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Ohio State recruiting: State Secrets, 8/4 - Buckeyes make cut for Damien Harris, Rashad Roundtree, Ben Edwards

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

By Charles Doss
Damien Harris
Damien Harris
Student Sports

Ohio State's class of 2015 is currently sitting at 14 verbal commitments, and could grow at any moment. While the staff didn't pick up a pledge from a top prospect over the weekend, three soon-to-be senior standouts announced that the Buckeyes are towards the top of thier short lists.

On Friday, five-star running back Damien Harris tweeted that OSU, Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, and Texas A&M are the final five programs he is considering. The 5'11, 205-pound one time Michigan verbal commit has been to the Ohio State campus on several different occasions, and is one of the, if not the top overall prospect Urban Meyer and staff are trying to add to the Elite '15 recruiting class.

As a junior, Harris proved he is easily the top running back in the country by rushing for more yards and touchdowns than most athletes have in a career. Playing for Madison Southern in Berea, Kentucky, Damien toted the rock 220 times for an outrageous 2,621 yards, and 42 touchdowns.

A little over a month after visiting Ohio State, Georgia defensive back Rashad Roundtree tweeted that the Bucks are still in the mix. Taking to social media to let the world know his current top six, OSU joins Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, Duke, and Michigan State.

Even though OSU made his list, I for one see the 6'1, 195-pound four-star safety staying down south to play his college ball, with Georgia most likely being the team to beat.

Decommitting from Auburn on Sunday, Ben Edwards, a former OSU commit, kept the good news rolling for the Buckeyes. After opening his recruitment back up, Edwards is now considering Stanford, UCLA, Ohio State, and Auburn, per Keith Niebuhr of 247Sports.

It's hard to tell where things between the Bucks and the four-star defensive back will end up, but at the time, some recruiting analysts around the scene believe Stanford currently has the inside track for the Florida native.

Buckeyes offer local prospect:

After recently picking up scholarship offers from the likes of Florida and Illinois, class of 2016 standout Matthew Moyer of Gahanna Lincoln finally received a scholarship from Thad Matta and Ohio State on Friday.

Impressing many coaches on the AAU circuit over summer with the VCC Warriors, Moyer, a long and athletic 6'8 power forward, is one of the hottest recruits in the 2016 class, nearly picking up a different scholarship offer daily.

Not just a banger inside, Matthew, who now holds over 20 offers, can also step outside and knock down jumpers, which is something he has really worked on adding to his all-around game during the last year or so.

Get a little peak of what Moyer could bring to the Buckeyes with these highlights:

Ahmad visits:

Shaker Heights class of 2015 power forward Esa Ahmad and his father Ibby made their way to Columbus for an unofficial visit with Thad Matta and the Ohio State program on Saturday, their second trip to OSU in recent months.

Ahmad, a 6'8 power forward who has the ability to play almost every position on the court other than point guard, was named Division I Co-Player of the Year after he averaged right under 27 points and 12 rebounds a contest for Shaker Heights last season.

The Buckeyes would love to add Ahmad, who reportedly will pick a school within the next couple of months, as the fifth and final piece of their already outstanding recruiting class that currently consists of point guard AJ Harris, high flyer Mickey Mitchell, sharp shooter Austin Grandstaff, and big man Daniel Giddens.

Some of the many programs trying to keep Esa out of a Buckeye uniform are West Virginia, Maryland, Indiana, and Wisconsin.

Want to see Ahmad in action? Check out these highlights:

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