Ohio State recruiting: State Secrets, 5/8 - One new offer

Exactly 6 days after defensive coordinator Luke Fickell stopped by his high school in Pennsylvania to visit him, '14 ATH Malik Hooker received an Ohio State offer. Hooker, who is also a prospect for basketball, has offers on the gridiron from Michigan, Penn State, Pittsburgh, West Virginia and now Ohio State to name a few.

Speaking of athletes, the Buckeyes received good news pertaining to an athlete in the state of New York. '14 ATH Curtis Samuel released his top 5 yesterday and sure enough, Ohio State made the cut. In order for the Buckeyes to win the battle for Samuel, they will have to beat out Alabama, Miami (FL), Notre Dame, and Rutgers, who also made his top group. The up-and-coming prospect from Erasmus High School is ranked as the third best player in the state and the no. 311 player in the nation. Most believe that Rutgers and Ohio State are in the best position for his services at this time.

Check out what Curtis Samuel could possibly bring to the Ohio State offense:

On Monday, Ohio State received a visit from '15 LB Justin Hilliard from St. Xavier High School (OH). As of today, the St. Xavier linebacker does not have a scholarship offer from the Buckeyes but I would not be surprised if that changed rather quickly. Hilliard, who has received 10 offers already, spoke with LGHL's Charles Doss on how his visit to Columbus went:

The visit was great! We got to see a lot of the facilities, but it was mainly about getting to know the coaches and some players. I had a good conversation with Ryan Shazier, too. The nutrition probably stood out the most for me; it seemed they had everything they needed. I'm most in contact with Coach Coombs. And they said [on my visit] they could see me in lots of places on their defense."

The Buckeyes offered '15 DT CeCe Jefferson last Friday and the pursuit of Jefferson is still on, as they gave a call to the Baker County defensive tackle.

Just talked to Ohio State.. #GoBucks #Buckeyes #12-0 #Getmyfollowersup #YeahBoyy

— The CeCe Jefferson. (@cecejeferson7) May 8, 2013

Jefferson had some promising things to say in regards to the Buckeyes last Saturday when he told Charles, "It feels great to know that a coach of coach Meyer's caliber has me as one of their recruits". Jefferson currently holds 16 offers with Alabama looking like the favorite.

QUICK HITS:

• Alabama Crimson Tide offer '14 WR and Ohio State target Mark Andrews.
• '14 LB and Ohio State target Chase Winovich will visit Michigan this weekend.
• Georgia and Alabama visited '14 LB and Buckeye target Raekwon McMillan.