It has been a while since Ohio State has picked up a football commitment. Buckeye fans are becoming restless after watching Penn State's recruiting terror, which has elevated them to the nation's third highest rated class.
Near this time last year, Urban Meyer and company had already secured commitments from seven high school prospects in the 2014 recruiting class. Today, the Buckeyes have only three commitments for their 2015 class. That number could soon grow, if things go well this weekend.
The list of visitors for Saturday's Spring Game continues to grow and will continue to grow throughout the week as prospects decide which spring game they will attend. The yearly event is typically the biggest recruiting weekend of the spring, although the Buckeyes have already had plenty of visitors for their spring practices.
A commitment this weekend is not necessarily expected, but there are a few prospects that wouldn't surprise anyone if they decided to pull the trigger and commit.
Let's take a look at the prospects that are tentatively scheduled to visit and could potentially, although not expected, commit.
Van Jefferson
Van Jefferson doesn't have a visit scheduled for the spring game, but I wouldn't entirely rule out the possibility of him making the drive up to Columbus. After a recent Ohio State visit, it was clear that he was very interested in the Buckeyes and wanted to make a decision soon. His father wants him to make other visits before returning to Columbus and possibly committing. If he does visit on Saturday, he would almost be expected to commit.
The 6-foot-2 wide receiver would join Eric Glover-Williams as receiver commits in the 2015 class. The four-star is also being pursued hard by Penn State, Tennessee and a few other programs. He might not visit this weekend, but this is a situation to keep a close eye on. A commitment should come sooner rather than later from Jefferson.
Sh'mar Kilby-Lane
Four-star linebacker Sh'mar Kilby-Lane of Hallandale, Florida is in the mix to become Ohio State's next commitment. As one of the nation's top linebackers, Kilby-Lane holds offers from many of the nation's top schools, including Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, Florida, LSU and USC. He has named Ohio State as his top school, but has previously said he plans to wait until after his senior season to decide.
As Birm mentioned, some people close to Ohio State think Kilby-Lane could end his recruitment and commit to the Buckeyes during his scheduled spring game visit. Landing the Florida native would be a big get for the Buckeyes. After watching his highlights, you'll realize why he is one of OSU's top targets.
Liam McCullough
Liam McCullough has been a frequent visitor to Ohio State since he lives close to campus. Once he received an offer from the Buckeyes, he immediately was placed on commitment watch. The long-snapper has offers from Kentucky, Michigan State and Wisconsin but the hometown team could be hard to beat.
A commitment from walk-on long snapper Sam York doesn't appear to be affecting the Buckeyes pursuit of McCullough. The staff doesn't typically offer Ohio prospects unless they are willing to accept their commitment. After numerous visits to OSU, it could be time for the two-star snapper to pull the trigger.
Dre'Mont Jones
St. Ignatius (Ohio) defensive end Dre'Mont Jones is another prospect expected to attend Ohio State's spring game. He told 11W that he doesn't plan to commit until the summer because he wants to visit Michigan State. For that reason, I am not expecting him to pull the trigger, but I wouldn't be shocked by a commitment from a Ohio prospect that has called Ohio State his dream school.
The four-star prospect has visited Columbus previously and was impressed, as expected. I would expect Jones to eventually choose the Buckeyes, but a decision might still be a couple months away.
It's possible none of the prospects discussed above commit to Ohio State this weekend, but they are definitely in good shape to land their eventual commitments. There isn't much reason to worry about the lack of recruiting progress with the 2015 class. It's early and the staff have the Buckeyes in a good position to land yet another highly rated recruiting class.
In semi-related news, the Basketball Buckeyes will be hosting Virginia Tech big-man Trevor Thompson for a visit, so the spring game could also be a recruiting tool for Thad Matta. Ohio State appears to be battling the likes of Indiana, Purdue and Butler for his commitment. Perhaps the basketball program could add the next verbal.
