Catholic Memorial's Camren Williams, who had been verbally committed to Penn State, has now committed to Ohio State. (Jim Davis / Boston Globe)
As reported yesterday here on BuckeyeBanter.com, following an unofficial visit with his mother to the Ohio State campus on Wednesday and Thursday, Camren Williams, a four-star outside linebacker from Catholic Memorial, a prep school in West Roxbury, Massachusetts, pledged his allegiance to Buckeye Nation today.
Williams had originally verballed to Penn State last March, but with the Jerry Sandusky sex abuse scandal that led to the firing of head coach Joe Paterno and eventually the entire coaching staff, none of the coaches that had recruited Williams are still with the program. With that, Williams began looking at other schools.
According to Rivals.com, Williams is the eighth-best inside linebacker prospect in the nation, while Scout.com lists him as the 16th-best outside linebacker in the country for the class of 2012.
Listed at 6-foot-2, 220-pounds, Williams was a Boston Globe All-Scholastic linebacker this past fall after recording 119 tackles in nine games for the Knights.
Along with Ohio State and Penn State, Williams also had offers from Boston College, Connecticut, Maryland, Michigan, North Carolina, Virginia and Wake Forest.
Williams’ high school teammate, Armani Reeves, also traveled to Columbus to make an official visit on Wednesday and Thursday with Williams. The 5-foot-10, 185-pound cornerback has yet to make a final decision.
Reeves is ranked as the sixth-best prospect at his position in the country by Scout.com, while Rivals.com tabs him the 17th-best in the nation. Both rate him as a four-star recruit.
It’s expected that Reeves will also commit to Ohio State at any moment to join Williams for the class of 2012, though Reeves does have an in-home visit with Michigan head coach Brady Hoke this weekend and is scheduled to take an official visit to Penn State next weekend.
With Williams on board, Ohio State has 23 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, offensive lineman Joey O’Connor from Windsor High School in Windsor, Colo., linebacker David Perkins from Washington High School in South Bend, Ind., 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.
