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Ohio State recruiting: State Secrets, 4/29 - Dwayne Haskins, Jalen Dalton offered

The Buckeyes offered two new prospects on Monday and also visited a few top recruits from the state of Texas.

By Ian Cuevas
'16 quarterback Dwayne Haskins was the latest recruit to receive an offer from the Buckeyes.
'16 quarterback Dwayne Haskins was the latest recruit to receive an offer from the Buckeyes.

Ohio State's coaching staff was busy at work on the recruiting trail on Monday, as the Buckeyes offered '16 QB Dwayne Haskins from the state of Maryland. Haskins, a 6'2, 175-pound pro-style quarterback, holds offers from Arizona State, Clemson, Florida, Maryland, Nebraska, SMU, Temple, and Utah, while also receiving interest from Michigan. Ohio State wasn't the only to offer Haskins on Monday, as the Gators and Terrapins offered the high school recruit.

Seeing as Haskins is in the early stages of his recruitment, it won't be long until he has a much larger offer list over the course of the year. With some of the bigger schools already offering the quarterback, you can expect the cream of the crop to be taking a closer look at Haskins. Here was an interesting note about Ohio State offering Haskins, from the prospect himself:

With Haskins saying Ohio State is his "dream school" the Crystal Ball experts have quickly predicted in favor of the Buckeyes (100%).

The Buckeyes also offered '16 DE Jalen Dalton yesterday. The 6'5", 220-pound pass rusher plays his ball for West Forsyth High School in North Carolina where he is rated as the 2nd ranked player in the state. Dalton is currently rated as the 56th best player in the country and his offer sheet backs it up. The 4-star prospect has offers from Auburn, Clemson, Florida State, Miami, Michigan, Notre Dame, Penn State, South Carolina, Tennessee and many more. Dalton is currently predicted to wind up at North Carolina and play for the Tar Heels.

Ohio State offensive coordinator Tom Herman was in Texas on Monday to check in on '15 OLB Malik Jefferson and '15 ATH/OLB/TE DeAndre McNeal, as both attend the same high school. Jefferson, a 6'2, 225-pound outside linebacker is one of the best prospects in the country, rated as a 5-star and 9th overall among all recruits while also being the best at his position. Jefferson also holds offers from virtually every major school in the country.

Last season, Jefferson accounted for 83 tackles, 13 tackles for loss, 12 sacks, and forced three fumbles, recovering all of them. The general consensus among the Crystal Ball experts is that Jefferson will be heading to Texas A&M (75%) with Texas (25%) having an outside shot.

Check out some highlights of Jefferson on the gridiron:

The 6'2, 228-pound McNeal is no slouch either, rated as a 3-star in the 247Composite. While McNeal's offer list may not be as impressive, there are plenty of high-profile schools such as Arizona State, Miami, TCU, Texas Tech, Vanderbilt, and Wisconsin. McNeal has also heard from Texas and Oklahoma, with plenty of time left in his recruitment.

What makes McNeal unique is his versatility, making him able to play on either side of the ball. In 2013, McNeal played some running back for his high school team, carrying the ball 64 times for 409 yards and 9 touchdowns. As a tight end, McNeal hauled in 40 receptions for 584 yards and 11 touchdowns. It will be interesting to see how his game will translate at the college level, but there aren't many concerns in that regard.

Bret Favachio contributed to this report.

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