Ohio State recruiting: State Secrets, 5/9 - Four new offers

Same story, different day. The Ohio State coaching staff was out in full force Wednesday, working to lay the ground work not just for the program's lofty 2014 ambitions, but well beyond. On a day that saw offensive line coach Ed Warinner officially get into the Twitter game and defensive backs coach/special teams coordinator Kerry Coombs quickly respond in kind to reassert himself as the preeminent tweeting force amongst OSU's principle recruiters, we kick things off with the first of four new Buckeye offers.

With questions lingering about what Ohio State's ambitions are at the tight end position for 2014, go ahead and add another name to the mix. Derby, Kansas TE Deandre Goolsby drew the honors from the Buckeyes yesterday. The 6-5 225 pounder could benefit greatly from Miss Sarah's nutritional program at the WHAC, but is quite the pass catching prospect. Goolsby is a 3-star in the 247Composite rankings, checks in as the 14th best tight end in the class of 2014, the 4th best player from the state of Kansas, and the 342nd best overall player in an average of the top recruiting services nationally.

Goolsby's previously taken unofficial visits to ex-Buckeye Bo Pelini and Nebraska and former Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema and Arkansas. He's thought at this time to favor in-state Kansas and Kansas State with Arkansas also in the mix. We'll have to see how serious the Ohio State interest really gets.

The next name to find themselves as the beneficiary of an OSU invitation is Clearwater Central Catholic strong-side defensive end, Justus Reed. Reed's an 83 per 247Sports and is the same in the composite (though this is a direct result of having only been evaluated by 247 and none of the other three major services). At 6-5, 235, Reed has the kind of frame you like in a DE. Per the Composite, he's the 43rd best SDE and the 163rd best player from the always loaded state of Florida. The past two days have seen him draw offers from North Carolina & Purdue in addition to the Buckeyes', though his current top schools are UConn, Duke, Florida Atlantic, Indiana, and Louisville.

The final two offers of the day go to a pair of teammates, the first being Tucker safety/linebacker, Kirk Tucker, as reported originally by ESPN's Kipp Adams. Tucker's currently a 3-star in the 247Composite rankings. The 6-2 185 pound OLB (as projected by 247) is the 49th best at the position in the class of 2014, the 61st best player from the state of Georgia, and the 677th best in the class. Not even a week removed from taking an unofficial to Stanford, the rising star adds an OSU offer. He's currently weighing his options between Arkansas, Louisville, N.C. State, UNC, and the Cardinal.

Our Charles Doss caught up with Tucker to pick his brain on the Buckeyes offering:

"My head coach told me today during school. To get an offer from Coach Meyer and the Ohio State program is a huge blessing, because both the coaches and program produce NFL caliber players. I plan on visiting this summer with my teammate/best friend, Detric Dukes. He was also offered by them today."

That teammate, LB Detric Dukes, a current Louisville commit, as mentioned also found himself on the receiving end of an Ohio State offer (broken by Adams as well). The ILB Dukes is a 3-star in the 247Composite rankings and is the 25th best at his position, 56th most heralded in the state of Georgia, and the 621st best overall. Prior to committing to Charlie Strong and the Cardinals following an unofficial visit, Dukes had also been weighing offers from Auburn, Buffalo, Connecticut, and Indiana to boot. At 6-0 220 with a 4.6 40, Dukes could be a prospect who really breaks out this coming summer. We'll have to keep an eye on him and see if he reopens his recruiting if additional programs continue to come knocking.

Finally, just for good measure, check out this mixtape of highlights from 2014 Ohio State basketball commit Keita Bates-Diop: