Ohio is well-known for producing some of the best high school football talent in the nation. Ohio sent well over 160 prospects to D-1 schools all across the country last year, which puts Ohio in the second tier of talent producers behind only California, Florida and Texas. That success is continuing for 2016, as Ohio could have one of its best classes in years.
As we continue our series on 2016 prospects, today's focus will be on one of its best tight ends, Luke Farrell. Farrell, a standout from of Perry High School, is one of the best players in Ohio; 247Sports lists him and fellow Ohioan Jake Haussmann as two of the top 10 tight end prospects in the nation in 2016.
Farrell's recruitment began when Illinois offered him in May, followed by offers from Michigan and Ohio State in June. His recruitment has really been picking up since then, with Boston College, Duke, Michigan State and Penn State all entering the mix. Of all the offers, Ohio State's stood out most to him.
"For any Ohio kid, it is exciting," Farrell told Eleven Warriors. "If you had told me this time last year that I would have an offer from Ohio State, I wouldn't believe it."
According to Farrell, Ohio State's appeal extends beyond local prominence and brand recognition. The coaches are a major reason he is considering Ohio State.
"The coaches are just so nice," Farrell said. "It is nice that we can talk to them and things like that. They have done a really good job with recruiting."
Because Farrell is from Northeast Ohio, getting to games at the Horseshoe is not difficult. Farrell was at Ohio State twice this season, for the games against Cincinnati and Michigan. He enjoyed both games, especially how the coaches treated him.
"Both of the visits were great," Farrell said. "Both visits, coach [Urban] Meyer came to talk to us individually which was really cool. It was cool talking to him and him coming to talk to us. Also, I got to talk to coach [Tim] Hinton a lot on the visits which was really cool."
Farrell and his Perry squad had a successful season, going 6-5 and advancing to the playoffs for the first time in five years. Perry faced a tough Benedictine squad (featuring 2015 Buckeye commit Jerome Baker) in the first round, losing by four. It was the closest game all season for Benedictine, which went on to win the Division IV State Championship.
This season, Farrell was excited to play a bigger role in the offense. "One of the goals was for us to throw more, which we did, so I caught more passes," he said. "Also, I wanted to block more for my team, which I accomplished. Both of these goals I achieved."
Farrell hopes to get to Ohio State for Junior Day on Jan. 25, but besides that he has no plan for any visits until the summer. He has no list of favorite schools, but he said Ohio State would be up there on the list.
Farrell's recruitment seems fairly straightforward: all Crystal Ball predictions have him committing to Ohio State, and I see him committing to the Buckeyes as well.
