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Ohio State recruiting: State Secrets, 9/4 - Maurice Smitherman and Josh Sweat offered

Ohio State sent out two offers on Tuesday to Maurice Smitherman and Josh Sweat. Is Jacques Patrick starting to look like a more realistic possibility? Drew Richmond calls Ohio State his "childhood favorite" and receives attention from the staff and is LeBron James' locker a useful recruiting tool?

By Austin Kemp
New Ohio State offeree Josh Sweat.
New Ohio State offeree Josh Sweat.
Student Sports

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Starting off with a bang, 2015 cornerback Maurice Smitherman picked up an offer from Ohio State early on Tuesday. Smitherman checks in at 5'11", 178 pounds and currently holds offers from Miami (FL), Texas A&M, and Arkansas. Though we are a long way away from National Signing Day for 2015 prospects, the corner back position for this class with be interesting to watch as the Buckeyes are chasing several, as usual, and are already sitting pretty with Maryland native, Ashton White. Smitherman has not yet been ranked by 247Sports, but that should change soon. With the kind of speed Smitherman possesses, it's inevitable that big time plays will come and, when they do, the entire country will start to take note of the Buckeye recruit from Alabama. LGHL's Charles Doss caught up with Maurice after the offer; see what he had to say.

Staying in 2015, defensive end Josh Sweat also picked up an offer from Ohio State today.

A lengthy, elusive pass rusher, Sweat has the ability to make an instant impact in passing situations wherever he ends up. Though he'll need to add more bulk to be an every down player, there's no denying the athleticism of the 6'5" Sweat. His current leaders appear to be the hometown Virginia Tech Hokies, Florida State, and Georgia, but this Ohio State offer could change everything. Sweat is currently rated the #4 weak-side defensive end in his class.

Also, Ohio State showed quite a bit of interest in Jacques Patrick on Tuesday.

Rated as the number eight running back in his class of 2015, Patrick has elite size and has the potential to be Carlos Hyde-like if he were to end up in Columbus. Coach Meyer hasn't grabbed as many players from Florida that our rabid fan base had originally thought he would, but there is reason to be optimistic with Patrick. Keep an eye on this one moving forward.

Those three weren't the only one's receiving love yesterday, though. Offensive tackle Drew Richmond also gained the attention of the staff and being that the Buckeyes were his childhood favorite growing up, I'd say we have more than a punchers chance in this one.

Rewind a few months ago, and this is what Richmond had to say about a past Buckeye great.

In what came as potentially the biggest news of the day, LeBron James has officially left a footprint inside of the Ohio State basketball locker room...by getting his own locker. Love him or hate him, high school basketball players gravitate to LeBron and this gives Thad Matta yet another pitch to sell to future Buckeyes—as if Matta needed any more help getting talent to Columbus. No matter what beef you might have with him, this move can only help Ohio State on the recruiting trail moving forward. See, a football commit thinks it's pretty sweet already.

As of late, Ohio State has expressed interest in 2015 center GodsPower Ogide, but has not yet offered the 6'10", 265 pound monster. With offers from Buffalo and Temple in hand, it seems as if Ogide will have to show a bit more his junior season and next summer if he is serious about earning an offer from the Buckeyes. The size is there to be dominant every possession, it's time for him to go out an do it now.

QUICK HITS:

  • In case you haven't heard, Buckeye commit Jalyn Holmes' high school team will be playing live on ESPNU this Friday at 8 p.m. ET:

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