US Army All American Bowl Preview

With two High School All-Star bowl games this week there is a lot of Buckeye recruiting news. There are current commits playing in both games with the US Army game having the vast majority of OSU commits. There are several targets in both games as well. Again the US Army game probably has the majority of the most likely to become a Buckeye target list. So myself and @RonnieGlickman will take a look at both games in separate posts. Here is the link to go see Ronnie’s post on the Under Armour bowl game.

BUCKEYE COMMITS

Dante Booker Jr.- Dante is a 6’4″ 220 lbs 4 star LineBacker from Akron, Ohio. Booker is one of the top LB prospects in the country and was chased by schools like Notre Dame, TTUN, Penn State, and Nebraska. Dante brings a real nastiness to the outside LB spot combined with his top notch speed and power he could move to a hybrid of DE/LB at OSU depending on his body growth. Rivals ranks him a 4 star and the 65th best prospect in the country. Scout ranks him a 4 star and the no. 6 OLB ion the country. 247sports ranks him a 5 star and the no. 13 prospect in the country. ESPN ranks him a 4 star and the no 7 OLB in the country.

Johnnie Dixon- Johnnie is a 6’0 200 lbs 4 star WR from West Palm Beach, Florida. Johnnie is a big time recruit from the South Florida hotbed known for producing NFL caliber WRs. Johnnie is a burner with great hands but will out muscle you for a ball when he needs to. He has decent size but is already hulked out as you can see in his picture above. I hate to be cliche but he does remind me of Percy Harvin… a strong and physical WR who can take the Jet Sweep and scoot a ton of yards for TDs. 247Sports ranks him a 4 star and the 106th best recruit in the country. Scout ranks him a 4 star and the 39th best WR in the country. ESPN ranks him a 4 star and the 39th best recruit in the country. Rivals ranks him a 4 star and the 109th best recruit in the country.

Jalyn Holmes- Jalyn is a 6’5″ 235 lbs 4 star DE from Norfolk, Virginia. Jalyn is a freak of an athlete ranking high on both weak side Def End and Tight End. As a Sophomore Holmes had 60 tackles, 13 tackles for loss, and five sacks. He made all-district and all-region as a sophomore. During his junior season, Holmes had 75 Tackles, 40 tackles for loss, and 12 sacks. He also caught 24 passes for 352 yards and seven touchdowns on offense. He projects to be a Def End at OSU and will play on the weak side. 247sports ranks him a 4 star and the 92nd best prospect in the country and the 5th best WDE. Rivals ranks him a 4 star and the 57th best in the country and the 4th best DE. Scout ranks him a 4 star and the 98th best prospect in the country and 13th best DE. ESPN ranks him a 4 star and the 160th best in the country.

Marcelys Jones- Marcelys is a 6’5″ 325 lbs 4 star OT from Cleveland, Ohio. Marcelys is a giant recruit who will bring strength and power along with a nasty side that OLmen need to be successful. He will need to work on his foot movement and speed and turn some of his “baby fat” into muscle but with the help of Coach Marotti and his S&C program he will get in shape very quickly. I am not sure he will stay a OT or move inside to OG depends how much he grows height wise in the next year to fit the type of body Coach Meyer wants in his OTs.

Demetrius Knox- Demetrius is a 6’4″ 290 lbs 4 star Offensive Lineman from Fort Worth, Texas. Knox brings to the OL a lot of speed and athleticism. He was once committed to Texas but decommitted months ago and right away he became a target for OSU and the fans. He has proven to be a guy who can be a leader and will help recruit for OSU.

Curtis Samuel- Curtis is a 6’0″ 185 lbs 5 star RB/WR/Safety/Athlete from Brooklyn, New York. Curtis is a blazer of a football player running a 4.36 40 yard dash. He projects to play WR at Ohio State but has the versatility to move all over the place he could play RB or WR depending on how his body develops. He also could play defense but he is a playmaker so expect to see him on the offensive side in the Percy Harvin type position. Where Coach Meyer will do everything he can to get the ball in his hands to let him make plays.

Damon Webb- Damon Webb is a 6’0″ 180 lbs 4 star DB from Detroit, Michigan. Damon is a shutdown corner who isn’t afraid to hit a guy and help on run defense. He comes from a school that has had a lot of success in Michigan. Damon had offers from the likes of LSU, Michigan, Michigan St., and a host of other schools.

BUCKEYE TARGETS

Solomon Thomas- Solonon is a 6’3″ 260 lbs 5 star DE from Coppel, Texas. Thomas brings a great motor along with good speed and strength. He would be icing on the cake for Coach Herman who has been dominating the Texas HS scene the last 3 years.

Erick Smith- Erick is a 6’1″ 190 bs 4 star Safety from Cleveland, Ohio. Erick has long been considered an OSU lock and the safety should be committing to OSU during the game. The safety has become a better prospect as time goes on. He will be a great addition to the 2014 class.

Marshon Lattimore- Marshon is a high 4 star recruit best recruit in the country kind of recruit. He is a game changer and can play either side of the ball. He projects to play CB at OSU but could move around a lot from offense to defense to special teams. He also like his HS teammate Erick Smith will commit to OSU during the game.

Myles Autry- Myles is a 5’9″ 175 lbs 4 star Athlete from Norcross, Ga. Myles brings a lot of speed and athleticism to the table. Unfortunately he was injured most of his SR. year but has come back with a strong showing in the state playoffs and is impressing early on at this bowl game practices. He can play both offense and defense exceptionally well and would most likely end up at the Slot if he goes to OSU.

Derrick Nnadi- Derrick is a 6’2″ 305 lbs 4 star DT from Virginia Beach, VA. Nnadi is a behemoth of a kid who will eat up blockers in the middle. He has enough speed to rush the passer but he is a run stopping DT at its truest example. Derrick is a Va Tech lean but grew up a Buckeye fan so if OSU wants him they can probably land him when he visits.

Malik McDowell- Malik is a 6’7″ 290 lbs 5 star DE from Detroit, TSUN. This kid is a giant and has the skills to be a dominant player for years to come. He was considered a TTUN lean by its fans for a long time but he has never really shown that to be the case. In the end I think it will come down to MSU vs OSU for his services. I will never doubt Coach Meyer’s ability to close so look for the full court press down the stretch.

As you can see by this long list of commits and targets the Buckeyes are well represented and Coach Meyer and his staff have put a premium on getting players from all over the country who are the best at their positions. Coach Meyer is building a dynasty at OSU and it starts with recruiting. Needless to say the cornerstone has been placed and the rest of the building will be built very soon.

Trackbacks

  1. […] playing at home again Nebraska and the possibility of 2 new top recruits to the OSU football team. The recruits are announcing today in the US Army All American Bowl game. The first commit is in the bag and here is his […]

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