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It was a relatively quiet Tuesday in the world of Ohio State football recruiting, but there are still a couple of things we'll get you caught up on. Let's get started.
Top sophomore gets OSU offer
Ohio State also offered Huntersville (NC) South Lake Christian Academy running back Robert Washington yesterday when he was on a visit to Ohio State. The 5'10, 205-pound running back has a chance to be ranked as one of the top players in the 2015 recruiting class when the fist set of rankings for the class come out a couple of months down the road.
"I sat down with Coach Drayton and went over film. We did some white board work. He said he was impressed with my knowledge of the game, then said you have a offer here," Washington said. "Then Coach Meyer confirmed that my offer was committable."
Washington had a very good conversation with Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer while he was on the trip to Columbus.
"It was great. He was straight forward with me," he continued. "He said 'I want you here'. He really made me feel wanted at Ohio State"
While in Columbus he got to see almost everything Ohio State had to offer him.
"I saw just about every thing," he said. "I met with the academic counselor for the team. I saw the stadium and toured the campus."
He's not ready to name a leader in his recruitment, but said he was very interested in the Scarlet and Gray.
"Very, very high," he admitted. "I'm careful on naming a leader right now, but I like everything about Ohio State."
There's still a lot of time left before he makes a decision, but we'll make sure to keep you updated on any developments in Washington's recruitment.
Bucks fading for Marcus Lewis
Standout defensive back Marcus Lewis made the trip to Columbus at the beginning of March and named the Buckeyes his leader after the visit.
In the time since, he announced that he would be transferring to IMG Academy in Florida for his senior season and has named the Florida Gators as his leader.
While it's not completely over, I don't think the Buckeyes have much of a chance to land him in the end. Florida seems to be a heavy favorite right now. I'll have more on Lewis later this week.
New offer out in 2015 class
Urban Meyer and his staff handed out yet another scholarship offer in the 2015 recruiting class when an offer when extended to Oklahoma City (OK) Midwest City safety Will Sunderland, who holds offers from the likes of Arkansas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and Tulsa.
Sunderland's interest level in the Buckeyes in unclear at the moment, but Land-Grant Holy Land will try to find out more in the coming days. Right now all nine 247Sports crystal ball picks for the standout safety are for the Oklahoma Sooners.
Early thoughts on the big weekend ahead
As almost everyone knows by now, Ohio State has a couple of high profile visitors set to be on campus for visits this weekend. I'll have much more on this weekend's visitors on Friday, but I thought I would give a couple of initial thoughts today.
First, the only player I see on commitment watch is Brentwood (TN) Ravenwood wide receiver Van Jefferson. If he does in fact make it to Columbus, I see a commitment coming on the visit or very shortly after he heads home.
Ohio State would love to get a quarterback locked up early in this class and Brandon Wimbush is supposed to be visiting this weekend. I think Penn State leads for his commitment as things currently stand, but a good visit could change that. Wimbush could definitely commit to OSU if he wanted in.
Then Chris Clark will also be making his first visit to Ohio State just a couple of days after decommitting from North Carolina. I would be stunned if he committed, but the Buckeyes could definitely increase their odds of landing him this weekend. I don't think he ends up in this class, but anything could happen. I see Hale Hentges as the first tight end in this class when it's all said and done.
Ricky DeBerry is also set to be on campus this weekend for the first time. It's huge just getting him on campus and he holds over 50 scholarship offers, which he narrowed to 20 a few weeks ago. I'm not going to make a prediction for him right now as his recruitment is so wide open, but the Buckeyes are definitely in the mix to land him right now.
Standout offensive tackle Matthew Burrell will reportedly accompany DeBerry to Columbus. The Buckeyes have some ground to make up if they want to land him.
Finally in state defensive tackle Elijah Taylor will be in Columbus for a visit Thursday. It's Ohio State vs. Notre Dame for the standouts defensive tackle's commitment.
Other recruiting updates
- Land-Grant Holy Land recruiting writer Charles Doss caught up with 2016 Buckeye target Tommy Kraemer to talk about his Ohio State offer, which he received on a recent visit.
I think the Buckeyes are in a very good spot for the standout offensive tackle, but it's still very early in his recruitment.
- 2015 defensive tackle Kahlil McKenzie tweeted that he wants to get out to Ohio State for a visit.
I don't think the Buckeyes have a great chance here, but a good visit could definitely change things.
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, DEDre'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): WR Jabari Greenwood, TE CJ Conrad, OL Tyler Gerald (2016), OL Jake Fruhmorgen, OL Quinn Oseland, OL David Robbins, DEDarius Fullwood, LB Chris Green, ATH Denzel Ward
- April 2nd visitor(s): OL Gabe Megginson
- April 3rd visitor(s): TE Hale Hentges, OL Tommy Kraemer
- April 4th-5th visitor(s): OL Austin Clark, OL Emani Mason, ATH Malik Hooker(2014 signee)
- April 5th visitor(s): Cass Tech Day
- April 7th visitor(s): RB Andrew Dowell, ATH David Dowell
- April 9th visitor(s): QB Reese Ryan, TE Sam Letton (2016), WR Keyshawn Johnson Jr. (2017), DB Darnay Holmes (2017)
- April 11th visitor(s): OL Sterling Jenkins, OL Michal Menet, ATH Chandler Cox,Trevor Thompson (hoops)
- April 12th/Spring Game visitor(s): QB Danny Clark (2017 commit), RB Damien Harris, RB Todd Sibley (2017), OL Tommy Kraemer (2016), OL Josh Myers (2017), LB Sh'mar Kilby-Lane, DE Dre'Mont Jones, DE Nick Bosa (2016), DE/LB Jonathon Cooper, LB Darrin Kirkland, LB Joshua McMillon, ATH Richard LeCounte (2017)
- April 15th visitor(s): RB Robert Washington
- April 17th visitor(s): DT Elijah Taylor
- April 18th-19th visitor(s): WR Van Jefferson, TE Chris Clark, DE/LB Ricky DeBerry
- May 24th visitor(s): Core 6 Day