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The Ohio State coaching staff are still working their tails off to finish the 2014 class strong, but are also keeping a close eye on the next class of potential Buckeyes. Yesterday afternoon, Ohio State joined the likes of Clemson, Florida, Georgia, Michigan State and Virginia Tech as programs who have offered class of 2015 safety Rashad Roundtree a scholarship since the New Year started.
Last season as a junior for Evans, Georgia Lakeside High, Roundtree had nearly 100 tackles, finishing with 97 on the season. He was named the 2-AAAAA Defensive Player of the Year, along with being selected to the AAAAA All-State First Team. The 6'1 195 pound, Roundtree is currently the 41st ranked safety and 676th overall player in the 2015 class according to the 247Composite, but should find himself climbing the rankings rather soon after the impressive month the soon to be senior has had.
See why so many teams are after the talented defensive back with these highlights of him from last season on his Hudl page.
Offensive line coach Jeff Grimes is headed to LSU. Why should you care? Grimes formally of Virginia Tech, would have been the position coach and helped recruit recent Ohio State offeree and Hokie verbal commit, Brady Taylor. The Columbus native and life long Buckeye fan, Taylor, already had a lot to think over since OSU sent a scholarship his way a little over a week ago but with the news of Grimes headed to Baton Rouge adds even more pressure on the Bishop Ready senior to make the right choice on where to not just further his football playing days but his education.
Taylor is set to officially visit Ohio State this weekend. He recently told Land-Grant Holy Land that he hopes to "Just be able to get a better feel for the coaches and see if it is a place I can succeed early in my college career." If Brady has a solid visit, and with Grimes now headed to coach the Tigers line,Urban Meyer and staff could be one step closer to keeping the 6'5 280 pound tackle in Central Ohio as I full expect them to do.
Speaking of Coach Meyer, the Buckeye boss will be in New Jersey alongside, offensive line coach Ed Warinner today recruiting, as the quiet period between college coaches and recruits ended at midnight. One stop on the list of many will be to Cedar Grove High School, to check in on class of 2014 wide out/tight end David Njoku.
Even without an offer, Njoku recently named the Buckeyes in his final four, alongside Miami, Penn State and Temple. The 6'4 215 pound three-star prospect had previously announced he would officially visit Ohio State this weekend but has since changed his plans. David will now head to Happy Valley and visit Penn State, stating he could visit OSU later this month on the 31st.
In school visit with head coach Urban Meyer tomorrow. #OhioState
— David Njoku (@David_Njoku80) January 15, 2014
Meyer and Warinner will also be stopping by to check in on class of 2015 offensive lineman Steven Gonzalez. This will be the second time the duo has visited Gonzalez at Union City High in last four months. Gonzalez recently announced that the Buckeyes are out in front to land his services over programs such as Rutgers, Boston College, South Carolina and Wisconsin.
A four-star prospect, Gonzalez is used to major college coaches being in contact but has nothing but respect for the Buckeye head coach, Urban Meyer. "I think of prestigious coach, with a great background." Steven told Land-Grant Holy Land last night, when asked what he thought of the OSU coach. "He is a great guy who is a proven winner and sends players to league." He added.
While Meyer and Warinner are in the Garden State, don't be surprised if they stop by St. Peter's Prep, the high school of two of the top 2015 prospects in the country. Quarterback Brandon Wimbush and defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick, both hold offers from the Buckeyes as well as numerous other top programs. Both Brandon and Minkah visited campus for the Penn State game last season and walked away very impressed with what they saw. Wimbush was slated to make his college announcement soon but decided to push his decision back to give programs hiring new coaches a better look.
The coaches could also swing by Pope John XVIII and say hello to OSU commit Noah Brown to see how the future Buckeye is holding up until he joins Stephen Collier, Johnnie Dixon and the rest of his classmates in Columbus soon.
Class of 2015 tight end Chris Clark told Land-Grant Holy Land that Buckeye assistant Tim Hinton will be stopping by his school today. Last season at Avon Old Farms in Connecticut, Clark hauled in 45 passes for over 400 yards and seven touchdowns.
The Buckeyes offered Chris just a few weeks ago after watching his film. Georgia, another one of the programs to offer the 6'6 245 pound Clark, will travel up north to visit with him on Monday. Other programs after Clark include, Arizona State, Boston College, Indiana and North Carolina State and many others.
New Jersey and Connecticut aren't the only states the Buckeye coaches will be invading as they will also be in Michigan. Kerry Coombs, Stan Drayton and recently hired defensive line coach Larry Johnson will be up north. Allen Trieu of Scout.com is reporting that Ohio State, Boston College, LSU, Michigan State and Alabama will all have members of their staff at Southfield High School at some point today.
Planting the flag in Detroit with @OSUcoachDrayton and new d line coach Larry Johnson today! #TSUNinvasion #bringingthejuicenorth #GoBucks
— Kerry Coombs (@OsuCoachCoombs) January 16, 2014
Southfield is where class of 2014 five-star defensive end Malik McDowell attends school. The 6'7 290 pound McDowell is one of the key prospects the staff have set their eyes on landing to finish off the class of 2014. The Bucks could have their handful with both the Spartans and Wolverines, as both are hoping to keep the stud lineman instate but a January 31st official visit to Columbus, could be enough to put the Buckeyes in the driver seat.
One of the coaches will definitely being stopping by Detroit's Cass Tech to visit with commit Damon Webb and his class of 2015 teammates, running back Mike Weber and Joshua Alabi. Other Michigan recruits who could have the staff in their school today are 2015 standouts, Brian Cole and John Kelly, who the Buckeyes both think highly of.
#BostonCollege, #LSU, #OhioState, #MichiganState and #Alabama all stopping at Southfield (Mich.) tomorrow
— Allen Trieu (@AllenTrieu) January 15, 2014
Cleveland Villa Angela St. Joseph's basketball coach Babe Kwasniak took to Twitter to put the rumor that his standout class of 2015 forward Carlton Bragg would be making his college choice soon to rest.
There have been rumors about Carlton Bragg VASJ class of 2015 verbally committing to a university. This is NOT the case.
— Babe Kwasniak (@BabeKwas) January 15, 2014
Carlton and his family plan on narrowing his choices down as early as this spring. He is focusing on his academics and VASJ Basketball.
— Babe Kwasniak (@BabeKwas) January 15, 2014
Bragg, a five-star prospect, is a top 10 overall prospect according to just about every recruiting site on the web. The 6'8 forward currently holds offers from the Buckeyes and just about every other top program in the country, including Arizona, Illinois, Kentucky and Louisville, to name a few.
