May is finally here. The month is off to a quick start as we already have a couple of big news stories to touch on.
Kyle Allen is the newest OSU QB offerIn last week's edition of the Recruiting Notebook we touched on the fact that Deshaun Watson, formerly Ohio State's top quarterback target, would be staying solid on his commitment to Clemson. The Buckeyes needed to find a new quarterback to target and they made a bold move by offering three over this past week.
They started things off by offering Scottsdale (AZ) Desert Mountain quarterback Kyle Allen on Wednesday. They followed that up by offering both Bossier City (LA) Parkway quarterback Brandon Harris and Apopka (FL) signal caller Zack Darlington on Thursday.
It will be interesting to see how this quarterback situation works itself out in the upcoming weeks as we know the staff wants to have a quarterback as part of this class.
Notre Dame scored commitments from two players who held offers from the Buckeyes this past week in running back Elijah Hood and offensive lineman Quenton Nelson. There were a couple of other players who also spurned the Bucks for other schools. We'll touch on that a little later.
We'll have more on that, the quarterback situation, and much more in this week's edition of the Ohio State Football Recruiting Notebook.
The Buzz
The biggest item on the docket this week is the big happenings in the quarterback recruiting situation.
After the Buckeyes found out last week they were not going to be able to wedge Deshaun Watson free pf Clemson, they had to find a new quarterback to make their priority. This didn't take long as they offered not one, not two, but three quarterbacks over the span of two days.
The first offer went out to Kyle Allen. Urban Meyer was at his practice to watch him throw Tuesday and he came away very impressed. Meyer only needed a day to think about offering Allen as he received his offer Wednesday.
Just been offere by THE Ohio State University!! Extremely excited about this opportunity! #buckeyes #blessed
— Kyle Allen (@KyleAllen_10) May 1, 2013
If you missed them earlier, here are some highlights of Kyle from the 2012 season as well as an interview he conducted at LA NFTC.
Allen told me he was not surprised by the offer and added he is very interested in the Buckeyes.
Yesterday the Buckeyes offered two more quarterbacks. First the news broke that Brandon Harris had received an offer from the Buckeyes. Just a couple of hours later, we found out the OSU coaching staff had extended an offer to Zack Darlington.
Harris was next Wednesday afternoon. He seem legitimately interested in Ohio State and could be a very good fit in Urban Meyer's offense.
Harris would like to make his college decision over the summer.
Darlington's offer came as more of a surprise, but word was Ohio State quarterbacks coach Tom Herman came away very impressed after seeing him throw. He told Eleven Warriors that he felt "blessed" to receive the offer and also said OSU is one of his top choices. Like Harris, he wants to make his decision before his senior season.
To round out the quarterback news, Hebron Connor (KY) quarterback Drew Barker announced his decision date:
I will be announcing my college commitment on Friday, May 10, at the Conner High School auditorium around 330. Everyone is welcome to come!
— -Drew Barker- (@D_Barker7) May 2, 2013
He was once a candidate to receive an offer, but it's extremely doubtful that will happen as things stand. He will likely play his college ball at South Carolina or Kentucky.
Happy Trails
Nelson chose the Irish over the BucksThe Buckeyes saw a couple of players they would've loved to have commit to rival schools over the past week.
Two – perhaps the two they wanted the most – committed to Notre Dame.
Charlotte (NC) Catholic running back Elijah Hood, one of the nation's best athletes, gave the Irish his verbal pledge last Sunday. Hood is the nation's 6th-best athlete prospect in 247's composite index and chose Notre Dame over Clemson, Florida State, Michigan, USC and the Buckeyes.
Red Bank (NJ) Catholic's Quenton Nelson, a 6-foot-5, 295-offensive tackle with offers from Alabama, Oregon, Wisconsin and many others, followed suit on Wednesday:
Officially committed to Notre Dame#GoldenArmy #Irish #BestDay #LetsGo
— Quenton Nelson (@BigQ56) May 2, 2013
Ohio State's offensive line recruiting woes continued yesterday when mammoth, 6-foot-8, 345-pound Suwanee (GA) Peachtree Ridge offensive lineman Orlando "Zeus" Brown Jr. committed to Tennessee over the Buckeyes and a host of other schools.
Brown was not the only offered player the Buckeyes lost out on yesterday as Highlands Ranch (CO) Valor Christian running back Christian McCaffrey – the son of former Bronco Ed McCaffrey – committed to the Stanford Cardinal.
Finally, a couple of players who the Bucks had expressed interest in, but never offered, committed to other schools. This group includes running back Mikale Wilbon (Vanderbilt) and offensive lineman Juwan Bushell-Beatty (Michigan).
Looking Ahead
There isn't too much on the slate for the upcoming weeks as May is typically a pretty quiet month, campus visits-wise, as the recruits are finishing up school and the coaches are out on the road evaluating.
A couple of players who we could see visiting this month are athlete Curtis Samuel, offensive tackle Jermaine Eluemunor, and wide receiver/tight end Austin Roberts.
That's all for this week's edition of the Ohio State Football Recruiting Notebook.
