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Ohio State recruiting: State Secrets, 6/21 - Jalyn Holmes officially commits, two visit updates

In a day surrounded with speculation regarding the "commitment" from Jalyn Holmes on Wednesday, the Buckeye staff kept mostly quiet. Other than finally receiving official word from Holmes, one stud defensive tackle enjoyed his visit, but two other visitors to Columbus "cancelled." However, one appears to have just slightly postponed.

By zrc11
Urban Meyer with '14 DT Matt Elam
Urban Meyer with '14 DT Matt Elam

One day after a lengthy song and dance ended with more equestions than answers, '14 defensive end prospect Jalyn Holmes finally his announcement and committed to Urban Meyer's Ohio State Buckeyes. As the Twitterverse and Buckeye recruiting enthusiasts were well aware, Holmes was reported to have committed to Ohio State yesterday, but denied the rumors via his Twitter account. It only took another day to make things official, however, and many hope Holmes' verbal is the catalyst for more great news to come. According to 247Sports' Composite Rankings, Holmes grades out as a 96 overall, the 80th best overall player in the nation, the 4th best weak-side defensive end in the nation and the 4th best prospect from Virginia. Rejoice Buckeye Nation, and this seems to not be the only good news to come in the near future.

'14 defensive tackle prospect, Matt Elam, ranked as 247Sports' 10th best overall prospect, made the trek from Kentucky to Columbus yesterday to spend some time with the coaching staff and take in the campus. All reports indicate the visit went exceedingly well, and one hopes that Elam's experience becomes the norm for the plethora of visitors in Columbus throughout the weekend. Elam, not offered by Ohio State until June 4th, stands tall. 6-6, 350-pound tall. Not surprisingly, 247Sports has him listed as a 5-star recruit, while their composite rankings (combining all other recruiting services' takes) has him as a 4-star. Regardless, this mammoth prospect just may be big enough to fill out the #52 jersey previously held by Johnathan Hankins. As daunting as a task that may be, I'm a believer. Gauge for yourself below:

The first of the unexpected visit cancellations Thursday came from Austin Roberts, a 6-3, 217-pound 4-star prospect being considered as a wide receiver or tight end at Ohio State. Roberts has been considered a Buckeye lean for quite some time, as 247Sports' Crystal Ball indicates. The cancellation, obviously enough, is negative news for Ohio State. USC has been rumored to be making a push for Roberts' services as of late, and a visit out to lovely Southern California first (or instead) could complicate things. Some speculate that Urban and his staff wouldn't have taken Roberts this early if he had tried to force the issue, but no one knows for sure. One thing's for sure: Roberts is quite the prospect. According to 247Sports' Composite Rankings, he grades out as a 92 overall, the 178th best overall player in the nation, the 24th best wide receiver in the nation and the second best overall player in the state of Indiana. Will it be sunny California or good ol' Columbus for Mr. Roberts? Time will only tell, and Land-Grant Holy Land will keep you posted.

This second visit "cancellation" seems far less damaging than the first. Damian Prince, the monster prospect from high school powerhouse Bishop McNamara in District Heights, Maryland did not visit Ohio State yesterday ($). However, notice I placed that "cancellation" in quotation marks. Prince tweeted late Thursday that the drive was taking longer than he'd hoped and it appears that rather than a full on cancellation, the situation's just turned into a rescheduling. Prince is projected to be an absolute monster in college, and according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings, he grades out as a 99 overall, the 11th best overall player in the nation, the 2nd best offensive tackle prospect in the nation and the best player from his home state of Maryland. Make sure you let those numbers soak in for a while. Snagging Prince would surely skyrocket Ohio State up the 2014 recruiting rankings, but more importantly, add an undoubtedly elite prospect in a position of need.

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