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Ohio State recruiting: State Secrets, 1/7

A weekend to remember for Ohio State fans was topped off with the commitments of two top linebackers in the class of 2013. While that moment was the highlight of the weekend, there's plenty of other recruits to target for the finish of this class.

By Ian Cuevas
Future Buckeye J.T. Barrett.
Future Buckeye J.T. Barrett.

After a much-anticipated weekend, the Buckeyes class of 2013 shines even brighter, securing itself as a top five class after the commitments of '13 4-star LB Trey Johnson and '13 4-star LB Mike Mitchell. As you already know, '13 4-star WR James Quick committed to Louisville and stayed in his home state, picking the Cardinals over Ohio State. Now that Coach Meyer has a bit more room to work with in this class, the Buckeyes may be targeting some more high-profile athletes.

Quick seemed virtually a Buckeye lean earlier in the week, but in the end, was persuaded by the lure of staying home. The real dagger came later that day, when Quick said if he was committing on Wednesday, he would have been a Buckeye. Thursday night was when the Sugar Bowl took place, allowing the Cardinals to upset the No. 3 ranked Gators, which ultimately pushed Louisville to Quick's top spot:

The commitments weren't the only stories at the Under Armour and Army All-American Games, however. In fact, several future Buckeyes who had already committed to Ohio State were showing off their skills in the all-star contests. One commit, '13 DB Cam Burrows, made a huge statement that he could, in fact, play at the cornerback position. I can only imagine the look on Coach Kerry Coombs' face when he was checking around to see how his future players were doing:

More good news comes in the form of the early enrollees, as the future Buckeyes prepare to attend class at Ohio State. '13 QB JT Barrett was one of those who decided to enroll early, and he posted a photo (you can see above as well) of his signing of his National Letter of Intent (LOI):

Barrett, who's enrolling early to begin rehab on the season ending knee injury he suffered playing high school football (and is expected to redshirt), is joined by 3-star DE Tracy Sprinkle, 3-star DE/LB Tyquan Lewis, 4-star DB Eli Apple, and 4-star DB Cam Burrows. All five start class today, and Barrett aside, should make their presence known in this coming April's Spring Game in Cincinnati.

Shifting gears to the future, '14 WR Josh Malone might be a name you want to keep tabs on, as the 4-star receiver recently named Ohio State in his top five. Malone is rated by 247Sports as the No. 3 player in Tennessee, the nation's No. 11 wide receiver in the land and the country's No. 79 overall recruit. The talented receiver is looking forward to taking more visits in the south and west when he gets back on the trail, so it's up to Coach Meyer and his staff to keep Malone interested. Malone has reportedly clocked a 4.60 in the forty-yard dash, a 4.1 in the pro-shuttle and has a 31.5-inch vertical.

'13 4-star WR Shelton Gibson recently told the media that he got a 20 on his ACT, which puts the Cleveland-Glenville product in a pretty nice spot to come to Ohio State. Speaking of the Buckeyes, Gibson currently says that Coach Meyer's team is tied with West Virginia as his favorites, but Marc Givler clearly isn't buying it. We tend to agree with Givler, especially when it comes to Gibson, who has been clear-cut about having Ohio State as his leader.

Finally, '14 LB Clifton Garrett will be heading back to Columbus for an overnight visit according to Core 6 Athletes. This only means good things for Ohio State, as this is another big visit for the linebacking core.

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