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Ohio State recruiting: State Secrets, 8/2 - Donell Stanley, Brock Ruble, and Matt Elam narrow college choices

Get the latest following a busy day of Ohio State recruiting news.

By Andrew Lind
Donell Stanley eliminated Ohio State Thursday.
Donell Stanley eliminated Ohio State Thursday.

On Thursday, commits and targets from the 2014 class received their official scholarship letters by mail:

With 16 commits, there are roughly six spots left in the 2014 class. Adding a couple more big time recruits would land head coach Urban Meyer his third consecutive top five class.

Offensive tackle recruit Donell Stanley told Land-Grant Holy Land that Ohio State is no longer in the running for his services. The four-star recruit out of Latta (SC) announced his top four of Alabama, Clemson, North Carolina, and South Carolina.

Stanley felt that Ohio State was on equal ground with the four remaining schools, but he said that Columbus was just too far from his hometown in the Palmetto State.

"I honestly felt each offer had equal value and I appreciate the fact that people wanted me at their school," said Stanley. "It was a tough decision but it had to be done. It’s just too far from my family."

With Stanley out of the picture, Ohio State coaches can shift their focus primarily to offensive lineman Brock Ruble. The three-star tackle out of Hyattsville (MD) DeMatha made an unofficial campus visit on Tuesday.

Ruble took to Twitter on Thursday to announce his top five schools, which included Ohio State, Florida State, Maryland, North Carolina State, and Tennessee.

Another 2014 target, Matt Elam, also took to social media to announce his top suitors. Elam, a five-star defensive tackle out of John Harden High School (Elizabethtown, KY), has listed Ohio State, Alabama, Kentucky, Tennessee, Louisville, and Notre Dame as possible destinations.

A surprise in the 2014 class could come in the form of a 6’6", 225 pound receiver from Scottsdale, Arizona. Desert Mountain’s Mark Andrews has only played organized football for two years, but he has the size and speed to provide a mismatch against any defense:

"Being new to the game gives me motivation to learn everything and work that much harder. Coach Meyer and I talked a lot about what it takes to win and what’s expected at The Ohio State University," said Andrews after his official visit.

"(Meyer) sees me fitting a role in the offense where I would provide mismatches for the defense, whether it’d be against linebackers, corners, or safeties."

Andrews has previously said that he would wait until his senior season ended to make a decision on where he will play his college ball. Although reports have surfaced that Andrews will commit to either Oklahoma or Texas A&M, sources have said ‘not so fast, my friend’ to the O-Zone's Michael Chung and that Ohio State is still in the running for the wideout.

If Andrews were to commit to Ohio State soon, he would likely take the spot in the class from receiver Noah Brown, wideout Braxton Berrios, or tight end Mike Gesicki.

With 108 days until National Signing Day and a limited number of spots available, somebody might get left out of the class

BASKETBALL QUICK HITS:

  • Thad Matta has reached out to 2015 point guard Jawun Evans. Evans, a four-star from Greenville, South Carolina, has offers from Cincinnati and Clemson.
  • Eric Davis, a four-star point guard from Saginaw, Michigan, will visit Ohio State and Illinois later this month. Michigan State is also in the running for Davis’ services.
  • Competing for the same open spot as Evans and Davis is Georgia point guard Tookie Brown. Brown has offers from South Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi State, and UAB.

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