Big Ten Blitz: Big week for the Buckeyes
Ohio State has a chance for a huge week. The focus is on the nation's No. 2 prospect, Seantrel Henderson, who is making his college choice known on Wednesday.
We break down recruiting in the Big Ten and Notre Dame as National Signing Day nears in a special edition of the Big Ten Blitz.
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The Hoosiers have 25 commitments on board, and are waiting on just one other prospect to make his decision. Three-star running back Miles Simpson officially visited Indiana in December, and will choose between the Hoosiers, Illinois, and Kentucky. The other main concern is current commit Andre Kates. The three-star junior college defensive back took official visits to New Mexico and Oregon State this month.
The Hawkeyes have the class of 2010 just about wrapped up. Their group of 20 commitments includes a quartet of four-star players, led by U.S. Army All-Americans C.J. Fiedorowicz and Andrew Donnal. Iowa has extended a greyshirt offer to Mark Alt, a talented quarterback and hockey player from St. Paul (Minn.) Cretin-Derham Hall. Iowa has also extended several scholarship offers to Class of 2011 prospects. One example is Indianapolis (Ind.) Warren Central linebacker Nick Temple, who picked up an Iowa offer last week.
The Wolverines have a good chance to wrap up the class of 2010 with a pair of four-star commitments. Defensive backs Rashad Knight and Sean Parker have Michigan among their finalists. Those commitments would prove Michigan can still close late with prospects across the country. Knight, from Jacksonville (Fla.), is down to the Wolverines and Rutgers. Parker, from the Los Angeles area, is down to Michigan, USC, California, and Washington. Three-star defensive tackle commit Terry Talbott took an official visit to North Carolina last weekend. He will make his final decision between the Tar Heels and Wolverines by Tuesday night. His brother, Terrence Talbott, is still a solid Michigan commitment.
Three-star safety Mike Dorsey re-pledged to West Virginia over the weekend, and three-star defensive end Rashad Frazier committed to Purdue on Monday. The Spartans have a couple of targets for preferred walk-on spots, and one of them could turn into a scholarship offer - fullback Niko Palazeti. The 6-foot-0, 230 pound prospect led Detroit Catholic Central to the state title this year. Otherwise, Michigan State should coast into Signing Day with a class that includes the state's No. 1 prospect, five-star standout William Gholston.
The Gophers will sign a solid recruiting class on Wednesday. Currently, they have 24 commitments, including a pair of four-star prospects - Jimmy Gjere and Lamonte Edwards. Gjere played in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl, and is the state's No. 2 prospect. Edwards is the No. 3 prospect in Minnesota according to Rivals.com. Earnest Thomas visited Minnesota on Jan. 22, and will make his decision known this week. Miami (Fla.) defensive tackle Jamaine Brooks visited Minnesota this weekend. Brooks has offers from Illinois, Louisville, and Minnesota.
The Wildcats have 17 commitments ready to sign on Wednesday. If that number changes, it would likely be because of Matt Darr. The three-star punter committed to USC in June, but has checked out other schools since Pete Carroll left for the NFL's Seattle Seahawks. If there is a change, Fresno State and Arizona State are the most likely destinations. Northwestern was supposed to get an official visit, but Darr canceled due to illness.
The Buckeyes have a chance for a huge week. The nation's No. 2 prospect, Seantrel Henderson, is making his college choice known on Wednesday. Henderson doesn't give any clues as to where he is going, but Ohio State certainly has as good a chance as anyone. The Buckeyes have just a couple of scholarships to give. If they strike out on Matt James, which is a possibility, they can turn back to five-star ATH Latwan Anderson to cap the 2010 class with a huge commitment. In addition, Ohio State is hard at work in the class of 2011, offering three in-state prospects - Ron Tanner, Aundrey Walker, and Michael Bennett - at Sunday's junior day.
The Nittany Lions bolstered their defensive haul with a pair of commitments last week - three-star prospect Shyquawn Pullium and linebacker Brad Bars. Penn State has 20 commitments in the class of 2010, and 12 of those are four-star prospects. Penn State should be done with this year's class. Stephenson (Ga.) defensive tackle Mike Thornton is still on the market and considering Penn State. Georgia is the best bet here, but if heads elsewhere Penn State may be the choice.
The Boilermakers landed a commitment Monday from three-star defensive end Rashad Frazier. The Boilermakers beat out Michigan State, Wisconsin and West Virginia for his commitment. Frazier is Purdue's 24th commitment in the class of 2010. With a commitment from Bruce Gaston Jr. last week, the Boilermakers have made two big recent additions to a very solid group of defensive line commitments. Purdue's class includes prospects from eight states, but just three from Indiana.
Joe McNamara committed to the Badgers on Sunday, their 24th commitment in the class of 2010. McNamara will likely play defensive tackle in Madison. The Badgers could land in-state prospect Marcus Trotter on Wednesday. Trotter is considering an offer from Wofford, a preferred walk-on opportunity at Minnesota, and a grayshirt offer from the Badgers. Trotter's twin brother, Michael, committed to the Badgers in July. Michael is the state's top prospect according to Rivals.com. Marcus is No. 6 in the Wisconsin state prospect rankings.
The Irish added three more commitments over the weekend - QB Luke Massa, ATH Derek Roback, TE Bruce Heggie. The Irish also feel good about their chances with Rivals100 OT Matt James and got a commitment on Monday from four-star ATH Danny Spond, two other official visitors from last weekend. There is little word on Kona Schwenke and Jeremy Ioane, two other official visitors. But the Irish have a strong hand to play with Hawaii players Manti Te'o and Robby Toma on the roster. If Notre Dame can wrap up those visitors and pull one surprise with Christian Jones, J.R. Ferguson, or Seantrel Henderson, they would have to be very content with the overall results given the coaching staff changes.
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