Ohio State recruiting: Sh'mar Kilby-Lane, Dre'Mont Jones on commitment watch

It has been a couple of months since the Buckeyes last picked up a commitment for their 2015 recruiting class. I expect that to end very soon as multiple recruits could be close to ending their recruitment in favor of the Scarlet and Gray.

Today, we're going to take a look at the players who could potentially commit to the Buckeyes in the month of April (potentially as early as the spring game). We'll make sure to keep the list up to date as the month progresses.

Without out further adieu Land-Grant Holy Land presents the commit watch list for the month of April.

WR Van Jefferson, Brentwood (TN) Ravenwood

The 6'3, 185-pound wide receiver was tentatively set to make the trip to Columbus for this weekend's spring game. However, plans have changed as he has to take the ACT and he will likely be back to Ohio State next weekend instead. If that visit does occur, I would say there's a pretty solid chance of a commitment on the visit or very shortly after the trip wraps up.

Ohio State is definitely the team to beat at this point in his recruitment. Following Penn State's hire of James Franklin, some thought they would surge to the top of Jefferson's list. However, a very good visit to Columbus a couple of weeks ago put the Buckeyes firmly in the lead to land his commitment. He would like to have his recruitment wrapped up by the end of the month and I would be pretty surprised if the choice wasn't for the Scarlet and Gray, unless something changes over the next couple of weeks.

DE Dre'Mont Jones, Cleveland (OH) Saint Ignatius

One of the top players in the state of Ohio, Jones picked up an offer from the Buckeyes about a month or so ago and recently added an offer from Michigan a few weeks ago while on a visit in Ann Arbor. He visited Ohio State for the first time at the end of March and had a great visit. He's going to be back in town for the spring game on Saturday, where we could see a commitment.

There's a chance he decides to hold off and take a couple more visits before making his commitment, but at this point I would be absolutely stunned if he didn't commit to Ohio State at some point in the process. He might be the most likely to join Ohio State's unnamed 2015 recruiting class this weekend. We'll have much more on his visit and potential commitment this weekend.

LB Sh'mar Kilby-Lane, Hallandale (FL)

This is a name that has been thrown around for quite awhile and could very well be one of the next players to commit in this class. Kilby-Lane is extremely high on the Buckeyes and is believed to have the Bucks on top right now. He'll be making his first visit to Ohio State this weekend, where a commitment is definitely not out of the question if things go according to plan.

I feel pretty comfortable about SKL to Ohio State as things currently stand, but there's definitely a chance he decides to hold off on a decision and could wait either a few days in order to think things over before making it official or he could take a couple of more visits before making a decision. In any event, I think Ohio State is a heavy favorite to land him.

LS Liam McCullough, Worthington (OH) Kilbourne

He seems to be taking his time, but whenever there's a Columbus recruit who holds an offer from the Buckeyes, they're almost always going to be on commit watch. McCullough has been to on Ohio State's campus many times since being offered and I think it's only a matter of time before he pulls the trigger and commitment, with this weekend being a possibility as he'll make the short trip to the 'Shoe for the spring game.

Obviously there's a chance he waits a little longer so he can see more school before deciding, but this is another guy who I would be very surprised if he didn't end up as a member of this class when National Signing Day 2015 comes and goes. Michigan State and Wisconsin are the only "threats" to the Buckeyes in this race.

TE Hale Hentges, Jefferson City (MO) Helias

I don't think a commitment from the standout tight end is too likely this month, but there's a chance, so I included him on this list. After his visit last week, I would say the Buckeyes are the team to beat, but after talking to him a couple of days ago I think he makes more visits before wrapping up his recruitment sometime before his senior season kicks off.

The Buckeyes probably lead right now, but there's still some work to do in order to lock him into this class. Missouri, Alabama (visiting there this weekend), Michigan, Michigan State, Auburn, and others will serve as major competition to Ohio State in this race.

Predictions

This isn't an exact science and I could definitely be wrong, but I think we see three commitments this month. Two this week (or shortly after) and another before the month comes to an end.

We will try to keep this list updated as the month progresses. We'll have plenty of news on this weekend's visitors as it happens.