Late last night news broke that a surprise visitor would take an official visit to Ohio State this weekend just a few days after National Signing Day. This news isn’t that unusual in the grand scheme of things but the player taking the OV and his relationship to another current commit makes it a very interesting development.
The news was broke by 247sports National Football writer Steve Wiltfong…
Chicago De La Salle ATH Shelby Spence taking official to #OhioState this weekend. Jamarco Jones teammate (VIP) http://t.co/POHTPfqLAa #OSU
— Steve Wiltfong (@SWiltfong247) February 4, 2014
So many of you will be asking yourself who exactly is Shelby Spence and why has he popped up on OSU Radar so late in the process. The truth is Shelby has long been on OSUs radar as he attended Friday Night Lights last summer with his teammate and good friend Jamarco Jones. So there is why this visit has become so important as Shelby and Jamarco are great friends and as all of you know by now Ohio State and Michigan State are in a heated battle to land current OSU commit Jamarco Jones who is considering flipping to MSU after a last minute visit to MSU this past weekend and only 24 hours to go to NSD.
What does this all mean for OSU and Spence and Jones? I was able to sit down and talk with Shelby late last night and get some info out of him about his recruitment and whether or not he and Jones are a package deal and the answers were somewhat surprising.
The important thing to know from my interview with Shelby was that the OV didn’t just pop up out of no where late in the process. When I asked him about the visit he said, “We’ve been talking about it” for a while. Also asked him who was main recruiter and he mentioned, that his original recruiter was Mike Vrabel but since Vrabel left that “Coach Meyer has taken over his recruiting”. It also helps that new Co-DC Chris Ash was his recruiter when he was at Wisconsin last year. This is important because it shows how serious they are in trying to land the 6’0″ 200 lbs DT QB/ Athlete. When I asked what position they would like to use Shelby at he mentioned Safety and that is what they had him play when he was out last summer for Friday Night Lights.
Academics play a huge role in Shelby’s life and prior to the announcement of his OV to OSU this weekend he was mainly considering Ivy League schools and told me he wants to major in Economics where ever he goes and certainly OSU has a highly rated Business/Economics program that could fit the bill for Mr. Spence.
Currently Shelby does not have an offer and when I asked him about that he told me, “I’ll have a better idea on his visit” what if any offer Coach Meyer can give him. There are 2 basic options at this point a traditional offer if OSU has a spot to give him say if either Jamarco Jones or Malik McDowell choose to go elsewhere. Or they could offer him a Preferred Walk-On which means he would walk-on and be in line to get a scholarship as soon as one becomes available. Which I am sure most OSU fans would prefer since it means they also landed both Jones and McDowell.
When asked if he had a dream school or if he grew up a fan of any particular school he told me, “Not any school but grew up a fan of specific players such as Troy Smith, Ted Ginn Jr, and Terelle Pryor.”. He certainly doesn’t hurt that all of the players he mentioned were OSU greats that’s for sure.
He did mention, he would not make a haste decision and that if he loved his visit to OSU he would “sit down and discuss everything with his family before making a final decision.”.
I did get to ask him on the record about his relationship with Jamarco Jones and whether he felt like OSU considered himself and Jamarco to be a package deal or if they considered themselves to be a package. He definitely feels like he is being recruited on his own abilities and that he is not tied to Jamarco. He said, that he and Jamarco “Have not discussed that at all” and neither have the coaches. He also told me he hasn’t discussed with Jamarco which way he is leaning and that whatever decision that Jamarco makes it won’t effect his own personal decision.
It certainly doesn’t hurt that this could be Jamarco and Shelby together for the next 4-5 years and the longtime friends could play together at Ohio State even if they haven’t discussed it in great detail as of yet.
Are you still curious why “all of a sudden” OSU is interested in Shelby then you haven’t taken the time to watch his highlights to see he is the real deal and as I informed Shelby last night … Troy Smith was the last recruit taken in his class and only got the spot when another player chose to go elsewhere but he made his own destiny after arriving and eventually ended up a Heisman winner and a legend to OSU fans so I ask you to watch his highlights and see what the OSU coaches see before being a jaded fan…
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