Ohio State recruiting: State Secrets, 4/12 - A couple Friday visitors, scholarship offer reactions

Today, Ohio State plays host to two "big" targets. One is 6-4, 220-pound tight end Daniel Helm from Glenwood High School in Chatham, Illinois. Helm will first visit Ohio State before making another trek to Ann Arbor on Saturday. Michigan has already issued him a scholarship and reportedly lead for his services. Other than Michigan, Helm has been offered by Ole Miss, Tennessee, Arkansas, Wisconsin, Nebraska, and many other major programs. Our Charles Doss caught up with Helm and briefly asked about his recruitment and upcoming visit:

"I'm in contact with Coach [Tim] Hinton the most. I'm just trying to get to know as much as I can about the school, the offense, and the coaches while I'm there. I really want to explore how the tight end is used in their offense."

Ohio State has reached out to a plethora of tight ends in the 2014 recruiting class, but I would not be at all surprised if Helm received a verbal offer today. With the staff surely aware of his impending Ann Arbor visit, they may want to throw a wrench in Brady Hoke's plans. Something tells me a "wow" visit and an offer from none other than Urban Meyer might give Helm something to think about. Snag a glance at his highlights from last season:

Also, I cannot refrain myself from sharing something non-football related about Helm with you. A few months ago, Helm caught himself some serious media attention and was featured on ESPN's Sportsnation. Well, just not in the traditional way.

Offensive lineman Rob Dowdy, despite being a year away from being in the dead heat of intense major college football recruiting, is no less important of a visitor than any member of the 2014 recruiting class. The 2015 prospect hails from Westerville South High School in Westerville, Ohio and today graces Columbus with his his 6-7, 240-pound presence. Earlier this week, Dowdy was surprised and excited to speak with an Ohio State coach for the first time. Coach Luke Fickell talked with Dowdy, and Dowdy told us that he was very much looking forward to today's trip. As I stated earlier, the big man is a 2015 prospect, but has still garnered two legitimate offers. Indiana and Kentucky are the two schools who have first reached out to Dowdy and extended offers for him to play at their respective schools.

The two latest to have been offered by Ohio State are 2014 out-of-staters Mattrell McGraw and Nick Ruffin. McGraw is a 6-0, 183-pound safety from John Curtis High School in New Orleans, Louisiana. He has been clocked at a 4.46 in the 40-yard dash and has just started to be noticed by some of the major football programs in the country. Blowing up in the recruiting scene, he was offered by Texas, Alabama, Ole Miss, and Ohio State all within the last five weeks. Now we all stand differently when valuing recruiting services' numerical and star ratings on recruits, but McGraw is listed as a 3-star recruit. Considering the schools that have recently offered him, I suspect a reevaluation and rating boost may be coming his way in the near future. I caught up with Mattrell, and in addition to informing me that the offer meant "a lot" to him and that he plans on visiting this summer, he told me this about Ohio State:

"It's a great program. They have great prestige, and I really like coach Urban Meyer."

I will never get tired of hearing potential Buckeyes state their affinity for Coach Meyer, even though I seem to hear it every day.

The latest Georgia product to be offered by Ohio State is athlete (safety, cornerback) Nick Ruffin. To me, it seemed like almost a matter of time until Ruffin was offered by the Buckeye staff, as it seemed like he was the only Georgia stud recruit without an Ohio State offer. Well, the day finally came, as coach Everett Withers gave Ruffin the big news late Wednesday night. Ruffin attends St. Pius X High School in Atlanta, Georgia and is listed at 6-0.5, 180 pounds. I'm not going to bother filling up half this article listing all the offers Ruffin has, but a few big ones are Alabama, Georgia, LSU, Florida State, and South Carolina. Ruffin took the time to give his reaction to the offer from up North, here's what he had to say:

"It definitely means a lot to me that he [Urban Meyer], as a coach, has taken notice of me. It's kind of a confirmation that everything I do does not go in vain. Also, I watched him build a program to such a prestigious level to the point where the name 'Florida' was feared. The offer sits well with me, and I'm not sure where it will land. But, I'm positive that it will be in my top schools."

Quite promising words for Buckeye fans pushing for Nick Ruffin to end up in the 2014 recruiting class.

Proving how busy the Ohio State coaching staff were Thursday, O'Fallon, Illinois defensive end Dewayne Hendrix rounded out a trio of offers. Hendrix is 6-5, 251 pounds and grades out as a 4-star in the 247Composite Rating. He's the 150th overall ranked player in the class of 2014, 9th best strong side defensive end, and the fifth best player from the state of Illinois. You can watch his junior year highlights here.

Urban Meyer's staff weren't the only in action Thursday. Thad Matta's took to the capitol of the midwest and visited Chicago, IL prep star Jahlil Okafor. The 6-11 big man grades out a near perfect 100 in the 247Composite Rating and though Ohio State is in it against the likes of Duke, Kentucky, Michigan State, North Carolina, and newly minted national champs, Louisville, for Okafor's services, the center would stand to be the basketball Buckeyes' biggest get since Greg Oden's commitment.

Had a great in home visit with the Ohio st coaching staff tonight.

— Jahlil Okafor (@jahprobound) April 12, 2013

Last but not least, I'd like to draw notice to a very important 2015 prospect making the trek to attend tomorrow's Ohio State spring game. Eric Glover-Williams, a 5-11, 160-pound athlete from McKinley High School in Canton, Ohio, has been confirmed to be in attendance ($) at this Saturday's game. Again, like Dowdy, Glover-Williams is only a sophomore, but he has been given a lot of early attention from both major college football programs and recruiting analysts. Note "Glover-Williams" as a name Buckeye fans will be hearing quite often a year from now. As a sneak peak, here are some of his highlights: