I’m going to go out on a limb and predict that we will have 10-12 more kids commit before the start of the football season and here’s why.
Chris Clark- Timetable: Deciding at the opening. Ohio State’s staff was all over Clark since the beginning of the year before he was highly ranked. If you all recall correctly, they visited him 3 times during the spring evaluation period. He then named Georgia his leader but said Ohio State is right there. He then went on to commit to UNC and then decommitted shortly after, thanks to the Ohio State staff some believes. He then said Ohio State and TSUN was his top two and he mentioned in a recent article that he was losing interest in Ohio State because they didn’t have a QB commit. I don’t know if any of you remember this but, back in April, Clark tweeted that he hoped Wimbush choose Ohio State, which makes it seem like he really favors Ohio State but the fact that we had no QB commit scared him. Well now we have Burrow, and Burrow has said that he will try to be there with Clark when he visits Ohio State on the 17th. Wiltfong and Kurelic have both said that they have always felt that Clark ends up as a Buckeye and it looks like that’s where this is headed.
Van Jefferson- Timetable: June/July. Ohio State has always been Jefferson’s favorite and I have read that he’s ready to commit but dad wants him to continue to take visits to make sure he’s making the right decision. Mom and Jefferson are completely sold on Ohio State and while dad has his concerns, he doesn’t have as many as he used to have after visiting with Van during the spring. Many insiders reported that Georgia was the team that could scare Ohio State but, Alex reported that the Georgia visit didn’t do enough to put Georgia over Ohio State. Van now has return visits to Tennessee, Ole Miss, and Ohio State before deciding sometime this summer.
Sh’mar Kilby-Lane- Timetable: This summer or after his senior season. I remember reading an interview with Kilby-Lane’s coach where he mentioned that Ohio State continues to further their lead over FSU and Bama, and that Lane could decide soon after his spring practice ended (which ended on May 23rd) or, he would wait until after the season. Well now reports are out that Ohio State is aiming to only take two LBs this class (Hilliard and Baker) but they will take 3 if Lane jumps onboard before one of those two. I don’t know if he knows this, I’m sure the staff has mentioned it to him but, he may want to do that to save his spot in this class so i see him committing this summer.
Damien Harris- Timetable: Unknown. Harris previously stated that he wanted to commit on NSD but, he feels that he already has all the information he needs about the schools he’s deciding between and, he’s looking to enroll early so his commitment date has moved up. Ohio State didn’t take a RB in the 2014 class, Ohio State just had a RB drafted early and rush for 1500 yards while missing 3 games, and Harris has said that he feels comfortable with the Ohio State staff and talks to them daily. Him moving his timeline up hurts TSUN a lot because, he mentioned that he is just getting to know Nuss since he just arrived in Ann Arbor and I don’t believe he will have time to form a relationship with Nuss before he commits. If that isn’t enough, he decommitted from TSUN the day Meyer/Drayton visited him, and the day after Hoke/Nuss visited him. Some Alabama fans also report that Nuss likes to throw while underutilizing the RBs and TEs and that Saban is the only reason RBs got a lot of carries last year, which is why Nuss got the boot. It’s safe to say that scum fans are highly butt hurt and many have mentioned that Harris will be the most hated player by them if he committed to Ohio State lol. Wiltfong reported that his source told him Ohio State has a huge lead over the other schools for Harris.
Justin Hilliard: Timetable-Late June/early July. Rumor has it that Mom and Justin are sold on Ohio State while Dad wants Notre Dame but, Kurelic reported that Dad seems to be coming around to Ohio State as well. Wiltfong also reported that Hilliard has a top 2 that he will be deciding between (Notre Dame and Ohio State of course) and that Hilliard will be back up to Columbus in the next couple of weeks with Sam Hubbard to hang out with him and McMillan and the other players. McMillan and Meyer will wrap this one up on that visit, guaranteed. I have a feeling McMillan and Meyer got in Hilliard’s ear and let him know that this class is going by slowly and we need a bell cow in this class and Hilliard has mentioned that Meyer has brought it up to him a couple of times. He has also said that he will be at FNL to work out with Fickell. I don’t know about you all, but why make this trip if his school of choice isn’t going to be Ohio State? Seeing as his timetable to commit is before FNL.
Jashon Cornell: Timetable- August 28th. Kid raved about his visit to Ohio State and said it’s one of the best if not the best visit he has ever been on. In his picture with LJ and Meyer you can see that he has a big grin on his face. He even got a Penn State coach mixed up with an Ohio State coach. I think it’s safe to say that he can’t get Ohio State off his mind and even mentioned that he could see himself playing there with his bro Hilliard. He mentioned that his best relationship is with Larry Johnson and that he also has a great relationship with Meyer. Wiltfong reported that from talking to sources at the NFTC yesterday, Ohio State leads for Cornell and I don’t expect that to change. He didn’t even mention Notre Dame when naming his top schools (Ohio State, Michigan State, Michigan and Penn State), and if any of you remember, he was excited on twitter the day LJ got hired by Ohio State, calling it the perfect situation IIRC. If/When Hilliard commits to Ohio State, you can guarantee that he will stay in Cornell’s ear and Wiltfong also said that he believes that Cornell will be back in Columbus for a camp this summer (more than likely FNL with Hilliard).
There’s also James Daniels, Jerome Baker?, Mathew Burrell, Darius Fullwood (if he earns his offer this summer will commit later this month, called LJ his father figure), Dre’Mont Jones, Kendrell McFadden and some others who could possibly pull the trigger before the start of the football season.
Buckle up for a huge summer guys.
