Ohio State recruiting: Patrick Allen has OSU on top following visit

Top prospects were flocking to Columbus this weekend for Ohio State's biggest weekend of visitors in 2014 to this date.

One of the top players on campus was Reisterstown (MD) Franklin offensive guard/tackle Patrick Allen, who was making his first ever trip to Columbus.

The 6'5, 270-pound lineman arrived in Columbus on Friday night and departed Saturday night. He had good things to say about his first trip to Ohio State.

"We got to the campus on Friday night and walked around the town just to see the area which was pretty cool," Allen said. "Then on Saturday it's when we went to the university to check everything out.

It was good sitting down to watch practice to see how coach Warinner was and how he worked with his guys. It was really cool," Allen told Land-Grant Holy Land.

Allen got to spend plenty of time with Ohio State offensive line coach Ed Warinner, who is his primary recruiter and would be his position coach if he decided to attend Ohio State. He also got to spend some time with Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer on the visit.

"We (Allen and Warinner) talked about offensive lineman, the NFL, and what position I would fit at if I went to Ohio State," he said. "I got to talk to coach Meyer as well and he was pretty funny. He told me that it's very competitive at Ohio State and you will get the experience of hard work and earning your spot. Nothing is given to you directly."

Coming into the visit, Allen didn't have a leader, but after a great visit to OSU, Allen says the Buckeyes are the team to beat for his commitment.

"Yes (Ohio State is my leader)," Allen continued. "It's a real comfortable area and the town was great. It was just amazing talking to the coaching staff. Everyone was really cool and it was just like family."

Committing crosses his mind while on the visit, but he decided to hold off because he wanted to give every school recruiting him a chance.

"Yeah it did, it really did. I was thinking about it," Allen stated. "I also thought about other schools, so I'm not committing anytime soon. I've been looking into which schools I would feel comfortable at and Ohio State definitely one of them, so I have high interest in Ohio State, but I want to give other schools a shot before I officially make my decision because I want to see what all of the other schools are like."

As far as a decision timetable, the standout offensive lineman would like to wait things out and make a decision towards the end of the recruiting process.

"Most likely around the time of the all star games, close to the end of my senior season, or close to signing day," he told Land-Grant Holy Land.

When it comes decision time, there will be a couple of main factors that he takes into account.

"The coaching staff, how far away I'll be from my mother, and how everything feels at the university," he stated.

He wants to visit Florida State over the summer, might get out to Miami, and would also like to visit Tennessee and many others before deciding.

Ohio State made a great impression on Allen and have taken the lead in his recruitment, but it appears this battle isn't close to over as he says he wants to wait to announce his decision. I think Florida State will be the Buckeyes' top competition to land the standout offensive lineman.