Ohio State recruiting: State Secrets, 7/21 - Torrance Gibson visiting Friday, Shane Simmons names top five

Last Thursday, class of 2015 standout Torrance Gibson stated that he was planning a visit to Ohio State, but didn't have a date set for his trip. Just a few days later, we now know when the 6'4 200-pound Ft. Lauderdale, FL native will be in Columbus.

The explosive Gibson will be one of the many prospects on the Ohio State campus this Friday evening for Friday Night Light. Breaking his plans to Alex Gleitman of Bucknuts.com, Gibson isn't quite sure if he is going to participate in work-outs at camp or just take it in as a spectator if he makes it to Columbus.

If the visit goes down as planned, this would be the first time Gibson, a five-star dual threat athlete/quarterback, would have had the opportunity to check out the OSU campus in person.

The Buckeyes were at one time thought to be the leader for Gibson, but after receiving a commitment from in-state signal caller Joe Burrow, contact between the two started to dwindle. With contact starting to pick back up, a solid visit to Central Ohio could help the Bucks move back towards the top with programs like Tennessee and Auburn.

Simmons names top five

Class of 2016 defensive end Shane Simmons announced his top five via his Twitter account on Saturday afternoon. Trimming his list from well over a dozen scholarship offers, the Buckeyes, Maryland, Penn State, Florida State, and Alabama are still in the mix for the five-star prospect.

Simmons, who visited Ohio State in June, already has one future Buckeye in his ear as his DeMatha Catholic (MD) teammate is Elite '15 defensive back commit Tyler Green.

According to the 247Sports Composite rankings, Simmons is the second best strong-side defensive end and 31st best overall prospect in the 2016 class.

With quite a bit of time still left in his recruitment, get a taste of what the 6'4, 220-pound Simmons could add to the Ohio State program with these highlights of him in action, courtesy of Hudl:

2016 standouts visiting today

Not only will Georgia defensive back Nigel Warrior reportedly be on the Ohio State campus later today, but so will another one of the top prospects of the 2016 class. Per 247Sports, Texas running back Brandon Stephens will also be visiting Ohio State.

A 6'1, 200-pound junior, Stephens rushed for nearly 1,000 yards and seven touchdowns for Plano High School last season. Big Ten foe Wisconsin dished out a scholarship offer to Brandon in late June, but they aren't the only program keeping tabs on him. Baylor, Indiana and Northwestern are just a few of the teams showing interest in Stephens at the moment.

Quick hits

• After dominating at the FBU Top Gun Camp over the weekend, future OSU long snapper Liam McCullough was selected to participate in the 2015 Army All-American game. Ted Ginn, Chris "Beanie" Wells, Ezekiel Elliott, Erick Smith, and Marshon Lattimore are just a few of the many former and current OSU greats that have had the privilege to play in the annual event.
• 2017 Florida athlete Bruce Judson will attend Friday Night Lights at Ohio State this week. A high school teammate of OSU commit Jamel Dean, the 5'10, 170-pound Judson reportedly holds scholarship offers from Ohio State, Clemson, Florida State, and others.
• Our Zach Fleer was at the Adidas All In Tournament in Cincinnati over the weekend. Find out which prospects shined on the court Saturday and Sunday, too.
• It has been a few weeks since Urban Meyer and the football Bucks landed a commitment. Who could be next? Our Miles Joseph explores.