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When it comes to Ohio State recruiting, Urban Meyer's football squad usually steals the headlines away from Thad Matta and the Buckeye basketball program. Not this weekend. Matta landed another commitment for the 2015 cycle on Sunday when 6'5 190-pound Austin Grandstaff, a shooting guard from Rockwall, Texas, jumped on bored after spending the last few days in Columbus on an official visit.
A four-star prospect, Grandstaff, who was once committed to Travis Ford and Oklahoma State, previously held a long list of scholarship offers before deciding OSU was the right fit for him.
Austin had the following to say to The Cleveland Plain Dealer on his commitment to Ohio State:
"He told me there was a need for me here." Grandstaff said of Matta. "They weren't recruiting me to come and play my junior year. They recruited me to come and play right away."
After shooting a miserable 32% (200/617) from downtown as a team last season, the Buckeyes were in desperate need of some scoring help on the perimeter, and might have found it with Grandstaff.
At Rockwall High, Grandstaff averaged 27 points a contest. So far this spring on the AAU circuit he has continued his hot shooting. Austin leads a Team Texas club with 20.5 points per game, including knocking down well over 30% of his shots from beyond the arc.
No one has ever questioned the talented junior's offensive game, instead nitpicking over his so-called lack of core strength and defensive toughness, which is something Matta, Jeff Boals, and weight room guru Dave Richardson will more than take care of when they finally have Austin under their wing in 2015.
Austin is the third 2015 prospect to give his verbal commitment to OSU so far. Ohio Standout AJ Harris of Dayton Dunbar and Texas native Mickey Mitchell, a childhood friend of Grandstaff's who also played a huge part in courting him to OSU, currently round out the class so far.
It won't take long for you to see why Matta and the Bucks saw so much potential in Grandstaff. Take a few moments to check out these highlight tapes:
Buckeyes offer Robinson:
On Friday afternoon, the Ohio State football program offered class of 2015 athlete Myles Robinson of Good Counsel High School in Olney, Maryland.
A semi-under-the-radar recruit, Robinson, a 5'11 185-pound speedster who reportedly runs a sub 4.5 forty yard dash, has offers from programs such as Michigan State, Virginia and West Virginia, who offered him just hours after the Bucks:
Big day for #GC 2015 3 Star WR @MylesMr4 with 2 offers one from #OhioState & one from #WVU #GCSTRONG #allmets
— GC Football (@gcfootball) May 3, 2014
Playing both ways at the high school level, the athletic Robinson seems to fit the typical mold of what Meyer and the Buckeyes seek when searching for a defensive back or a receiver.
Still early in the process, and with Robinson's offer just going out, it is hard to judge what the future could have in store, but there is no question that Myles is a future FBS ball player.
See for yourself with these highlights on his Hudl page.
North Carolina standouts set to visit:
Later this month on the 31st, a pair of North Carolina's finest will make their way to Ohio State for a visit. Class of 2015 prospects Sterling Johnson and Nyheim Hines, both four-star recruits with many scholarship offers under their belts including OSU, will head to Columbus to get more familiar with Urban Meyer and the OSU football family.
Johnson, a 6'5 280-pound defensive tackle from Cleveland High in Clayton, North Carolina, had an impressive junior campaign, finishing with 80 total tackles, eight sacks and three forced fumbles:
Suiting up for Garner, North Carolina's Garner High, the shifty 5'9 180-pound running back Hines had a dream season last year. Rushing for what many prospects don't achieve in a career, Nyheim took 299 carries and turned them into 3,137 yards and 49 touchdowns.
Soon after receiving his offer from OSU, Hines, who visited for the Michigan game in November, told us the following:
"It's really a blessing. I've kept up with Coach Meyer ever since he was at Florida, so it was really great to get an offer from the team he coaches. "I've always seen myself playing in the spread offense, so it could be a great fit for me."
It seems at the moment it will be hard to get these two out of the south, but with a stellar visit on the 31st, anything is possible, as Urban Meyer has shown a number of times over the years.
The Land-Grant Holy Land recruiting team will have more on these visits in the coming weeks.
Gibson to name top 15 later today:
Over the last few months, Torrance Gibson's recruitment has seemed to always be one of the main topics on social media, even starting dozens of arguments on where the Florida standout may be leaning.
Holding offers from well over 20 programs, arguably the top overall athlete in the class of 2015 will trim his list to a top 15 later today. Releasing the list in order, the recruiting world will finally know who is on top for the 6'4, five-star quarterback:
My college list will be releasing tomorrow, the list will be in order.
— Torrance Gibson (@quick_tg6) May 4, 2014
Not the most polished signal caller but an absolute game changer, Gibson passed for over 1,700 yards, while also rushing for nearly 1,100 last season as a junior, leading his American Heritage squad to a state title.
OSU probably won't grab the number one spot on Gibson's list later today, but the Buckeyes should find themselves somewhere in his top five, with programs like Tennessee and Auburn.
No matter where the Buckeyes come in on the list, Gibson has stated he plans to visit Ohio State in the coming months, and after seeing Columbus up close and personal, it could really shake things up.
Quick Hits:
- Next Saturday is Core6 Day at Ohio State. If you aren't familiar with Core6, it is a training and recruiting firm based out of Chicago. Core6 has sent quite a few prospects to major programs over the years, including future Buckeyes Dylan Thompson and Jamarco Jones. One of the many prospects that should make the trip is 2015 WR/TE Miles Boykin, who was recently offered by OSU.