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With Friday Night Lights finally taking place,Urban Meyer and the Buckeyes coaching staff had quite a few of the top prospects in the country on campus over the weekend. Well over 50 recruits from the 2015, 2016, and 2017 classes made their way to Columbus to participate in the camp at the Horseshoe, and check out what the OSU program has to offer.
Leading up to the camp, there were assumptions that a number of recruits in attendance could give the Buckeyes a verbal commitment. Well, those guesses were right. The Ohio State added two verbal commitments on Friday evening in tight end Josh Moore, and lineman Joshua Alabi.
While no one thought Moore, nor Alabi, would leave Columbus as members of the Elite '15 coming into the weekend, the pair adds two more very solid athletes to the recruiting class.
Moore, a three-star prospect out of Olathe, Kansas, shocked many when he gave his pledge to Meyer and OSU during the camp on Friday. A big and athletic tight end at 6'5 and 250 pounds, the soon-to-be senior picked the Bucks over scholarship offers from Oklahoma, Texas Tech, Missouri and many other programs.
Alabi continues the Cass Tech pipeline for the Buckeyes, who landed standout Damon Webb from the Detroit powerhouse in 2014.
"When I got down here, I looked at the campus, it felt like family. I talked to the coaches, prayed on it, and it just felt like the right decision." Alabi told Land-Grant Holy Land's Miles Joseph. "I came up to him (Urban Meyer) with Damon Webb, and told him I wanted to commit. (Damon was like) go do it, go do it mean, and when I committed, he was really happy for me, and told me I would have fun playing here."
Like Moore, Alabi reportedly held scholarship offers from a number of the top teams in the country before deciding to spend his college days in Columbus. Michigan State, Miami, Tennessee, Wisconsin, and North Carolina State were just a few of many teams that showed interest in the 6'5 and 270 pound two-way lineman.
Want to know more on what the latest commits bring the Buckeyes? We have you covered. Our Miles Joseph and Christopher Jason take a look at Moore and Alabi.
Buckeyes dish out offers:
Only two prospects walked away from Friday Night Lights as future Buckeyes, but a number of other recruits headed back home with a chance to suit up for Ohio State.
Maryland wide out Lawrence Cager, one of the hottest class of 2015 recruits on the scene as of late, adds OSU to a list of offers that include Alabama, Maryland, Tennessee, Rutgers, and many others. Last season as a junior, Cager who participated at The Opening earlier this month, caught 50 passes for 580 yards, and seven touchdowns.
Blessed to say I receive an offer from THE Ohio State University #Buckeyes ⚪️ pic.twitter.com/EeREhlNV4T
— LC #⃣8⃣ (@LC3era_8) July 26, 2014
Class of 2016 standout defensive end Jonathan Cooper of Gahanna Lincoln, defensive back Lavert Hill, a high school teammate of Joshua Alabi's at Cass Tech, and offensive lineman Michael Jordan of Canton, MI all received scholarship offers from OSU after standing out at the camp on Friday.
The aforementioned recruits weren't the only ones to add an offer from Ohio State. With years until he plays at the college level, Trevon Grimes, one of the nation's top overall 2017 prospects in the country, was also offered by the Buckeyes.
Playing for Florida power St. Thomas Aquinas alongside OSU 2016 target Nick Bosa (Joey's younger brother), the 6'3, 180-pound Grimes is starting to put together one impressive offer list. The Buckeyes join programs such as Auburn, Clemson, LSU. South Carolina and Tennessee as just a few of the teams to offer the four-star prospect so far.
Land-Grant Holy Land caught up with a couple of the latest offers. Find out what Lawrence Cager, and Jonathan Cooper had to say about their chances to play for OSU, and more.
OSU on top for Gibson:
After finally making it up to Ohio State for a visit, five-star class of 2015 standout Torrance Gibson named the Buckeyes his leader over the likes of Auburn, and Tennessee.
"Urban Meyer is one of the best head coaches in college football. You have to respect that. He also has proof because of his work ethic with a left-handed quarterback who won the Heisman. Plus their spread attack offense works for me." the Florida native listed to Land-Grant Holy Land as a few of the reasons why OSU is now on top for his services.
Gibson, who is planning on returning to Columbus for a official visit for the Virginia Tech sgame this season, stands 6'4 and 200 pounds, and runs a reported sub 4.5 forty yard dash. Playing mostly quarterback on the high school level, Gibson's size and speed could help him make a switch from the quarterback position to wide receiver if things under center don't pan out.
See what Gibson had to say about his time at Friday Night Lights here.
Bucks in mix for former UF commit:
Sunday afternoon, Jalen Julius announced via his Twitter account that he is no longer verbally committed to the University of Florida. A 5'11 and 170 pound, class of 2015 defensive back from Winter Garden, Florida, Julius, had been committed to the Gators since the end of April.
According to Blake Alderman of Rivals.com, Ohio State, Louisville, and Miami are the now the teams to beat for the three-star prospect:
New top schools for recent #UF decommitment Jalen Julius are #Louisville, #OhioState, & #Miami
— Blake Alderman (@MistaAlderman) July 27, 2014
Julius's decision to decommit from UF comes just weeks after he checked out numerous programs including OSU with high school teammate Dexter Williams, and a other Florida athletes.
Get a small glimpse of what Jalen in action with these highlights, courtesy of Hudl:
Quick Hits:
- 2017 quarterback commit Danny Clark expects to do great things at Ohio State.
- Our Zach Fleer was in Louisville over the weekend covering the AAU National Championships. Get caught up with some of the action from Saturday and Sunday.
- Later today, class of 2016 wide receiver Binjimen Victor will release his top 15. Victor, a Fort Lauderdale, Florida native, has visited OSU twice so far this summer, most recently for Friday Night Lights. Look for the Bucks to make the cut.
- Victor isn't the only 2016 playmaker naming his top list today. Four-star wide receiver Cameron Chambers is all set to let the world know what schools he will choose between on Friday. OSU, Michigan, Alabama, Penn State, Boston College, and Florida are just a few of the many teams after the 6'3 junior from New Jersey.
- 2015 OL James Daniels will announce his college commitment on Thursday. The four-star offensive lineman from Warren Harding is down to OSU, Iowa, and Alabama. James, the son of former Buckeye LeShun Daniels, was once a OSU lean, but is now thought to be seriously considering joining his older brother LeShun Jr. at Iowa.