Ohio State recruiting: State Secrets, 3/11 - Weekend warriors

It was a very busy weekend for Ohio State in the recruiting department, as the coaching staff was able to send out five different offers, and were also named into a basketball recruit's top six schools. The Buckeyes have clearly been picking up the recruiting pace on the basketball level, as Matta continues to prepare for the future. With spring practice and the March Madness tournament gearing up, you might expect a drop in intensity from a recruiting standpoint, but that doesn't seem to be the case.

The first of five to receive an offer from Ohio State this weekend was '14 WR Ermon Lane from the state of Florida. Lane is ranked as a 5-star recruit and is the No. 1 wide receiver in the country, as well as the 4th best prospect in Florida. Lane also received an offer from Auburn the same day, as well as Nebraska. In 2012, Lane had 30 receptions for 801 yards for eight touchdowns while also contributing on the ground with 18 touches and 112 rushing yards. Lane was named as a first team all-state selection following last season.

'14 JUCO OL Dontavius Blair caused quite a stir in the recruiting world on Saturday, when the 6'7", 375-pound lineman received five offers in one day from top schools including Florida State, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and USC. Being a JUCO prospect, Blair has three years and two seasons of eligibility remaining. It's interesting to see the coaching staff go this route, but it might be used as a back-up plan in case the staff doesn't land the offensive linemen they want in the '14 class. Either way, we'll be sure to follow Blair's progress as it gets closer into next season.

Another lineman was offered on Saturday, coming in the form of '14 OL Alex Bookser from Pennsylvania. Bookser stands at 6'6", 295-pounds and holds offers from Florida State, Ohio State, Pitt, Rutgers, Kentucky, Virginia, West Virginia and more. The 4-star lineman could eventually switch over to the defensive side of the ball, at tackle, but if he were to end up at Ohio State, would most likely stay on the offensive side.

To finish '14 recruiting talk up for today, '14 LB Clifton Garrett got a surprise on the phone yesterday when he was talking with Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer:

I just called Coach Meyer just ta see whats up and next thing you know I was talking on the phone to TIM TEBOW!!! #InShockRightNow #Insane!

— Clifton Garrett CG3 (@CG340) March 9, 2013

Moving on to the class of 2015, Ohio State offered another quarterback recruit in '15 QB Kyler Murray from the state of Texas. The Buckeyes had offered only one other quarterback in the '15 class, which was '15 QB Torrance Gibson from Florida. This past season, Murray went 153/249 - good for a 61% completion rate - and threw for just over 2,000 yards and 17 touchdowns to only five interceptions. A dual-threat, Murray also rushed for 1,370 yards and 25 touchdowns on 188 carries. Try to keep in mind that Murray was only a sophomore in high school when posting those numbers, so this offer seems to be well-earned. Clemson is the only school to have offered besides Ohio State, but I don't expect that to last much longer.

The fifth and final offer this weekend went to '15 RB Soso Jamabo (future All-Name Teamer?) who also holds an offer from Oklahoma. The 6'2", 195-pound Texas-native rushed for 1,697 on 225 carries, averaging 7.5 yards every time he touched the ball. Jamabo had 24 rushing touchdowns in addition to 453 yards from 20 receptions, where Jamabo had four touchdowns.

Finally, on the basketball side of things, '14 shooting guard Jaquan Lyle announced his top six schools on Saturday. That list included Indiana, Ohio State, Florida, Tennessee, Illinois and Louisville. The list came out soon after Lyle's final game this season, where his team lost in the regional rounds of their tournament. Lyle himself finished with 29 points, nine rebounds, six assists and four steals. The 6'5", 195-pound guard is the second best recruit from the state of Indiana and the third-best shooting guard in the country. A 5-star, Lyle is said to be favoring Indiana as of right now, but with his entire senior season yet to be played, there's plenty of time for coach Matta and his staff to cut into the Hoosier's lead.