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Urban Meyer and his coaching staff have been out on the recruiting trail over the past week or so extending offers to some of the top players in the 2015 and 2016 recruiting class.
One of the offers went out to Olney (MD) Good Counsel defensive end Darius Fullwood who reported an offer from the Buckeyes Friday evening.
The 6'5, 245-pound defensive linemen talked to Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer over the phone last week where he picked up an offer from the Scarlet and Gray. He was very excited to receive an offer from one of the nation's top football programs.
"I talked to Ccoach Meyer early last week on Tuesday or Wednesday. He was just telling me how he really want me to come to Ohio State," Fullwood said. "Coach Johnson put in the good word for me to get the offer once he got to Ohio State. Coach Meyer is a really laid back guy in the off-season, we were just joking around a little bit. He's a really cool dude."
Getting a scholarship offer from the Buckeyes has been one of the biggest developments in Fullwood's recruitment thus far. Despite just getting his offer a couple of days ago, the standout defensive end has the Bucks at or near the top of his list.
"Getting the offer from Ohio State probably puts them at (or near) the top of the list," he said. "Growing up I got to watch them a lot and they win a lot, it's a great football program. I went to one of their games last year, when they played Indiana and got to see the campus afterwards. It's really nice."
Even though the weather wasn't great when the Buckeyes took the Hoosiers and Indiana isn't necessarily a tough opponent, Fullwood still had a very good time experiencing the atmosphere at an Ohio State football game.
"The fans are awesome and they also have a really good stadium. (The) atmopshere was great, too, and they were playing Indiana, so I can't imagine how much better it will be when they play better teams. I can't wait to see a big game there," he continued. "The atmosphere was great, the players were great, it was really just a good experience all-around."
While he doesn't have any future visits to Columbus set right now, he envisions himself back in the Buckeye state in the near future for another visit.
"Probably in the near future. Spring time is coming up, so there will be a lot of junior days, spring practices, and spring games," he told Land-Grant Holy Land. "I just need to call coach Meyer and Coach Johnson to see which will be the best for me to attend. Then if I'm not committed by the fall, I'll definitely take an official to Ohio State."
Fullwood built a very good relationship with newly minted Ohio State defensive line & assistant head coach Larry Johnson when he was coaching Penn State and Darius is looking forward to continuing his relationship with Johnson at his new school.
"I think of all of the people who have recruited me, Coach Johnson is the coach I have the best relationship with," he said. "I've talked to him a lot. He's a really good coach and sent a lot of defensive linemen to the NFL when he was coaching at Penn State."
In addition to the Buckeyes, Fullwood has been in close contact with several other school that he'll strongly consider throughout his recruitment.
"Even though there's a new coaching staff, I would say Penn State, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, North Carolina State, and Kentucky. There are also a few other schools starting to show interest," he stated. "I came out with a top five a few weeks ago, but I'm probably going to scrap that and come out with a top 8 or something here a little down the road."
Fullwood does not have a decision date set just yet, but there are a couple of potential time period and events that he would consider making his college announcement.
"Maybe September or May. Right now I'm looking at having a ceremony at my high school to announce in May. My first choice would be to announce at my school," Fullwood said. "If I get invited to an All-American game, I could decide there or even at The Opening over the summer. I have the chance to get a lot more offers and I want to make sure I've weighed all my options."
When he sits down to make his decision, there will be a lot of important factors that go into it, but academics will be the biggest. Fullwood is not just a great football player, but also an all-star student, reporting a 4.0 GPA on rivals.com.
"I would say the biggest factor is to give me a good opportunity for my degree. I want to major in business. I want to be set up for a good career when I'm done playing football," he told Land-Grant Holy Land. "Staying close to home is also important, it wasn't as important before, but I really want my mom and dad to make it to at least half of my games and that probably wouldn't be possible if I played at a school out west," he added.
Fullwood will probably be in attendance for Penn State's junior day scheduled for February 15th, where he'll meet new head coach James Franklin and his coaching staff. He plans on taking more visits in the coming months, including one to Ohio State, but doesn't have any dates set just yet.
When it comes to Ohio State, I think Fullwood is very interested. He's definitely name we could see in this class and I currently have him going to Ohio State in my "Crystal Ball" predictions. Penn State and other schools in the Midwest will be the biggest threat to the Buckeyes in his recruitment.
If you haven't seen him in action, check out his impressive junior highlight tape below:
