As you might have realized, Ohio State hosted a fair amount of prospects this past weekend. Birm had some updates on a few of the prospects in his Sunday Recruiting Notebook, while John also had a few updates. Underclassmen prospects will continue to visit Columbus over the next few weeks, leading up to the Spring Game on April 12th. The Buckeyes' coaching staff prefers this strategy instead of hosting big junior days with 100 attendees.
While it may seem as Ohio State's recruiting class is getting off to a slow start, the Buckeyes had just five verbal commitments at this point last year. In just under three weeks, Columbus will be the place to be for Ohio State's annual spring game. While you shouldn't rule out a commitment, things really tend to pick up in the months of June and July.
Let's take a look at some of the prospects that will be visiting Columbus over the next week or so.
Jake Pickard / 2015 / ATH
On Wednesday, Ohio State will welcome New Jersey junior athlete Jake Pickard to town. Jake confirmed to Eleven Warriors on Sunday night that the visit was still scheduled.
The six-foot-six, 220 pound prospect checks in as a three-star, but he has been blowing up over the past few weeks. Boston College, Cincinnati, Louisville, Purdue, Rutgers, Temple and Virginia have recently offered, with interest coming from Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State and many others.
Many schools are looking at him as a tight end or defensive end, but he actually played offensive tackle for his high school team. Ohio State coach Ed Warinner has taken notice of the three-star jumbo athlete. "I've been in contact with Coach Warinner," he told 11W. "I'm going to be in the area so he said it'd be great for me to stop by and see campus and let them see me in person. They said they all liked my film."
It's still early in the process and Pickard's recruitment is just now heating up. A month ago he was waiting for his first offer and now he holds seven. What schools are standing out early? "I really like Virginia, Rutgers, Boston College, Penn State and Purdue but I'm not choosing definite favorites yet," said the junior prospect, noting that Ohio State is an offer he would like to have.
Be sure to check out the highlights of the fast rising prospect.
C.J. Conrad / 2015 / TE
Keystone (Ohio) tight end C.J. Conrad is one of the prospects scheduled to visit Ohio State on Saturday. After missing out on Mike Gesicki in 2014, tight end has become a major position of interest for the Buckeyes in 2015. Their top target, Chris Clark, committed to UNC, although he does plan to visit Columbus in April.
Being an in-state four-star at a position of need does not guarantee you an offer from the Buckeyes. It appears Conrad could be asked to camp again this summer after impressing at Friday Night Light's camp last year. The six-foot-five prospect holds 12 offers, but it's no secret he would like an offer from Ohio State.
The Ohio native recently visited Penn State and came away impressed, as he mentioned on Twitter. The Buckeyes will continue to keep a close eye on the pass-catching threat. It's worth watching to see if Ohio State offers this weekend.
Darius Fullwood / 2015 / DE
When Larry Johnson Sr. joined the Ohio State coaching staff, one of his first recruiting calls was to Darius Fullwood. While he checks in as a three-star, his offer list is made up of the top football programs. Due to Fullwood's relationship with Johnson, a few insiders have crystal balled him to the Buckeyes, while three have him pegged to the Nittany Lions.
He is scheduled to visit Columbus on Saturday. He spent this weekend visiting Penn State, which appears to have went well. James Franklin has ramped up Penn State's recruiting efforts and has had early success. Fullwood's recruitment could be a battle between Franklin and Urban Meyer.
Tyler Gerald / 2016 / OT
He doesn't even have profiles on most recruiting websites, but that hasn't prevented him from catching Ohio State's eye. The six-foot-five, 300 pound sophomore from Sciotoville (Ohio) has already been visited by offensive coordinator Tom Herman.
Gerald should be a highly recruited offensive lineman out of Ohio. He already holds an offer from Kent State and has piqued the interest of many other schools. The coaching staff will keep a close eye on Gerald and will surely invite him to camp.
You'll want to check out Tyler Gerald's impressive highlight tape.
More Weekend Visitors
Junior offensive linemen David Robbins, Jake Fruhmorgen and Quinn Oseland are all scheduled to visit Ohio State on Saturday. Frugmorgen is the only one of the bunch that currently holds an offer from the Buckeyes. Getting him on campus is huge since he is one of the most highly regarded lineman in the 2015 class.
Robbins and Oseland, both three-stars, do not currently hold Ohio State offers. Both prospects have impress early offer sheets, so they are definitely worth keeping an eye on as we move forward.
