Justin Hilliard, one of the state's top prospects, named his top five schools tonight and Ohio State made his latest cut. The nation's top outside linebacker according to 247Sports.com, Hilliard is a consensus five-star recruit. While there's few players worthy of the "must get" label so leisurely tossed around, the 6-foot-2, 230 pound bruiser could certainly be considered as such.
Alabama, Notre Dame, Iowa and Michigan join the Buckeyes on Hilliard's list and the Cincinnati St. Xavier star broke down his top five schools for Eleven Warriors.
Alabama
"Alabama is a great school, they've been dominant the last five-plus years. It seems that everyone that gets drafted is from there. The coaching staff is also very impressive, it's no wonder they have many of the nation's highest-paid assistants.
OHIO STATE
"With Ohio State, I have a great relationship with their coaches; Coach (Urban) Meyer, Coach (Luke) Fickell and Coach (Kerry) Coombs. They have so much energy around the program. Also, I am from OHIO."
NOTRE DAME
"Notre Dame is a catholic school, which is similar to where I am at now. They also have a very experienced linebacker coach that sends a lot of guys to the NFL. Plus, you can do a lot with a Notre Dame degree."
IOWA
"Iowa just sent all three of their linebackers to the NFL last year, and Coach (Jim) Reid won linebacker coach of the year. Of course, my brother is going there and that makes a difference."
MICHIGAN
"I've been up to Michigan so many times. I feel comfortable with the players up there and the coaches too. They have a great game day atmosphere and Coach (Greg) Mattison is a football genius."
