Ohio State recruiting: State Secrets, 3/28 - Nate Craig close to a decision, Torrance Gibson update

After another busy week and a relatively big weekend of visitors coming up, there's a lot to talk about when it comes to Ohio State football recruiting.

2016 star Nate Craig close to a decision

Tampa (FL) Catholic wide receiver Nate Craig is one of the best players in the 2016 recruiting class. He boasts offers from the likes of Ohio State, Tennessee, Auburn, Florida, Clemson, Florida State, Miami, Ole Miss, and many others.

Yesterday he tweeted that he was ready to commit, but wanted to take some visits to make sure he was 100% sure on any potential college decision.

He told me that he would like to visit Ohio State, Auburn, Clemson, Florida State, Tennessee, Florida, Miami, and a couple of other schools before finalizing a decision. After taking visits, he would like to make a college announcement sometime this summer.

Craig is hearing the most from Auburn, Ohio State, and Tennessee as things currently stand. Last month he told me that he's very open to leaving the state of Florida to play his college football saying, "I would rather stay away from home for college because it's a distraction."

We'll keep you up to date on Craig's recruitment and any potential visits when more news becomes available regarding the standout wide receiver. I think the Buckeyes have a pretty good chance here.

Talking Torrance Gibson

Ohio State's top quarterback target for the 2015 recruiting class took a slew of visits over his spring break (Oklahoma, LSU, Auburn, Clemson, Tennessee, and Florida), none of which were to Columbus.

This caused some Buckeye fans to start freaking out. Well, there's absolutely nothing to worry about. Gibson wanted to visit Ohio State, but his coach said it was too far away.

Gibson has told me on many occasions that he will be visiting Columbus before making a college decision (which I think will be in the early part of the fall) and I don't see that changing anytime soon.

I also think the Bucks are in the drivers seat to land Gibson's commitment, but there's still a long way to go in his recruitment.

One more thing. I'm sure we've all seen Tennessee fans tweeting at him non-stop. Fans "recruiting" doesn't really help as proven by Good Bull Hunting, in fact it's a pretty bad look for the school and can lead to some bad things down the road.

We'll be keeping you updated on Gibson's recruitment as things progress. He said all of his visits have gone well over the past week, but rest assured he'll be in Columbus at some point, likely over the summer.

C.J. Conrad on campus this weekend

There will be a couple of visitors on campus this weekend, with one of the bigger names being Legrange (OH) Keystone tight end C.J. Conrad, who has yet to receive a scholarship offer from the Buckeyes.

He's looking forward to getting to spend some time with the Ohio State coaching staff as he'll be one of only a couple of players campus this weekend.

"(I'm excited to) talk to Coach (Tim) Hinton and Coach (Urban) Meyer and watching how practice is," Conrad told Land-Grant Holy Land.

Conrad does not expect a scholarship offer this weekend, but hopes to earn one this summer with a good camp performance at Ohio State. If the Buckeyes did extend him an offer it would mean quite a bit.

"(It would mean) a lot. I mean that's my home school," he said. "I always grew up a Buckeye fan."

Right now Kentucky is on top for Conrad's commitment, but if the Buckeyes offered at some point, I think they would become a heavy favorite.

Darius Fullwood too

Olney (MD) Good Counsel defensive end Darius Fullwood is probably the biggest visitor set the be on campus this weekend.

The 6'4, 240 pound defensive end is one of Ohio State's top targets along the defensive line for the class and is very high on the Buckeyes. He'll arrive early Saturday morning and will stay through Sunday morning.

I'll have much more on Fullwood's visit, as well as a weekend preview sometime this afternoon.

Buckeyes offer class of 2017 in state standout

Ohio State extended a rare scholarship offer for the 2017 class to Miamisburg (OH) offensive tackle Josh Myers, who will probably be one of the top football players in the state by the time his senior season rolls around.

Myers boast an extremely impressive offer sheet, which includes scholarship offers from the likes of the Buckeyes, Michigan, Kentucky, Cincinnati, Illinois, Tennessee, Ohio, and Indiana. It's hard to imagine what his offer sheet will look like when the 2017 recruiting cycle goes into full swing.

We will try to catch up with the newly offered in state offensive lineman in the next couple of days to learn more about his interest in the Scarlet and Gray.

Other recruiting updates

- Ohio State is showing interest in Virginia Tech transfer Trevor Thompson, who started a couple of games for the Hokies last year.

He will have three years of eligibility remaining after sitting out the 2014-2015 basketball season at whichever school he chooses.

- Staying on the topic of potential basketball transfers, former Temple big man Anthony Lee tweeted that he was on campus for an official visit yesterday.

Lee would be a huge pickup for the Bucks as he could help solidify the front court on next years team, starting next to Amir Williams. He has one year of eligibility remaining and will be able to play immediate upon arrival at the school of his choice.

- Ohio State will host the Core 6 training group that's based out of Chicago on May 24th.

Core 6 has a ton of talent involved in their program and it's very important for the Buckeyes and other schools to have a good relationship with the organization.

- The Buckeyes will also host Cass Tech high school on April 5th.

The home of future Buckeye Damon Webb and many other division one prospects is probably the most talented high school football program in the state of Michigan.

Important Dates

• March 6th visitor(s): LB Nick Conner, ATH Eric Glover-Williams
• March 18th visitor(s): QB Tommy Stevens
• March 20th visitor(s): LB Josh Barajas, DE Jonathon Cooper (2016), ATH Jerome Baker
• March 21st-22nd visitor(s): RB Larry Scott, WR Steven Smothers (2016), WR Van Jefferson, OL Patrick Allen, OL Simon Stepaniak, OL James Daniels, DE Dre'Mont Jones, LB Anthony McKee, LB Justin Hilliard, DB Jordan Whitehead, ATH Brian Cole
• March 25th visitor(s): LB Ethan Tucky (2016)
• March 26th visitor(s): TE Jake Pickard
• March 27th visitor(s): QB Danny Clark (2017 commit)
• March 28th-29th visitor(s): TE CJ Conrad, OL Tyler Gerald (2016), OL Jake Fruhmorgen, OL Quinn Oseland, OL David Robbins, DE Darius Fullwood, LB Chris Green
• April 2nd visitor(s): OL Gabe Megginson
• April 3rd visitor(s): TE Hale Hentges
• April 5th visitor(s): Cass Tech Day
• April 12th/Spring Game visitor(s): OL Sterling Jenkins, OL Larry Wells, LB Nick Conner, LB Sh'mar Kilby-Lane (maybe), DE Dre'Mont Jones, DE/LB Jonathon Cooper, CB Minkah Fitzpatrick
• May 24th visitor(s): Core 6 Day