Class of 2009 looking fine
Right: Wide receiver James Jackson, a native of Michigan seen here at UM’s football camp, opted to go out-of-state to play for the Buckeyes. Rivals.com Photo
So far, there’s a grand total of 14 soon-to-be high school seniors from the class of 2009 who have verbally committed to head coach Jim Tressel and the Ohio State football program.
The latest, 6-foot, 175-pound wide receiver James Jackson from Grand Ledge High School in Grand Ledge, Mich., verbally committed on Monday.
Jackson, who runs a blistering 4.31 seconds in the 40-yard dash, had a slew of offers from schools like Michigan, Michigan State, Purdue, Wisconsin, and Iowa in the Big Ten, as well as from Alabama, Florida, Oregon, and UCLA.
In the end, it came down to the Buckeyes and Bruins, and though he thought UCLA had a beautiful campus, it was too far from home.
Jackson was quoted as saying this to Tim May of the Dispatch:
“I decided to commit just because (of) the feeling I had inside all along since the first time I went to the Ohio State campus in March. The feeling never really went away. I just feel like Ohio State is the place to be.”
Surprisingly, the two finalists were not his in-state schools like the Spartans and Wolverines, even though in the photo above he’s sporting an ugly winged helmet from when he attended Michigan’s football camp, which was then under the former regime.
Last season, Jackson had 337 yards on 30 rushing attempts and added another 430 yards by hauling in 31 passes.
Out of the 14 players so far who have committed, only five are listed as offensive players according to Rivals.com.
Another wide receiver in this class, Chris Fields (6-0, 181) from Harvey High School in Painesville, Ohio, issued his verbal commitment to play at OSU back in February.
During his junior year, Fields caught 51 passes for 879 yards and can also run a sub-4.4 in the 40-yard dash.
Fields is ranked as the 78th-best prospect in the country according to Rivals, while Jackson is not in the top 100.
The current headliner in the class of 2009 is Dorian Bell (right), a 6-foot-1, 215-pound outside linebacker from Gateway High School in Monroeville, Penn.
Bell is listed as a five-star recruit by Rivals and is the 22nd-best prospect in his class. He had offers from 10 other schools including Penn State, Michigan and West Virginia, but committed to Ohio State last month.
During his junior year he had 131 tackles, and among those were 25 tackles for loss and 11 sacks.
Next on the Rivals100 list is defensive back Jamie Wood from Central High School in nearby Pickerington, Ohio.
Wood, listed as a 6-foot-2, 190-pound safety, checks in as the 26th-best prospect and he also had several offers, most notably from Penn State, Illinois and Northwestern.
Playing both ways last year, Wood had 65 tackles, seven of those for loss, and an interception. He also had 25 receptions for 550 yards and eight touchdowns.
Coming in as the 29th-best prospect in the nation is 6-foot-5, 245-pound defensive end Melvin Fellows from Garfield Heights, Ohio.
Fellows originally committed to Illinois last year, but changed his mind when he came to Columbus to watch the spring game last month.
Clayton Northmont’s C.J. Barnett committed to Ohio State back in February, and is listed as a 6-foot-1, 181-pound cornerback. He’s a four-star prospect by Rivals and checks in at No. 53 of the top 100 players from the class of 2009.
One notch below Barnett at No. 54 is Jordan Whiting from Trinity High School in Louisville, Ky.
Whiting, a 6-foot, 230-pound inside linebacker, was the first commitment for this class when he gave his verbal last September.
The last of the current Buckeye commitments to crack the Rivals100 is John Simon, a 6-foot-3, 274-pound defensive tackle from Cardinal Mooney High School in Youngstown, Ohio. He verballed the day after Christmas last year.
Two players in the class of 2009 will have older brothers on the team. Zach Boren, a 6-foot-1, 245-pond linebacker form Central High School in Pickerington, is the brother of Justin Boren, who recently transferred from Michigan to Ohio State. Adam Homan, a 6-foot-2, 230-pound linebacker from Coldwater, Ohio, is the younger brother of Ross Homan.
Last season, all-purpose back Jordan Hall was a teammate of Terrelle Pryor at Jeannette High School in Jeannette, Penn. In 2009, Hall will join Pryor as a member of the Buckeyes.
While Pryor garnered all of the attention last year for Jeannette, Hall, listed at 5-foot-9 and 180-pounds, did manage to gain 891 yards on the ground with 20 rushing touchdowns, plus he added another 704 yards and nine more scores receiving the pigskin.
Rounding out the list of commitments are:
Storm Klein, a 6-foot-2, 220-pound athlete from Licking Valley High School and Corey Linsley, a 6-foot-4, 285-pound guard from Boardman High School in Youngstown, both of whom garnered four stars from Rivals.
Unranked center Jack Mewhort from St. John’s High School in Toledo issued his verbal last December.
Currently, Michigan has just seven oral commitments for the class of 2009, with three of those coming from the state of Ohio. Youngstown Liberty’s Isaiah Bell and Fitzgerald Toussaint, along with Massillon Washington’s Justin Turner are all Buckeye natives.
Bell, a 6-foot-2, 200-pound safety, was not recruited by Ohio State. Toussaint, a 5-foot-10, 185-pound running back, was recruited by OSU, but no scholarship offer was made to him.
Neither of those players are currently ranked by Rivals.
Turner, a 6-foot-2, 186-pound safety, was recruited and offered a ’ship to Ohio State, but turned down the Buckeyes.
Michigan State and Penn State have the third-most verbals for the class of 2009 with six each, while Indiana and Purdue haven’t receive one as of today.
Among those who Ohio State has made a scholarship offers to and have not made a decision as of yet are:
Jelani Jenkins, a 6-foot, 203-pound outside linebacker from Our Lady Of Good Counsel High School in Wheaton, Md, who checks in at No. 10 among the Rivals100.
Marlon Brown, a 6-foot-5, 205-pound wide receiver from Harding Academy in Memphis, Tenn., is ranked 16th.
Andre Debose, a 6-foot, 170-pound athlete from Seminole High School in Samford, Fla. who is listed as the 33rd-best prospect, has a 40-yard dash time of 4.43 seconds.
At No. 34 is Marcus Hall, a 6-foot-5, 290-pound offensive tackle from Glenville High School in Cleveland.
Currently one of the most coveted players by the Ohio State coaching staff from the class of 2009 is 5-foot-11, 185-pound running back Jaamal Berry from Palmetto High School in Miami, Fla. He’s ranked No. 37 in the Rivals100 after rushing for 1,033 yards and 14 touchdowns last season, and is considered the best running back prospect in South Florida. Berry was clocked in the 40 at 4.43 seconds.
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