Archives for May 2015

Already with three 2016 defensive tackle commitments in Kierre Hawkins, Jonathon Cooper, and Terrell Hall. The Buckeyes are hitting the recruiting trail hard to not only come out with not only a great upcoming defensive class, but to come out with one, if not the best defensive line class. The defensive line has seen much success in the past, especially with the addition of former Penn State coach, current Ohio State defensive line coach, Larry Johnson. Johnson has helped the Buckeyes keep on the radar for some of the top defensive line prospects, including top targets Nick Bosa, Antwuan Jackson, Kyree Campbell, and Prince Sammons. Along with these four top targets includes Mike Panasiuk out of Roselle, Illinois.

Standing 6’3, 285 pounds, Panasiuk was given a three-star rating and ranked the 49th defensive tackle coming out of his class (Per 247Sports). Panasiuk holds offers from some Big Ten programs, including Wisconsin, Penn State, Illinois, Iowa, and Minnesota, along with some offers from programs such as Army and Florida Atlantic. “It feels good to have these offers. Every other offer I get just keeps motivating me more and more, some other school may come along and see what the like. It is a huge motivator for the upcoming season.” Panasiuk said. “The schools that are recruiting me the hardest right now are Iowa, Illinois, and Penn State.”

Panasiuk wants to wait and see which schools will come along and show interest before he decides on his favorite schools. He has visited Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, and Ohio State. He most recently visited Ohio State this past month, and made it a productive one. Coach Chris Ash did recently stop by Lake Park High School to visit Panasiuk. “I got to talk to Coach (Chris) Ash and Coach (Larry) Johnson. They both said they really liked my film and want to find a time to come up and see me.” Panasiuk said. “Coach Ash keeps in contact with me. Hopefully something happens soon.”

“Having an Ohio State offer would be huge. If that came around, that would definitely change around my thinking in which schools I would want to push forward and get to know. Relationship wise, I would want to get to know the coaches a little more and some other recruits. Also I would definitely want to get up there one or two more times and get the feel of Ohio State.”

Focusing on school and track, there are no planned visits. But, there will be some plans in the summer made for the defensive tackle. Panasiuk is looking to lead Lake Park in the upcoming season after going 5-4 last season. On top of that, he is looking to continue further in his recruiting process and improve his game. “Coaches have been telling me that they can tell I love to play the game with a viscuos mentality in the trenches. I am really focusing on my strength, speed and handwork.” Pansiuk said. “I want to help my team make the playoffs and be a leader on the team. We want to go to the state championship.”

Watch Panasiuk’s highlights here.

Instate recruiting has always been a major factor in a program’s recruiting success. The great state of Ohio has been known to produce some of the top prospects in the country. With Ohio State being the top program in the state, instate recruiting always has allowed the Buckeyes to come out with the best Ohio prospects. The upcoming 2015 class brings six of the top ten ranked Ohio recruits. The 2016 class is not shy of living up to that standard. Already, the Buckeyes have grabbed six of the top twenty players out of Ohio with commitments from guys like Demario McCall, George Hill, and Jake Hausmann. The Buckeyes are still on the hunt for players such as Brendan Ferns, Prince Sammons, and Luke Farrell. Within the top 15 prospects coming out of the 2016 class lies Ethan Tucky.

The 14th rated prospect out of Ohio and 30th ranked linebacker (per 247Sports) is just a short ride to Columbus, coming from Delaware, Ohio. Tucky has been busy building relationships with coaches, taking visits, and receiving offers. “What I learned about the recruiting process is that it is almost like a relationship with every school that you talk to. After a while, you start to develop a personal relationship where you see who coaches are as an individuals. The more serious you get on a school, the more visits you take. I just always compare it to a relationship.” Tucky said.

Tucky, with ten offers from Iowa, Kentucky, Boston College, Bowling Green, Cincinnati, Eastern Michigan, Indiana, Miami (OH), Ohio, and Toledo has been hearing from programs who are still interested in offering. “The schools showing most interest are Kentucky, Boston College, Iowa, Indiana, and Michigan State. They seem to be the pushing the hardest right now.” he said. “I don’t have a list yet. As soon as I get out the schools that have contacted me. It is all about the fit to me in terms of recruiting. I want to see what every school has to offer.”

“I am going to guess by the end of summer, after I have visited and camped at schools, I will have a top five, or a top ten list of my favorite schools. But right now, I don’t have a designated list right now.”

Unfortunately, Tucky was planned to visit Ohio State for the Michigan game, but was not able to attend. To make up for it, he was able to attend the Big Ten Championship game versus Wisconsin, witnessing a total Badger beat-down. Even though it was not an unofficial visit Tucky was still able to see the Buckeyes at full force, which is always an eye opener for anyone, especially with a 59-0 blowout in a conference championship game. The last time he was in Columbus was for the Cincinnati game back in late September.

“Right now, I am just focused on my track season. I am not going around to look at too many schools at the moment. I am dedicated to my team and to improving myself.” Tucky said. He also plans on getting back to Ohio State for a game this upcoming season. “Over this summer, or definitely this fall I will be getting out to Ohio State.”

Thus far in the recruiting process for the Delaware, Ohio native, there is no offer from Ohio State. But, Tucky is looking to get out to a camp this summer and show what he can bring to the table for The Silver Bullets. To describe the situation with Ohio State as a whole, Tucky spoke very confidently about his relationship with Ohio State, and how its grown throughout the past year or so. “I know they want to see me at another camp to evaluate me. They still want to look at my upcoming game film. I honestly think an offer from them is very, very close. I am very confident with where I stand with them right now. I don’t think there are many odds against me, I hope they see what I can put out there for them.”

“Coach Fickell and I have a really good relationship. He stopped by before the dead period awhile back and I think he is stopping by soon within the next upcoming weeks. I love the guy, he is an absolute great coach and person, which has allowed us to develop a close relationship.”

Last season, Tucky lead his team with 48 tackles. He described his success was able to come from his great work ethic and his speed, or “motor” as he described. “It is crazy how fast everything has gone. I just want to play every game with my all, and end my senior season with a smile on my face, I will be beyond happy.”

With plenty of time to go in his recruiting process, Tucky is still on the edge regarding when he would like to make his college commitment official. This will either happen before or after the football season. “If I get the right fit over the summer, then I will go ahead and commit to a program.”

Tucky plans on being pretty patient with the recruiting process. He wants to make sure he has the chance to visit all the schools he is interested in and see what each of them have to offer. With Tucky being an Ohio native, it would be not too surprising if he jumped an Ohio State offer when given to him. But also, the patience could come into play no matter where he will commit.

Click the link to see Tucky in action: http://www.hudl.com/athlete/1298659/highlights/176914377/v2

Already with one 2016 wide receiver commit in Kierre Hawkins, the Buckeyes are still after several top receivers in the class such as Austin Mack, Donnie Corley, Javon McKinley, and others. Standing without an Ohio State offer, Ruben Flowers hopes he can prove himself and gain a Buckeye scholarship, which he has plenty of time to do throughout his senior season. The Lima Senior wide receiver is rated a three-star, the 65th wide receiver in his class, and the 13th prospect out of Ohio (Per 247Sports). Over the past year, Flowers has gained interest in a couple of Big Ten programs, such as Illinois and Iowa.

The recruiting process kicked up for Flowers when he received his first offer back in April of last year. Programs have shown a lot more interest in Flowers during 2015 with five of his six offers coming in the first third of the year. “It’s been a good experience with the different schools and different things coming at me. It has been picking up lately.” Flowers said. “The schools showing the most interest now are Illinois and Kentucky.”

Flowers is confident that the offers this year will keep coming, especially with the five he has already received this year. “I think Pittsburgh is really close. As well as Purdue, Michigan State, and Ohio State.” Flowers said.

Flowers has not been shy visiting Ohio State, camping at Friday Night Lights and visiting this past season in September, enjoying both of his trips to Columbus. “Friday Night Lights was a good experience because it gave me an outlook on how the competition is at Ohio State by being able to compete with recruits that have already earned scholarships. It showed me that the top players are only going to get into Ohio State.” he said. “I also visited for the Virginia Tech game, which was a really good experience being able to witness a sellout atmosphere. The fans are great. Everything was great.”

“It would be a nice experience to get an offer from one of the top programs.”

The future in the recruiting process will be quite busy for Flowers, as he is looking to get out to visit a couple more schools. “I want to get out to Notre Dame and NC State since they are starting to recruit me heavy.” he said.

Last season, Flowers received 62 receptions for 826 yards and 13 touchdowns. He is looking to produce more in his upcoming season to show what he can do. “Before I had a relaxed game, but it was good enough to make me an effective receiver. Now, I play more quickly. My speed was not there. Over the past off-season I was able to work on my speed. I am not just a still receiver, I worked on my speed and quickness.” Flowers said.

“I want to get better every season, and prepare myself for the next level because I do not want to get to college and be one to be red-shirted. I want to prepare myself now so I can be ready and go right into a school and have an impact.”

With plenty of time left in the recruiting process, there is a still a chance Flowers could receive an offer from the Buckeyes. With no commitment date, only time will tell.

Click the link to watch his junior season highlights: http://www.hudl.com/athlete/3461920/highlights/224376376/v2#