Ohio State recruiting: State Secrets, 3/7 - Van Jefferson closing in on a decision, 2 new offers

March has arrived and football recruiting is officially in full swing. There were multiple prospects on campus last weekend and two more recruits were on campus for yesterday's spring practice. We'll get you caught up on all of the latest happenings in the world of Ohio State football recruiting.

Jefferson closing in on decision

Brentwood (TN) Ravenwood wide receiver Van Jefferson is one of Ohio State's top targets at the wide receiver position for the 2015 class. When I spoke to the standout receiver a couple of weeks ago, he told me that he wasn't sure when he was going to announce a college decision as he still wanted to see which other schools would offer him. He has since picked up offers from Clemson, Kentucky, and South Carolina and now has an idea of when he would like to announce his decision.

I briefly spoke with the Brentwood, Tennessee product last night and he told me he is "trying" to get some more visits in so he can announce his decision at the end of March or sometime in the month of April.

While there are no set visit dates right now, Jefferson would like to go on a "big trip" to tour the college he would like to see before making his annoucement.

"Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue, Clemson, Tennessee, Ole Miss, and South Carolina," Jefferson listed as the schools he wants to visit before deciding.

I have had the 6'3, 180-pound wide receiver pegged as a Buckeye for a couple of months and am keeping that prediction for now. Penn State and Tennessee could provide some stiff competition for him, but in the end I think he chooses the team he grew up rooting for, Ohio State.

Jefferson's dad played in the NFL and is currently coaching wide receivers for the Tennessee Titans. His dad has helped develop him into one of the most polished wide receivers in this recruiting class as a whole.

Glover-Williams, Conner on campus

Ohio State welcomed 2015 commit Eric Glover-Williams and local linebacker Nick Conner to their campus yesterday, where the two prospects go to see the Buckeye's last practice before spring break kicks off tomorrow following the conclusion of classes.

Glover-Williams made his way down to Columbus from Canton in order to get more comfortable at his future school and also to spend some time with his future coaches. He told me he had a good time on the visit and enjoyed taking in the practice. EGW was also invited to the prestigious Under Armour All-American Game yesterday.

It was the second visit to OSU in 30 days for rising linebacker Nick Conner. He told me a couple of weeks ago that he would be visiting for a practice or two this spring in order to walk around with the coaches, so this visit comes as not surprise. I'm guessing he'll be back again before the conclusion of spring ball.

Chris Clark has no leaders, visiting in a couple of weeks

Avon (CT) Old Farms tight end Chris Clark scored offers 39 and 40 when Kentucky and Arizona extended him scholarship offers on Wednesday. He then received offer number 41 yesterday when Virginia Tech offered him.

There have been many rumored "leaders" and "top schools" for the standout tight end over the course of the past couple of months, but Clark set the record straight on who's in his top schools.

"No I don't (have any leaders or a top list) it's tough to narrow things down," Clark told Land-Grant Holy Land. "These visits I'm going to take in the next couple of months, especially these ones in March are definitely going to help me get a feel as to where I stand with these schools and where they are on my list. I don't really have a top five right now. All of the schools I'm going to go visit all have a chance and have the opportunity to show me what they can present for me. I'm excited (to go on these visits)."

Clark will be in Columbus for the first time on March 21st and March 22nd.

I will have much more on Clark's upcoming visit swing and his recruitment as a whole sometime in the next couple of days.

'15 DB offered by Ohio State

The Buckeyes offered 2015 Baltimore (MD) St. Frances Academy defensive back Justice Pettus-Dixon yesterday, who has flown under the recruiting radar to this point.

Dixon was very excited to get an offer from the Scarlet and Gray and is definitely interested in Ohio State.

"My coach was giving me a ride home and he told me that they (Ohio State) had offered me," Pettus-Dixon said of receiving an offer from the Buckeyes. "Yes, I am (interested in the Buckeyes) and I like the school football history and I have heard they have good academics (too)."

In addition to his offer from the Buckeyes, the standout defensive back is also hearing from Oregon State, Michigan State, Maryland, Toledo, North Carolina State, Tennessee, Cincinnati, and a couple of other schools.

He indicated that he would like to get out to Columbus for a visit in the future, but doesn't have any college visits scheduled as things stand today.

While the offer from the Buckeyes is a big one, he's in no rush to make a decision because he would like to consider all of his options.

Land-Grant Holy Land will be following the standout defensive back's recruitment closely over the next year or so.

Buckeyes offer 2015 RB

Urban Meyer and his staff continued to hand out scholarship offers in the 2015 yesterday when they extended a scholarship offer to McKinney (TX) North running back Ronald Jones II. Jones is rated as the number eight running back and the 84th best player in the nation in the 247Sports Composite rankings.

#OhioState and #ArizonaState the latest to offer 2015 @AllAmericaGame RB @TheRonaldJones (McKinney, Tx/North). 25 offers

— Gerry Hamilton (@HamiltonESPN) March 6, 2014

It's pretty unclear on the full extent of his interest in the Buckeyes right now. I would guess that he's a long-shot candidate, but if the Buckeyes could get him on campus, they would jump into the race for his commitment. He's one of the most coveted backs in the 2015 class as a whole.

Other recruiting notes

- 2015 linebacker Tevon Coney picked up two more offers from Auburn and Central Florida yesterday.

The standout linebacker as been on fire recently. I think this race will boil down to Florida, Ohio State, and Alabama, with the Gators holding the edge right now.

- It's time for our weekly Malik McDowell update! It appears his mother is still holding up the process, according to a recent SI article.

Last month, the 6-6, 292-pound defensive end from Southfield (Mich.) High announced that he had chosen Michigan State. Yet McDowell still has not submitted a letter-of-intent to the Spartans. That's in part because his mother, Joya Crowe, refuses to sign it.

"There's some fishy stuff going on," said a source familiar with the matter. "When is the NCAA going to step in and say, 'What's going on?'"

Hopefully this messy situation reaches a conclusion as soon as possible. The deadline to sign and fax a National Letter of Intent is April 1.

- Four-star quarterback Sheriron Jones has been hearing from the Buckeyes quite a bit according to Rivals' recruiting analyst Adam Gorney.

- As briefly mentioned earlier, 2015 Ohio State commit Eric Glover-Williams was invited to participate in the Under Armour All-America Game as a cornerback and return man.

Important dates

• March 6th visitor(s): LB Nick Conner, ATH Eric Glover-Williams
• March 17th visitor(s): ATH Demetris Robertson
• March 20th visitor(s): LB Josh Barajas
• March 21st-22nd visitor(s): TE Chris Clark, OL James Daniels
• April 12th/Spring Game visitor(s): QB Brandon Wimbush, OL Larry Wells, LB Nick Conner, LB Sh'mar Kilby-Lane (maybe), CB Minkah Fitzpatrick

*** WR Van Jefferson also expected on campus this month***