Matt Bockhorst attended Ohio State’s one-day camp at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center with high hopes of landing an offer. He got one, just maybe not from the school he thought.
During the camp’s lunch break Bockhorst got on the phone with Michigan State head coach Mark Dantonio. The Spartans offered the 6-foot-4, 290-pound four-star offensive line prospect in the 2017 class a scholarship.
Bockhorst, who hails from Cincinnati St. Xavier, is one of Ohio’s top prospects in the 2017 class. An Ohio kid receives an offer from Michigan State on the day he’s camping at Ohio State? You don’t see that often.
“There’s a lot of things you kind of laugh at in recruiting and, if that’s how it works, that’s how it works,” Bockhorst said following the camp. “I’m glad I was able to get in touch with him and it’s an offer I’m definitely excited about.”
Bockhorst doesn’t have an offer from the Buckeyes just yet, but he’s hoping to land one soon. Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer left Tuesday’s camp early so the two didn’t have a chance to touch base following the event, but Bockhorst said they’ll remain in contact.
“I know coach Meyer had to leave early today so I didn’t have a chance to touch base with him afterwards,” Bockhorst said. “But I know coach Warinner wants me to get in touch with him after I’m done with all my camps here early next week and they’re done with all of their visits so hopefully some good news will be coming my way then.”
As of right now, Bockhorst has eight offers, according to 247Sports. Michigan State, Illinois and Northwestern are the three Big Ten schools who have offered. He also has strong interest in Boston College and Vanderbilt.
The Buckeyes haven’t extended Bockhorst the offer he covets just yet, but right now the relationship between he and the coaching staff is strong.
“They allowed me to warm up in the weight room today and just being able to talk to some of the interns, graduate assistants, it’s a very hard-nosed program and that’s how I like to play,” Bockhorst said. “I got to talk to Coach Meyer a bit and I said the attitude that the Ohio State program has, that’s the attitude I carry myself with and I feel like that would be a good fit for me.”
Bockhorst walked away from Tuesday’s camp on Ohio State’s campus with a scholarship offer from one of the Buckeyes’ biggest competitors in the Big Ten. Don’t think for a second Meyer and Co. didn’t take notice.
“I think it’s good for them to know,” Bockhorst said. “If guys see there’s competition and that maybe pushes him to give an offer out a little earlier then that benefits me, I guess.”
