Ohio State recruiting: State Secrets, 6/25 - Tim Settle high on Buckeyes

On Thursday and Friday, the Buckeyes played host to small army of visitors and campers. One of those prospective future Buckeyes happened to be Palm Beach Gardens, Florida native Shawn Boone. The Sunshine State class of 2014 defensive back made the trip with Dwyer High teammate and fellow Buckeye target Johnnie Dixon. Standing 5-10 and around 185 pounds, Boone is a three star recruit and ranked the 956th best player in the country, 78th safety and 131st player in Florida according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings. The Buckeyes offered Boone back in May but aren't the only team to have done so; Arkansas, Florida State, Ole Miss and Tennessee are just a few of the other BCS conference programs to send a scholarship offer his way.

I had the chance to catch up with Shawn Boone and asked him how his visit to Columbus went:

"The visit was great! I had expectations going up, and It just blew me away. One thing that stood out is they have a great team environment; they are one big family. Coach Meyer is a real up front coach about everything and that is different; they have something great there. I talked with Coach Meyer a few times, as well as Coach Withers and Coach Smith. They loved my work out. Coach Meyer is very high on me and wants me there bad. Coach Withers loves me; they both told me I did great. They are high on my list, no doubt."

Fast forward to yesterday, and one of the big nuggets making the rounds in the early evening was that Ohio State was the clear leader for 2015 defensive tackle Tim Settle. Settle, who took an unofficial visit to Columbus June 2nd and came away glowing about the experience, confirmed to our Luke Zimmermann that the Buckeyes are the early leaders for his services. Regarding OSU he added:

"It feels great being recruited by a program like Ohio State. I would love to have the chance to maybe one day play for a coach like Urban Meyer."

On Sunday, class of 2014 five star defensive back Jamal Adams announced he will make his college decision in August. The 6-0 200 pounder from Hebron High in Carrollton, Texas has yet to visit Ohio State yet but currently has them in his top six along with Texas, Texas A&M, Florida, Ole Miss and Notre Dame. After a recent visit to Florida, most recruiting analysts are starting to think Adams will end up in Gainesville. Another positive for the Gators is the fact that Jamal's father George played college ball at Kentucky with one time Wildcats head coach and current UF assistant Joker Phillips.

According to reports, Pennsylvania athlete Malik Hooker announced his top five teams yesterday and after recently visiting Columbus the Buckeyes made the cut. Joining OSU on the list is Penn State, Pittsburgh, Michigan and West Virginia. As a junior for New Castle High, the 6-2 185 pound two sport phenom played wide receiver, quarterback and defensive back last and scored 11 total touchdowns for the Hurricanes.

Check out what he'd potentially bring to the Buckeyes:

The Florida based website SFHighSchoolSports.com put out their class of 2015 summer top 80 yesterday. The Buckeyes have offered a few of the prospects who made the cut. Running back Jordan Scarlett came in at number two on the list. The 5-10 200 pound back has offers from the Buckeyes, Alabama, Florida State, LSU and a ton of other top schools after rushing for over 1,300 yards and 22 touchdowns as a sophomore.

Quarterback Torrance Gibson comes in at number six. The Buckeyes offered Gibson a couple months ago joining Miami, Nebraska, Notre Dame, West Virginia amongst others. SFHighSchoolSports.com isn't the only site who thinks highly of Gibson; the 247Sports Composite Rankings have him as the 106th player in the country, the 3rd best dual threat quarterback and the 16th best talent in Florida.

Kendrell McFadden out of Hollywood, Florida comes in at 21. The 6-3 195 defensive back has offers from Ohio State, Florida, Miami, Clemson and others. Last season at McArthur High, the four star safety had over 30 tackles and two interceptions in only fives games.

Check out his sophomore year highlights:

QUICK HITS:

• Nine current Ohio State commits will attend The Opening 2013 being held at the Nike World Headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon from June 30th to July 3rd. Numerous other Buckeye targets such as running back Derrell Scott, offensive lineman Demetrius Knox and defensive back Quincy Wilson to name a few. To see who else will be on hand in Oregon, you can check out the rosters here.
• After telling me last week that he was thinking about returning to Columbus in July for Friday Night Lights, 2014 Chicago De La Salle quarterback Shelby Spence confirmed to Steve Wiltfong of 247Sports that he will make the trip.
• 2015 Indianapolis linebacker Darrin Kirkland Jr. was invited to attend Friday Night Lights at Ohio State on Monday. The 6-2 215 pound four star Kirkland visited Columbus twice last week and already has offers from Akron and Toledo with many more sure to come.
• After recently naming a top five of Ohio State, Georgetown, Florida State, South Carolina and UConn, four star wing LJ Peak announced Monday that he will now only focus on the Hoyas, Seminoles and Gamecocks
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