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Ohio State recruiting: State Secrets, 8/11 - Jarrett Guarantano, Lawrence Cager, Venzell Boulware name leaders

Get caught up with all the Ohio State recruiting news from over the weekend.

Jarrett Guarantano
Jarrett Guarantano
Student Sports

A number of the highest rated prospects in the country are still considering the Ohio State Buckeyes after trimming their top lists over the last few days. Starting the weekend off on a good note was class of 2016 four-star quarterback Jarrett Guarantano, who named OSU, Alabama, Clemson, and Oklahoma as his final four on Friday afternoon via his Twitter page.

Cutting his list to four from well over a dozen scholarship offers, the 6'4, 200 pound New Jersey native is just one of the class of 2016 signal callers who have the Buckeyes towards the top, joining recruits such as Malik Henry and Jawon Pass.

After taking over the starting job for Bergen Catholic midway through the season, Jarrett completed 39-of-80 passing attempts for 449 yards and two touchdowns.

Gibson still high on Bucks:

OSU fans got a little reassurance on Saturday when Torrance Gibson, arguably the top overall athlete at the high school level regardless of class, told Ryan S. Clark of the South Florida Sun Sentinel that OSU, Miami, Auburn, and Arizona were his top schools during the newspaper's Media Day.

This announcement comes just weeks after the five-star dual-threat quarterback visited Columbus for Friday Night Light  and named the Buckeyes his leader over a list of programs that included the aforementioned schools.

One team missing from his latest list was Tennessee. For months, the Vols have been major players in Gibson's recruitment, and at one time were considered the team to beat for his commitment.

Could things between Torrance and Tennessee be on the rocks?

Cager names top six:

After coming to camp last month and earning an offer from the Bucks, class of 2015 wide out Lawrence Cager didn't shy away from saying OSU was one of his leaders. On Saturday evening he made it a fact, naming Ohio State on top of his list alongside Alabama, Wake Forest, Virginia Tech, Tennessee, and Rutgers.

The 6'4 standout had the following to say to Jeremy Birmingham of 11W:

"Ohio State was always the place I wanted to be, and the offer I wanted. I grew up loving Ohio State. I think that's enough said about the Buckeyes, and people can infer from that whatever they'd like to."

To see what else the four-star prospect had to say about the Buckeyes, and the rest of his top schools, check out the rest of Birmingham's report here.

Boulware digging OSU:

The good news kept rolling in on Sunday, when Georgia offensive lineman Venzell Boulware took to Twitter to let the world know exactly where he stands in his recruitment:

Boulware has been high on Ohio State since visiting in June, and even told Land-Grant Holy Land that it was his favorite visit he had ever been on. Even with that being the case, it's sort of surprising not to see Clemson as one of his top two schools, as the Tigers have always seemed to have the inside track up to now.

The Buckeyes already have verbal commitments from offensive linemen Grant Schmidt and Kevin Feder, and are still in the mix for many of their top targets on the line, including Matthew Burrell and Drew Richmond.

Though they have recruits higher on their big board, OSU could take a commitment from Boulware, who plays tackle in high school, but could make the switch inside to guard on the college level, as they are searching to add much needed depth upfront on the offensive line.

With tons of time left until he signs on the dotted line with a college, Boulware's recruitment is definitely one to keep an eye on.

Quick Hits:

  • The Buckeyes offered class of 2016 Tennessee defensive back Joejuan Williams on Friday. In doing so, OSU adds their name to a list that currently consists of  Alabama, LSU, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Auburn, and many other top teams who are actively recruiting the four-star prospect.
  • On Friday, OSU hoops target Matthew Moyer of Gahanna Lincoln committed to Syracuse. The junior power forward picked the Orangemen over a long list of suitors that included OSU, Illinois, UNLV, and Xavier.
  • Four-star 2016 quarterback Brandon McIlwain plans to announce his top six schools tomorrow evening at 7:30 p.m. ET, via his Twitter account. Ohio State, Penn State, Duke, Virginia Tech and South Carolina are just a few of the programs that could make the list.