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The Horseshoe will be rocking in a couple of nights, as a bevy of recruits will be making the trip to Columbus, to see one of the best games the Big Ten will have to offer this year. As reported yesterday by LGHL's own Andrew Lind, head coach Urban Meyer confirmed the Buckeyes will be wearing Rivalry uniforms this Saturday night. This might be some clever planning from the coaching staff to break out the swagged out uniforms, as there will be around 50 recruits in attendance checking out the Buckeyes with their own eyes.
One of those recruits is going to be 2015 offensive tackle Drew Richmond out of Memphis, Tennessee. The 6'5", 300-pound tackle, is a composite four star by 247Sports and rated the sixth best at his position. While he is still a junior and still has a long way to go in his recruitment, he does have 15 offers in hand coming from schools like Alabama, Ole Miss, Tennessee and the Buckeyes. To go along with what is already shaping up to be a great list of schools, the junior took to Twitter to announce he will be playing in the Under Armour All-American game:
Blessed to officially say I've committed to play in the 2015 Under Armour All-American game 🏈🏈 #All-American
— Drew Richmond (@TheDream_75) September 25, 2013
Staying in the class of 2015, Darrin Kirkland Jr., announced on Twitter that he, along with the aforementioned Richmond, will be making the trip to Columbus this weekend. Kirkland, who has not yet received an offer from the Buckeyes, is a composite four star recruit out of Indianapolis, Indiana. This won't be the first trip to Columbus for the Hoosier state recruit, as he camped at Ohio State back in mid-June of this year. As it stands right now, the junior holds offers from Indiana, Illinois and Louisville to go along with a couple of MAC schools in Akron and Toledo.
This Friday at Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio, St. Xavier will player Moeller in what is expected to be on of the better games this season. Crowds are expected to be anywhere from 15,000-17,000 fans, to watch two of Ohio's best high school programs. St. Xavier is led by junior linebacker Justin Hilliard who has nearly 30 offers from teams all across the country. Hilliard will be making the trip the following day to Columbus to watch the Buckeyes take on the Badgers. Their counterpart is led by Ohio State commit Sam Hubbard and the rest of the Moeller players. Hubbard has helped lead the defending state champs to a 4-0 record this season. Hubbard, like most of the Dream 14 commits, will also be at the Buckeye game this weekend, and I was able to catch up with 6'6" athlete to see what he is most looking forward to this weekend:
"The thing I'm really looking forward to is spending time with my future teammates, and talking with some possible members of the Class of 2014. I am really excited to watch our Buckeye team playing under the lights in the 'Shoe."
Also headed to Columbus for the game this weekend is '14 QB commit Stephen Collier. I had a chance to catch up with Collier on Wednesday night to get his thoughts on coming to Ohio State for the visit:
"I'm just looking forward to finally feel the game day atmosphere at Ohio State. I've heard so much and I've already seen the fan base extend all the way to south Georgia, so to be in the epicenter of it all will be phenomenal."
Switching gears a little bit, Buckeye basketball has some recruiting news to share as well. As you all should know by now, head coach Thad Matta has put together a great recruiting class (which is ranked second by 247Composite only behind North Carolina). One of those recruits is Jae'Sean Tate, out of nearby Pickerington Central High School. Tate, a 6'4" forward, is the number one ranked player in all of Ohio and a top-60 player according to 247's composite rankings. Tate will be a key factor for the Tigers this season and when the year is over, should be up for many prestigious awards including a chance at being named as a McDonald's All-America as we learned today:
#AOR / Pick Central F JaeSean Tate has been nominated for the 2014 McDonalds All-American Game! Congrats to him & his family, what an honor!
— ALL OHIO BASKETBALL (@all_ohio) September 25, 2013
A source told LGHL's own Charles Doss, that Buckeyes coach Thad Matta was up at St. Ed's checking out 2016 recruit Derek Funderburk Jr. and 2015 recruit Kipper Nichols yesterday. In August, Funderburk Jr. took an unofficial visit to Ohio State and LGHL's Zach Fleer was able to catch up with Derek's father. You can check out what he had to say by clicking here. Nichols, who played alongside V.J. King and Luke Kennard during the summer, has really seen his recruiting process take off. To read more on Kipper and what he could bring to Ohio State, click here.
QUICK HITS:
- Parris Campbell and Dante Booker will be in attendance Saturday, as will a high school teammate of theirs.
- Coach Matta also checked out 5-star Doral Moore this past week.
- Ohio State coaches also checked out 2015 Eric Davis and 2017 Brian Bowen.
- As reported yesterday, Ohio State hockey got a commitment yesterday from Jason Dhooge. I was able to catch up with him and to see what made him pick the Buckeyes.
- 2014 recruit Shelby Spence told me late Tuesday night he will visit Ohio State for the Penn State game. He is teammates with Buckeye commit Jamarco Jones.