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It was a big Monday for Ohio State recruiting, as the Buckeyes landed their fifth commitment in the class of 2015. '15 OL Grant Schmidt gave his verbal pledge to coach Meyer and his staff while on a visit to Columbus. Land-Grant Holy Land's own Miles Joesph covered what Schmidt's commitment means to Ohio State:
He's likely going to play tackle at the college level and I would like to compare him to 2014 signee Brady Taylor, but I think Taylor is much closer to being college ready than Schmidt. I love his upside, but he's not going to be a guy who comes in right away and contributes.
In fact not many even top offensive linemen are good enough to do that. With that said, he's going to have the opportunity to work with some of the best coaches in the nation and arguably the top weight training coach in Mickey 'Mick' Marotti.
With Schmidt being the first offensive lineman in Ohio State's class of 2015, it will be interesting to see where the recruitment goes from here. After such a slow start, the Buckeyes have added three commitments (including Schmidt) in the past couple of weeks including Joe Burrow and Tyler Green. It would appear that Schmidt has had interest in the Buckeyes for quite some time, so it doesn't come as too much of a surprise that he gave his commitment:
Schmidt was interested in #OhioState from the get-go, dating back to over a year ago. They were always the school he had his eye on.
— Derek Young (@DYoungScout) June 9, 2014
OSU makes final cut for 4-star QB Waller
The Buckeyes also found their way onto the final Top 4 list for four-star quarterback Travis Waller:
Truly Blessed!My top 4 schools(No order) Stay tuned for @TrendsettersWW July 1st when I will announce my next home! pic.twitter.com/XicXba4Bbn
— ⚡ Travis Waller ⚡ (@traviswaller11) June 10, 2014
As you can see from his tweet, joining the Buckeyes are Alabama, Notre Dame, and perhaps surprising to some, Northwestern. Waller apparently plans to make his decision known July 1.
All indication are if the Buckeyes take two quarterbacks in this class, joining Athens product Joe Burrow would be Torrance Gibson. It's certainly great to see Waller hold the Buckeyes in such high regard that he'd allow them to make his final cut, but as things currently stand, it'd be an upset for the ages if he chose OSU over heavily favored Notre Dame or either of his other finalists.
In perhaps equally big news, Tennessee received the commitment of QB Quinten Dormady Monday evening. With Jauan Jennings, who is somewhat a poor man's Torrance Gibson, to go along with Dormady, it's all but a safe bet to assume the Vols are out of the running for Gibson. If the Buckeyes keep at it, on paper, their only major competition is Auburn, who also already have a QB commit in their own right in Tyler Queen, who was at the Columbus NFTC last weekend.
Gators and 'Canes commits take in Ohio State
#UF commit Jalen Julius is at #OhioState today with his teammate and #Canes commit Dexter Williams
— Blake Alderman (@MistaAlderman) June 9, 2014
'15 CB Jalen Julius, a current Florida commit, has been looking at other programs while staying committed to the Gators. On Sunday, Julius took part in a Louisville football camp and received an offer from the Cardinals and then on Monday, Julius visited Columbus to check out Ohio State. The 5'10, 170-pound cornerback is rated as a three-star and the 40th best player at his position in the country. Julius committed to the Gators on April 30th, but has an offer from the Buckeyes.
Omw to Ohio St. #buckeyes !
— YRN Flex! (@DexterW_22) June 9, 2014
Ohio st >>>>>
— YRN Flex! (@DexterW_22) June 9, 2014
'15 RB Dexter Williams, a current Miami commit, also took part in the visit with his high school teammate Jalen Julius to Ohio State. The 6'0, 192-pound running back has been clocked at a 4.54 in the 40-yard dash and has been committed to the Hurricanes since April 12th. As of late, the four-star has been wavering on his commitment to Miami slightly, and teams will be looking to capitalize on the 13th ranked running back in the country and 18th best prospect from the state of Florida overall.
It's pretty clear that coach Meyer could be poised to make one of his moves on Williams, and clearly Williams came away from his visit fairly impressed with the above tweet. Almost 70% of the Crystal Ball experts had Williams committing to Florida, but since committing to the Hurricanes, it looks like there could be another change. After his visit to Louisville's football camp on Sunday, the Cardinals have moved up in Williams interests with an offer, so it's worth keeping an eye on his recruitment over the next couple of weeks.
Check out what Williams brings to the gridiron with his highlight film:
#NoFlyZone?
"@jamel_dean15: @Ty_Road2Riches welcome to the fam" feel good now let's work!
— ✖️Tyler Green✖️ (@Ty_Road2Riches) June 9, 2014
Finally, '15 CB Jamel Dean, an Ohio State commit, welcomed the newest safety commitment in '15 S Tyler Green to the Buckeyes on Twitter. Buckeye fans are hoping the two defensive backs will help form a strong secondary unit for years to come.