Five-star Thomas Holley officially visits Ohio State The high school football season is quietly entering its final weeks.
Many of Ohio State's commitments continue to be key players behind their respective team's playoff pushes. Eleven Warriors has their stats from this past weekend.
Thomas Holley visited Columbus this weekend and is still currently in Ohio's capital because of his late arrival. His official visit has been delayed because he played Friday night. We will work to get everyone an update on Holley's recruitment, but he prefers to keep quiet. It appears his visit is going well.
The Buckeyes are still looking to fill out their class with six or seven more recruits and next weekend will be an important weekend, in that regard. Quite a few 2014 prospects are expected to visit, including five-star Raekwon McMillan. The atmosphere for a night game at the Shoe is always a good one.
Moving on to recruits that are already in the Buckeye fold.
Future Buckeye Takes On Future Buckeye
Two future Buckeyes took the same field this weekend when Cincinnati Moeller played Indianapolis Cathedral. Sam Hubbard and Moeller would roll to a fairly easily win over Terry McLaurin's team. Moeller, the defending Division-I State Champions, are still undefeated after a 35-14 win. They will look to improve to 9-0, as they travel to St. Edward to take on another one of Ohio's top teams. Cathedral falls to 4-5 on the season, but play one of the most difficult schedules in the state of Indiana.
Individually, McLaurin wasted little time showing everyone why he is headed to Ohio State. After a Moeller touchdown, McLaurin took the ensuing kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown to tie it at 7-7. Hubbard and the Crusaders would hold him quiet the rest of the game, holding him to zero yards rushing or receiving. A future SAM linebacker for Ohio State, Hubbard finished with seven tackles for the undefeated Crusaders.
Top Target Takes Down Future Buckeye
Five-star defensive tackle Thomas Holley was the biggest name to visit Columbus this weekend for the Iowa game. Before he left for his official visit, he had some business he had to take care of with Ohio State commitment Curtis Samuel and his team looking to hand Holley and his team their first loss. After a battle on the field, both headed to Columbus in the early AM for their visits.
Curtis Samuel, battling an ankle injury, managed to break off a 53-yard run for a touchdown in the early parts of the game. The tremendous athlete had five carries for 115 yards and a touchdown in the first quarter. He also added a 26 yard reception. A bad ankle sprain would force Samuel to spend a lot of time on the sideline and only adding 20 more yards rushing to his first quarter totals. Despite the injury, the playmaker showed exactly why Urban Meyer and staff really wanted him to be a Buckeye.
The uncommitted Thomas Holley drew rave reviews from those in attendance. He finished with eight tackles, a sack and a tackle for loss in the win over Samuel's undefeated team. The 6-foot-4, 285-pound Holley moves well for his size and could compete for instant playing time.
How is recruiting going for the uncommitted five-star? He recently told a local newspaper that he was growing tired of the recruiting process. The Buckeyes were in a position to really put themselves in a good position for his commitment, this weekend. What did he think of his visit? One of Thomas' friends took to twitter to tell everyone that he felt the game atmosphere was crazy.
My boys Thomas Holley & Curtis Samuel out at Osu. Thomas just texted me saying the energy was crazy at the game.
— Khendell aka Larry (@Khendell_28) October 20, 2013
The Buckeyes have a good shot at landing Holley, but it's not a done deal, yet. He plans to visit Florida next weekend. We will continue to try to find out more about his visit, but Thomas is a private kid.
Vote For Dante Booker Jr. and Damon Webb
Two Ohio State commitments are up for awards and they need help from Buckeye Nation.
Dante Booker Jr. of Akron St. Vincent St. Mary is up for Ohio high school football top performer of the week. He had nine tackles, three tackles for a loss and two sacks in a 41-0 win. Voting runs through Thursday afternoon and the winner gets a gift card. Booker Jr. is currently down by over 400 votes. Lets go Buckeye fans! Vote here!
Lockdown corner Damon Webb is up for Michigan's Mr. Football award. Fan voting is used as a part of the process to determine the winner of the award. This weekend, Damon Webb was thrown at three times. The result? An interception and two pass breakups. Probably not the best idea to try to throw on the future Buckeye. Anyways, help a Buckeye out and vote for him! Webb currently leads by about 250 votes. Click here to vote!
Other Notes
Raekwon McMillan, a five-star linebacker from Georgia, is considered to be Ohio State's top remaining target. While everyone continues to predict that McMillan will ultimately end up in Columbus, there is growing concern that Clemson is making up ground. In potentially good news, the five-star did not visit Clemson this weekend, as previously expected. The Tigers were embarrasses by the Seminoles, last night. Distance to home is one of the main selling points for Clemson. Raekwon is expected to fly to Columbus this weekend to visit for the Penn State game. Many of Ohio State commitments are aware and they are also planning to come to town to help close the deal. A commitment is not expected on his visit, but it's a big opportunity for the staff to soldify their position as his leader.
The Penn State night game is shaping up the be a big weekend for the Buckeyes. Two intriguing visitors are receivers Josh Malone and Trevion Thompson. Both prospects are highly rated and both are expected to stay in the South, however, I know better than to count Urban Meyer out. The attention the staff continues to pay to wide receivers signals that they are interested in adding another receiver to this class. Birm currently predicts that Johnny Dixon will be a Buckeye, while I did project another receiver commitment.
Joey Bosa is starting for Ohio State as a freshman. His brother, Nick Bosa, is a member of the 2016 class and visited OSU this weekend. How good is his brother? Some think Nick might be a better prospect than Joey was. That's scary. The Buckeyes have already offered. Oh yeah, he likes Ohio State, too.
There was some talk that '14 offensive tackle Frank Ragnow could visit for the Iowa game, but he was unable to make it. The Buckeyes recently offered the tackle and are one of the favorites for his commitment. The staff definitely wants to take one more offensive lineman and it appears the two most likely options are Chad Mavety and Ragnow. While it was a late offer, he is definitely not a fall back option. His impressive offer list speaks for itself. The three-star tackle will look to visit Ohio State in the near future.
Ohio's top 2015 tight end C.J. Conrad (LaGrange, Ohio) was paying close attention to Mike Gesicki's decision on Thursday. The four-star has drawn heavy interest from the Ohio State staff and hopes to land an offer from the Buckeyes. The pass catching tight end has dreamed of playing for Ohio State. Conrad could benefit from Gesicki's decision to commit to the Nittany Lions. On Friday, C.J. had three catches for 60 yards. He is scheduled to visit Ohio State, again, for the Penn State game. The Nittany Lions are also one of the many schools showing interest.
High school football review
| Position | Player | School | Opponent | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| QB | Stephen Collier | Lee County (Ga.) | at Thomasville Thomas County Central (Ga.) | Lost 45-14. Only had 90 yards passing and a rushing TD. |
| WR | Parris Campbell | St. Vincent-St. Mary (Ohio) | Barberton (Ohio) | Won 41-0. Managed a 5-yard TD run in the 3rd quarter. |
| WR | Terry McLaurin | Cathedral (Ind.) | at Cincinnati Moeller (Ohio) | Lost 35-14. 97 yard kickoff return for a TD, but otherwise was quiet. |
| OT | Jamarco Jones | De La Salle (Ill.) | Oak Park Fenwick (Ill.) | Lost 20-0. |
| OT | Kyle Trout | Lancaster (Ohio) | at Reynoldsburg (Ohio) | 5 pancake blocks in a 33-21 win. |
| OG | Marcelys Jones | Glenville (Ohio) | at Cleveland Collinwood (Ohio) | Won 62-0. |
| OG | Demetrius Knox | All Saints Episcopal (Texas) | at Oklahoma City Casady (Ok.) | Won 56-23. |
| DE | Jalyn Holmes | Lake Taylor (Va.) | Norfolk Washington (Va.) | Won 55-8. |
| DE | Dylan Thompson | Montini Catholic (Ill.) | at Aurora Christian (Ill.) | Won 49-0 to remain undefeated. |
| OLB | Kyle Berger | Ignatius (Ohio) | at Lakewood St. Edward (Ohio) | Won 23-17. DNP (ACL) |
| OLB | Dante Booker | St. Vincent-St. Mary (Ohio) | Barberton (Ohio) | Won 41-0. Nine tackles, three for a loss and two sacks. |
| CB | Damon Webb | Cass Tech (Mich.) | East English Village (Mich.) | Won 16-0. Thrown at three times. One INT and two breakups. |
| S | Malik Hooker | New Castle (Pa.) | at Moon Area (Pa.) | Won 43-42. Five catches for 121 yards and two TDs (71 and 20) |
| ATH | Noah Brown | Pope John XXIII (N.J.) | at Vernon (N.J.) | Two TDs in a 52-6 win. |
| ATH | Sam Hubbard | Moeller (Ohio) | Cathedral (Ind.) | Seven tackles in a 35-14 win over Terry McLaurin's team. |
| ATH | Lonnie Johnson | West Side (Ind.) | at Gary Roosevelt (Ind.) | Won 78-6. Johnson had a 51-yard punt return and a receiving TD. |
| ATH | Curtis Samuel | Erasmus Hall (N.Y.) | Brooklyn Lincoln (N.Y.) | Lost 45-21. Banged up, but managed to finish with 135 rushing yards and a TD. |
| K | Sean Nuernberger | Oldham County (Ky.) | Louisville Eastern (Ky.) | Lost 47-39, but managed to make a 49 yard FG. |
| OT | Chad Mavety | Nassau C.C. (N.Y.) | at Dean College (Ma.) | Visiting Ohio State on November 23rd. |
| DT | Thomas Holley | Abraham Lincoln (N.Y.) | Erasmus Hall (N.Y.) | Won 45-21. Had 8 tackles, a sack and a tackle for loss. |
| ILB | Raekwon McMillan | Liberty County (Ga.) | Bye Week | Will visit Ohio State next weekend. |
| S | Mike Rogers | Campbell (Smyrna, Ga.) | Marietta HS (Marietta, Ga.) | Lost 44-24. 26 carries for 130 yards. |
| S | Erick Smith | Glenville (Ohio) | at Cleveland Collinwood (Ohio) | Won 62-0. Caught a TD pass. |
| ATH | Marshon Lattimore | Glenville (Ohio) | at Cleveland Collinwood (Ohio) | 32-yard TD reception in a 62-0 win. |
| ATH | Eric Glover-Williams* | Canton McKinley (Ohio) | at Massillon Perry (Ohio) | DNP, but his team managed to win 35-12. |
Photo from Adam Friedman.
