Windsor High School senior Joey O’Connor (left) blocks during a game this past season in Windsor.
(Jim Rydbom/GreeleyTribune.com)
Joey O’Connor, an offensive lineman from Windsor High School in Windsor, Colorado, who originally committed to Penn State only to reopen his recruitment in November following the Jerry Sandusky sex abuse scandal, pledged his allegiance to Ohio State on Monday night after a weekend visit to Columbus.
O’Connor, who is listed at 6-foot-5, 295-pounds, is rated a four-star prospect by Rivals.com and a three-star recruit by Scout.com.
Along with Ohio State and Penn State which are the only schools he visited, O’Connor also had offers from Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, Colorado State, Iowa, Tennessee, UCLA and Utah among others.
Projected as either a guard or tackle in college, O’Connor is rated the 15th-best OT prospect in the nation by Rivals, and the 17th-best OG prospect in the country according to Scout.
“He’s a great guy,” O’Connor said to Jason Shedd of the Windsor Beacon about Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer. “He’s very competitive, very passionate about what he does, but he’s also very family oriented. His family comes first, and he’s all about the team.”
It seems that O’Connor didn’t care for the spotlight nor the attention that one gets by being a high school All-American, who picked the Buckeyes with three official visits still left.
“It felt like the right place, and I don’t need to deal with this stress anymore, O’Connor said in the same article about his trip to Ohio State over the weekend. “I’m glad it’s done, glad I found a place where I feel at home.”
After leading the Windsor Wizards to the Class 3A state title, O’Connor played in the 2012 Under Armour All-America High School Football Game at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla., back on Jan. 5.
With O’Connor now on board, Ohio State has 21 total commitments for the class for 2012 that include running back Warren Ball from DeSales High School in Columbus, Devan Bogard from Glenville High School in Cleveland (soft verbal), offensive lineman Jacoby Boren from Pickerington Central High School, offensive lineman Taylor Decker from Vandalia Butler High School, running back Bri’onte Dunn from Glenoak High School in Canton, offensive lineman Patrick Elflein from Pickerington North High School, wide receiver Frank Epitropoulos from Upper Arlington, quarterback Cardale Jones from Cleveland Glenville and Fork Union Military Academy, wide receiver Roger Lewis from Pickerington Central High School, defensive back Najee Murray from Steubenville, linebacker Josh Perry from Olentangy High School in Galena, defensive end Se’Von Pittman from Canton McKinley High School, defensive back Tyvis Powell from Bedford, linebacker Luke Roberts from Lancaster, defensive tackle Tommy Schutt from Glenbard West High School in Illinois, wide receiver Ricquan Southward from Lakeland Senior High School in Florida, defensive end Noah Spence from Bishop McDevitt High School in Harrisburg, Penn., tight end Blake Thomas from Cleveland St. Ignatius, wide receiver Mike Thomas from Fork Union Military Academy in Virginia, and defensive end Adolphus Washington from Cincinnati Taft High School for next year’s incoming class.
