatson4 and @taecoolin

— Demarre Kitt (@D_ocho) January 22, 2013

And last but certainly not least, Michigan State commit WR Drake Harris and the Buckeyes will have every opportunity to get better acquainted sooner rather than later with Ohio State coaches expected to be in his school Wednesday. We'll have to see how much longer he remains officially allied with the Spartans:

Top100 2014 WR Drake Harris tells me Alabama and Ohio State are coming to visit his school tomorrow.

— Steve Wiltfong (@SWiltfong247) January 21, 2013

Core 6 Athletes Showcase: Standouts (247sports)

WESTMONT, Ill. – Core 6 Athletes put on their third annual winter showcase on Monday, and as usual the talent level on hand was very impressive. Among the top prospects were Top247 juniors Clifton Garrett (Joliet, Il./Plainfield South) and offensive tackle Jamarco Jones (Chicago, Il./De La Salle), who watched from the sidelines.

Here is a look at Monday’s top performers, who went through the rounds at station drills before competing in one-on-one’s.

1. Clifton Garrett, LB, Joliet (Il.) Plainfield South
Garrett took home the combine overall MVP honors and had the look of a top national prospect. The 6-foot-2, 222-pounder was very fluid throughout the day, especially in back pedal drills, which also showed in one-on-one’s. Garrett showed the ability to stay attached against running backs, with an impressive blend of quickness, change of direction and the ability to open up and run. Garrett lists Ohio State as the early leader and will be back on the Buckeyes campus in early February, but will also make trips to Ole Miss and Mississippi State in early April.

2. Jauan Wesley, WR, Harvey (Il.) Thornton Township
The 5-foot-10, 175-pound wide receiver was a route running machine on Monday. Wesley was quick off the line of scrimmage and repeatedly turned defensive backs around with his quickness in and out of breaks, and the ability to sell double moves. Wesley, the brother of class of 2013 Vanderbilt commit Jaylon Banks (Harvey, Il./Thornton Township), has a recent offer from Illinois with more expected in the coming weeks and months.

cont...

Butch Jones, Vols defensive staff visit Vonn Bell (times free press)

Knowing there is a lot of ground to make up in a short amount of time, new University of Tennessee football coach Butch Jones found an unusual way to make a big impression on Ridgeland High School’s All-America safety Vonn Bell.

On the day of his only in-home visit, Jones brought his entire defensive staff to meet with Bell and his family Monday.

“It was a great visit with all the defensive staff and Coach Jones when they all came to my house,” Bell said in a text late Monday night. “Coach Jones approached everything very good with my parents and me, and we’re just fired up about the visit this weekend.”

On the day that Rivals.com officially elevated Bell to a five-star rating, its highest level for a prospect, the Vols contingent met with him and his parents for nearly four hours.

Since Rivals began its five-star rating system in 2002, Bell is only the third area player to earn the top rank, joining former Red Bank and UT running back Gerald Riggs (2002) and former Calhoun and UT receiver Da’Rick Rogers (2010). Bell is rated the 32nd overall prospect in the nation, the third-highest ranking ever for an area player.

cont...

Looking Forward: 2014 Quarterbacks (the ozone)

Now that the Ohio State coaches are in the midst of their January recruiting fire drill, let's all find a calm place to spend some time looking forward to the 2014 class.

Today we begin a new series looking at the 2014 prospects that you'll probably be hearing more of over the next six months or so. The lists will by no means be exhaustive, as more names will emerge, but it should give you a decent foundation of names to get to know.

The first position up is quarterback. Currently, only Deshaun Watson out of Georgia has been offered, and he is a Clemson commit. It will be interesting to see how long the coaches hold off on offering anybody else as they work hard on Watson. Will they be pressured to offer other quarterbacks once somebody high on their list commits? Or will they simply assume that they can always go back and flip somebody down the road?

Right now it looks like only one quarterback will be taken in the 2014 class, so the Buckeye coaches are going to be extremely picky. For now, here are some names for you to know.

cont...

Looking Forward: 2014 Running Backs (the ozone)

Ohio State is looking to add two running backs in the 2014 class, and expect them to target one "big" back and one "small" back. The big back will need to be able to handle a bit of a load, and the small back will need to play out of the slot here and there and catch some passes as well.

Currently, five big backs and four small backs have been offered according to the various recruiting services. Three of the four small backs have stated that Ohio State leads for their services. It's not clear how many of these offers are "committable", but the Buckeyes shouldn't have a problem finding a smaller back who can also play in the slot.

Finding the big back could be a much tougher proposition. Tennessee's Jalen Hurd would appear to be the number one target on the board, and he is very interested in the Buckeyes. The question is whether or not the coaches would even accept a commitment from a big back that isn't Hurd right now.

There is still a lot to shake out, so while we wait, here are a dozen names that you'll need to remember.

cont....

Video: Lonnie Johnson at Core 6 Showcase (scout)

A recipient of a couple of early Big Ten offers, Gary (Ind.) West Side's Lonnie Johnson showed observers at yesterday's Core 6 Showcase why he has those, as his talents were on display.
Lonnie Johnson profile

Johnson is a good sized kid who used his frame to go up and catch the ball in traffic. He got off the line when pressed, and as he gets stronger and improves his technique, he should become even harder to jam and cover. He has offers from Ohio State, his current leader, Illinois and Bowling Green.