On Saturday, Meridian, Mississippi 2016 wide receiver Daniel Crowell headed north to Columbus, Ohio with his mother for a chance to play in Nike's prestigious camp, The Opening. He left, without an invite to Oregon, but with something even bigger: a scholarship offer to Ohio State after an impromptu Sunday night decision to try and visit the Buckeyes' coaching staff on Monday morning.
"I'm going to campus in the morning," Crowell told Eleven Warriors on Sunday evening. "I came here just to 'get open' but I'm staying overnight in Grove City. We'll go there about 8:00 a.m."
Truly blessed to receive an offer from the defending national champions #go Buckeyes#
— Daniel Crowell (@crowell3daniel) June 1, 2015
It would appear that visit went very well. Crowell, disappointed the Nike people didn't choose him for their premier camp, was happy he got to check out the Buckeyes.
"Everything was 100-percent, on top of everything," he said Monday on his way home. "I spent a lot of time talking to (wide receiver coach Zach) Smith and he was a fun guy to be around, and I can tell he's about the business."
Committed to Ole Miss since August of last year, Crowell is the country's 117th-ranked wide receiver, but that ranking is almost sure to change dramatically. At 6-foot-1 and almost 200 pounds, Crowell adds the Buckeyes to an offer list that had previously included Ole Miss, Mississippi State and Louisiana Tech. Rest assured, an Ohio State offer means more are coming. He says the Buckeyes have asked him to try and return to campus this summer and that he's got some thinking to do.
"They'd like me to come back this summer, and that's definitely a possibility," Crowell said. "Ohio State and Ole Miss will definitely be a battle for me."
