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Ohio State recruiting: State Secrets, 6/18 - Nick Conner commits to Ohio State, Justin Hilliard to announce this month

Nick Conner gave a verbal commitment to Ohio State on Tuesday. Also, tons of top prospects have been in Columbus or are currently making plans to visit Ohio State. See who they are and if the Buckeyes have a chance to land them.

By Austin Kemp

Starting things off today, Ohio State picked up the newest member of their 2015 class when linebacker Nick Conner gave a verbal commitment for the Buckeyes after showing off his skills at camp. Conner had been looking for an Ohio State offer for some time and was finally able to earn it. What does this mean? It means that Ohio State could be taking three linebackers in this class as their in good shape with Justin Hilliard and Jerome Baker as well. A four-star prospect, Conner is a prototypical middle linebacker with great instincts as he's just a flat-out football player. Our Miles Joseph has the scoop on his commitment.

Cincinnati (OH) St. Xavier linebacker Justin Hilliard will make his college decision later this month, he announced last night. Hilliard will make his last two visits this weekend to Notre Dame (Friday) and Ohio State (Saturday). Ohio State is the favorite right now, but it's by no means a lock. This weekends visit will go a long way towards closing the deal.

Another notable visitor for this week is Berea (KY) Madison Southern running back Damien Harris, who is set to be on campus Thursday for yet another visit to Ohio State. The next day Harris with make his way to Notre Dame for their "Irish Invasion" day. The Buckeyes are the favorites to land the standout running back as things currently stand.

It was made apparent that Robert and Aapari Washington will both visit Columbus on June 21. Robert is a 2016 running back prospect and is considered one of the best players in the country for his class. From North Carolina, just about every program in the country knows his name and have offered or are on the verge of offering the speedster. Robert has clocked in at a 4.46740 time. Though he has elite speed, his size is impressive as well as he stands 5'10 and weighs in at 210 pounds. Just a sophomore last year, Robert should continue to fill out and have a monster junior season. A visit to Ohio State this early in the recruiting process is telling.

Flip it around and Aapari, a 2017 prospect, holds a handful of offers of his own as well. However, this one is a corner back and while he stands at 5'9 now, there's no doubt that he'll continue to get bigger before he gets on a college campus. Aapari has already made one visit to Columbus back in April.

2015 offensive lineman Mirko Jurkovic announced he will also be making a visit to Ohio State later this month. As you remember, last year's offensive line haul was a thing of beauty. As for this year, it doesn't need to be quite as big, numbers wise, it just needs to be filled with the right players. Jurkovic holds offers from all over the country: Nebraska, Arkansas, Florida, and Cincinnati. However, he's from Big Ten country, in Indiana, and 247Sports has him as a 50% crystal ball lock to Purdue. If the Buckeyes offer, they could make a push to the towards the top of the list for the 6'5, 275 pound big-man.

Five-star 2016 defensive end Prince Sammons will be camping at Ohio State this week, a player that would obviously be a huge get for the Buckeyes. Sammons checks in at a dominating 6'8, 260 pounds and can flat-out get after the ball carrier or the quarterback. From Cincinnati, Michigan seems like the leader for his services at this point in time, but there's plenty of time for Ohio State to jump to the top of the list. That process could start this week as he's working with the Buckeye's staff and starting to build those relationships.

Quick Hits:

- Ohio State has always been sitting pretty for Jerome Baker. See what he has to say about his decision this upcoming summer.

- Not that it was earth-shattering news, but Damien Harris announced that Ohio State will for sure be getting an official visit from him

Miles Joseph contributed to this report.

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