Jashon Cornell talks Ohio State, upcoming college decision

Two of Ohio State's top targets are set to announce their college decisions this Wednesday, July 2, at 10 a.m. EDT. One of those is Saint Paul (MN) Cretin Derham Hall defensive end Jashon Cornell, who is one of the top players in the 2015 recruiting class as a whole.

He was originally planning on making his college announcement on August 28, but recently decided to move up his timetable.

"I felt like I was ready for it. I've been a lot of places and seen everything I need to know," Cornell said. "I just feel like it was time for me to make a decision."

Cornell told Land-Grant Holy Land what stands out to him about the Buckeyes:

"They have Larry Johnson and Urban Meyer, who are two of the best coaches in the game right now. Larry Johnson sent seven first round draft picks to the NFL and multiple second round draft picks as well. My auntie lives 30 minutes from Columbus/Ohio State. Urban Meyer is just a great coach overall. The tradition at Ohio State is awesome."

The other top player announcing Wednesday (at the same time) is Cincinnati (OH) St. Xavier linebacker Justin Hilliard. They have a very good relationship and there's a strong chance they commit to the same school.

"I have a great relationship with Justin. I met him at the beginning of my sophomore year on a visit to Iowa and we've always talked about playing with each other," Cornell stated. "I think if we both go to the same school we'll have the Terrell Suggs-Ray Lewis type combo on defense. We'd just destroy things up. I think we might be going to the same school."

The standout defensive end is pretty sure where he's going to play his college football, but isn't 100-percent sure

"Right now, I'm 90 percent sure where I'm going," he said. "The big factors will be my relationships with the coaching staff and the academics. In my family, academics come first, and you can't play football if you're not getting it done on the academic side. If I go to the NFL – and that doesn't last very long – I know I'll have that fallback on the college education and my diploma."

I will have much more on Cornell's Wednesday announcement later tonight or tomorrow including his thoughts on the other four schools he's considering.