Ohio State recruiting: State Secrets, 6/28 - Jamarco Jones commits, latest on Rushel Shell

The much anticipated wait for '14 OL Jamarco Jones' decision is finally over, and the Scarlet and Gray came out on top after Jones chose the Buckeyes over Michigan and Michigan State. Jones hails from the state of Illinois and checks in at 6'5", 290-pounds and had offers from some of the top programs in the country, including Notre Dame, Florida, Florida State, and many others beyond his finalists. Jones joins an already loaded Ohio State class of 2014.

There are still linemen on the board for Ohio State, including '14 OL Jermaine Eluemunor, '14 OL Chad Mavety and '14 OL Demetrius Knox (although Knox didn't seem too thrilled about Jones making it three linemen commitments for Ohio State), so the recruiting efforts don't appear to be slowing down on that front. Also of interest, is that Ohio State jumped 13 spots in the 247 football recruiting team rankings from 16th all the way to the third best recruiting class in the country. With still plenty of time left for teams to recruit, it might not mean much, but we'll see how it all plays out these next few months.

CBS Sports reported Thursday afternoon that former Pitt running back Rushel Shell is considering Ohio State, West Virginia and Kentucky as schools that he is looking to play for. Shell was previously thought to be transferring to UCLA, but expressed a desire to remain close to his twin daughters, who live in Hopewell, Pennsylvania. Both West Virginia and Ohio State offered scholarships to Shell out of high school, where Shell apparently said he actually preferred Ohio State before the program was hit with sanctions and the departure of Jim Tressel.

Shell was the backup to Pitt starting running back Ray Graham and in his time at Pitt, Shell rushed for 641 yards on 141 carries in his backup role, while also adding four touchdowns. In his senior year of high school, Shell rushed for 2,312 yards on 311 carries and produced 28 touchdowns. Check out Shell's highlight film from his senior year of high school here:

In some basketball news, '15 PF Carlton Bragg is planning on visiting Ohio State today on an unofficial visit. Despite being ranked among the top players in the nation in his class, the 6-foot-9 forward is spending his summer honing his skills as offers from colleges continue to pour in. After averaging 16.7 points and 6.7 rebounds per game in a tertiary role with the Vikings last season, Bragg could probably maintain his status quo and still be one of the nation's top recruits when he graduates in two years. Here's what Bragg had to say about his recruitment:

"I'm not in a hurry to make a decision," the soft-spoken forward said. "I'll make a decision by the end of my senior year."

Finally, '15 WR/RB Jaason Lewis updated his plans a bit recently where he mentioned that he would be visiting Ohio State sometime this fall along with the likes of Michigan, Virginia and Tennessee. The 6'3", 230-pound Lewis has a wide variety of talents, as evidenced by his being listed as a wide receiver and running back. The Virginia-native has offers from top programs such as Florida State, North Carolina, Virginia and Virginia Tech, among others.

The 5-star is ranked as the number one athlete in the class of 2015, the 26th best overall player in the country and the number one player coming out of the state of Virginia. Be sure to keep an eye on this kid in the future, as Lewis is turning out to be one of those elite players that every college will soon be going after, if not already.