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It has been no secret whatsoever that the Buckeyes are putting every inch of effort they have into recruiting 2013 S Vonn Bell. For quite a while now, Ohio State and Alabama have led for the senior's services and they have been neck and neck to this point. Obviously, Bell would fill a large need at the safety position and with a commit would allow a little bit of wiggle room to move commits like '13 ATH Darron Lee into more of an offensive role rather than at safety.
Whether or not the Buckeyes actually land Bell is the real tricky question to answer. It's a situation similar to '13 WR James Quick, with Bell dragging everyone along and not hinting at any favorites in particular. What we did hear was sort of a mixed review from both Bell and his brother:
But on the other hand, we've heard reports of Bell having a great time on his visit. The Ohio State coaching staff is expected to be coming down sometime this week or next to give a couple more thoughts about the Buckeyes into Bell's head. Bell has a busy week, as Alabama head coach Nick Saban will be visiting his home as well. As of now, it appears Bell's decision will be made on February 6th, which is National Signing Day in the class of 2013.
The Buckeyes are continuing to search for another playmaker-type at the receiver position and may have set another target on '13 WR James Clark:
Just Got Off The Phone With Ohio State...Hmmmmm
— James Clark (@GotEmCoach2) January 13, 2013
The 4-star receiver had 49 catches for 1,112 yards and 8 touchdowns this season for his high school New Smyrna Beach, Florida. One could be wondering if maybe '13 WR Shelton Gibson is pushing the Buckeyes the wrong way with delaying his commitment or if he simply doesn't have the grades to attend Ohio State. If the stats didn't impress you (which they should have) here's a taste of some highlights from Clark:
#ohio state coming by tomorrow
— Demarre Kitt (@D_ocho) January 14, 2013
Ohio State is clearly very busy, as the staff is visiting 2014 WR Demarre Kitt this week while also visiting the aforementioned Bell and making some phone calls to other potential recruits. It might come down to Clemson and Ohio State for Kitt, and the class of 2014 seems like it will be a battle with Clemson for many of the recruits.
The Buckeyes also got a little boost on Sunday when 2014 DB Damon Webb committed to Ohio State after holding offers from schools like LSU, Michigan, West Virginia, Ohio State, Michigan State and many other BCS-level programs. Webb clearly enjoyed his visit, taking the offer he held and running with it. Webb joins OL Marcelys Jones in the class of 2014.
This is a pretty surprising commit if you ask me. Webb comes from a Michigan pipeline (Cass Tech) that's similar to the one Ohio State holds with Cleveland-Glenville. We had heard that Coach Meyer wanted to start pursuing the Wolverines' pipeline, but I didn't expect it to be so soon. Look out Hoke, Coach Meyer isn't playing around. If you want some more on Webb, check out his highlight tape here: