1999 Committments(2/13/99)
2000 Committments(7/10/99)
Ohio's Top 10 Seniors(7/10/99)
Recruiting Rumors
(7/10/99)A lot has happened in the world of recruiting since my last post, which admittedly was a long time ago. Several more players have given their verbal committments to sign with the Buckeyes next February. I will try to have an update on the 2000 commitment page soon to include all of the players. Please check there in a little while to get the latest on all the Buckeye commitments.
(5/13/99)OL Stepanovich has verballed to the Buckeyes. More on him later.
(5/12/99)I've started an early top 10 list for the top players in Ohio. You can check it out here. Also there have been some rumors going around that Walter Reyes has committed to Michigan. As far as I know at this time those rumors are false, and to my knowledge he wasn't even listing UM. Also I have compiled a list of QB prospects as my first segment of the 2000 Targets page that should be debuting soon. I will probably not get the list up for a couple days though because I still have to decide on the format to put my 2000 Targets page into. I appreciate your patience in this matter.
(5/10/99)Here's some more info I forgot to add in my previous post. OSU is now the leader for two of the finest LB's in the land in Mike Goolsby(from Illinois) and Marco Cooper(Michigan). LB is a definite need position in this year's class, and early on we seem to be in good shape with some good ones. One player who is no longer listing OSU is DL Albert Means(TN), who really has always been expected to go to a Southern school. According to several sources, the next Buckeye verbal commit could be OL Alex Stepanovich. He is a top 100 player, and is projected to play guard or possibly center. He is currently leaning towards the Bucks and he is expected to make his decision sometime in June. OSU is currently #3 on PA QB Jeff Smoker's list, and is still in the hunt for CA QB Casey Clausen and AZ QB Tim Rattay. Just another brief update trying to catch up. I think that the first position target page I'll have up will be QB, and I hope to have it up sometime before the weekend.
(5/10/99)Well a lot has been happening since I last brought the news of Barre's committment, and I apologize for the lack of updates here. Here's a recap of what's been going on. RB Walter Reyes has been offered a scholarship, though he did not commit to the Buckeyes. He is considered one of the top 3 RB's in OH this year. Another major newsmaker was Blue-Chip OL Nick Marmo out of PA's verbal and then decommit to Penn St. He originally verballed to PSU, but then had a change of heart and decided to put off the decision. OSU is still in the running, but the sense right now is that it will still be PSU just at a later date. Also, star LB D.J. Williams out of CA has Ohio St. in his top two, along with FSU. I believe FSU was his childhood favorite, but (if I remember correctly) he has some connection with OSU(parents or something). Another star player considering the Buckeyes is safety Matt Grootegoed out of Mater Dei in CA. He is considered one of the top 5 DB prospects this year, and OSU is reportedly in the top two for him, along with UCLA(UCLA leads right now, and that right now is more likely where he will go).
I know that's just a brief update, but I plan on starting my 2000 prospects list soon, probably listing them one position at a time. Thanks for your patience.
(4/27/99)B.J. Barre, a DB/RB, has verballed to the Buckeyes. He was offered at the spring game(more of a scrimmage). He's listed at 6'1'', 185, 4.4.
(4/21/99)DL Alphonzo Townsend has verballed to the Buckeyes. I'll have more on him later.
(4/19/99) Some more information on Blue chip OL Nick Marmo. There has been a rumor circulating that he has verballed to Penn St. As far as I currently know, this rumor is not true. He has not committed, though he may have narrowed down his choices. Right now PSU leads for his services with OSU coming in second and Nebraska a distant third. I'll post more info as I get it.
(4/18/99) This past weekend was a huge junior recruiting weekend at OSU. Several of the top prospects throughout the nation and Ohio were there, including OL Nick Marmo, OL Mike Munoz, QB Casey Clausen, RB Walter Reyes, and OL Larry Kinnard, who already committed to the Buckeyes. Reyes was offered a scholarship, and said he was very interested in OSU but did not committ. I will have more info on the rest of the recruits later in the week.
(3/12/99) Added a picture and a couple more tidbits about Larry Kinnard to the 2000 Committments page. Really not anything too significant going on in the recruiting world right now.
(3/9/99)Ohio State got its first verbal today in OL Larry Kinnard. Bill Kurelic says he will be a top 10 player in Ohio. Have a little more info on him on the new 2000 Committments page.
(3/1/99)I apologize for not getting back on the Ellery Moore thing faster but it's been confirmed he committed to PSU. The Buckeyes also lost out on another player today as WR/DB Markus Curry committed to Michigan. OSU did offer Curry. To me it seems like the other two major Big 10 schools (UM and PSU) are getting off to pretty quick starts in recruiting. I think they both have at least 2-3 verbals already. I know this early recruiting thing worked well for us last year. This year we'll have to be more patient though because the top players in OH are saying they want to take their time and take some visits. Oh well, it's not when they committ but that they committ that counts. Look at FSU this year. Hey, look at FSU every year. It always comes down to the wire for them. Anyways, I think that's enough rambling for today.
(2/27/99)I heard a rumor that DL Ellery Moore has verballed to Penn State. Still trying to confirm.
(2/26/99)A reliable source has confirmed that TE/DE Jim Fisher has verballed to Michigan. Unfortunately we lost out on the first in-state battle this year, but I think many people were suprised he committed so early. To my knowledge OSU never offered, and that may have been a factor. Just one loss though and everyone should be prepared for more to come, but all will be well as long as we are able to get most of the players we want at certain positions. Just have to go with the staff on this one.
(2/24/99)Well it seems that we may have our first bad news of the recruiting season. I have read a report that TE Jim Fisher has verballed to Michigan. Haven't seen it confirmed anywhere I would consider really reliable so I'll get back when I find out some more.
(2/22/99)Well junior recruiting day has come and gone. Among those that visited were OL/DL Garret Bush, WR Andre Hooks, TE/DE Jim Fisher, and OL Nick Marmo. I know for sure that Marmo was offered though he still is considering us, PSU, UM, Syracuse, and Nebraska. Another player that came away impressed was Fisher, though he was not offered. Two highly anticipated players were not able to attend, those being OL Antonio Hall and RB Walter Reyes. Hopefully I'll have some more info soon.
(2/19/99)Well the recruiting rumors are already starting to heat up again. Sure hasn't taken to long. Anyways...Expected for unofficial visits this weekend are RB Brandon Joe, who could be offered a scholarship then, RB Walter Reyes, OL/DL Antonio Hall,the second best OL in Ohio and top 10 in the nation, OL/DL Garrett Bush,WR Andre Hooks, and TE/DE Jim Fisher. Out of that group I think that Hall is the only one they've offered to yet. Also a teammate of Steve Williams, RB Mitchell Marshall, has said that the Bucks are in his top three.
(2/18/99)Just a little bit of recruiting news today...first off, DE Steve Williams seems to be a OSU lean at this point. He is also considering UM and Kentucky. He has started at LB in HS, but is projected to be more of a DE in college. He is also ranked the #11 DE by Prep America. He is from IL. One more player to talk about is Zac Wasserman, considered by some (not all) to be the best QB in CA. He has a rather long list of suitors right now, including ASU, MICH, OSU, PSU, TX A&M, and USC. He has already been in contact with recruiting coordinator Bill Conley, though the Buckeyes have yet to offer a sholarship. He may be making an unofficial visit to OSU the first week in April. He sounds like a good player, and the only negative thing I've heard about him is I saw his speed listed at 5.2 somewhere. Don't know if that's accurate, but it would seem pretty slow if it were (OL are faster than that). I'm going to try and find out more about that and try to either confirm that speed or find out his real one. Anyways
(2/17/99)Some more news on RB/DB Brandon Joe. His list of suitors so far include OSU, PSU, ND, UM, Colorado, MSU, and Nebraska. We have not offered yet, but Bill Kurelic seems to think that if we did he would have a hard time turning it down...Also a little profile on another prospective recruit. That would be QB/RB/LB/DB/K Matt Grootegoed. This guy is an incredible prospect. I've saw him play last year in the Div 1 championship game and he was the best player on the field. By the way they were playing Long Beach Poly in that game, who's team had at least three All-Americans on it. He played just about every down at both RB and LB, had over 200 yards rushing and was in on a lot of tackles. It was a fantastic game. He's planning on moving to QB this coming year, and I've heard he's got a definite NCAA Div-1 arm. His leader right now is UCLA, but we're in the top four. Well there wasn't much news today so I brought you that. Just trying to share what knowledge I have. Check back for more terrific insights (well...maybe not terrific...and maybe not that insightful...)tomorrow.
(2/16/99)As you probably know OSU only used 24 of its scholarships this year (max of 25). I presumed that they were saving the last one for Shawn Price if he qualified (I know that's doubtful though), or perhaps an in-house player (Paris Long?)if they qualified. Yet another player has entered the picture, and it is Thomas Sanchez, a kicker out of Texas. He has it down to us and Colorado, but I'm not sure if we've actually offerred him the scholarship. He is apparently trying to make an official visit to OSU, so we'll see what happens. Check back for more soon.
(2/15/99)Well still not a lot new to report, but I will go ahead now and try to provide a little more information than I did before. Things are already starting to heat up regarding some of the top recruits for next year. The top defensive player, and arguably the best overall player next year, D.J. Williams, has already narrowed it down to his final four. The lucky four are FSU, OSU, Michigan, and UCLA. I've also heard Cal mentioned though, and considering where he's from (northern California) that would not surprise me if they are under consideration. The nation's top OL prospect for next year, Mike Munoz(son of hall of famer Anthony Munoz) has began to narrow his choices as well. His finalists are OSU, Tenn, Mich, PSU, and FSU. He is planning on camping at OSU, Mich, and possibly Tenn this summer. He also attended the OSU-Mich game this past year as a guest of the Buckeyes. He is from Cincinnati so it sounds like we have a legitimate shot at him. He does however plan on taking most of his visits and I doubt he'll be an early committ. Another talented OL from Ohio is Antonio Hall, who has narrowed his choices down to OSU, Mich, and FSU. He goes to Canton McKinley, the former HS of many current Buckeyes, so that may have some influence on his decision (at least I hope). I'm just going to talk about one more player before I go, and that's Brandon Joe. He is a talented RB out of Ohio, and I've also heard that he can play DB (though not completely sure how good he is there). He has not yet been offered by OSU, but according to Bill Kurelic he will be eventually, and Brandon has said he would like to make a decision before his senior year. That of course could be subject to change. Thanks for reading and check back tomorrow, I should have a lot more.
(12/13)Like I've mentioned things are still kind of sketchy at this point as far as this coming year's recruits, however here's the little I know so far, there will likely be a more comprehensive listing of prospects in a couple weeks. Here are some of the top players that are considering OSU as of now(not full list, just some of the top-flight talent).
Zac Wasserman, QB...Damon Dowdell, QB...Mike Munoz(son of NFL great Anthony), OL...Antonio Hall, OL...Garret Bush, OL...Reggie Vickers, WR...Sean McHugh, DL...Sam Ruhe, DL...D.J. Williams(#1 Defensive Player), LB...Mike Goolsby, LB...Brandon Joe, DB/RB...Matt Grootegoed, DB/QB.
Once again, this is in no way a total listing of the players interested in OSU...These are just SOME of the top ones, and there is more top talent that will probably be looking at the Buckeyes. I will have more in depth info as I get it, but for now this is all I got. For more information on these players as well as others check out PrepAmerica.
