Ohio State offers 2017 CB

Darnay Holmes visited Ohio State earlier this spring but was not offered.

The Newbury Park, Calif., standout is a 2017 recruit so there was still plenty of time but after Holmes' father talked with cornerbacks coach Kerry Coombs last week, things picked up again with the Buckeyes and they decided to offer.

It's definitely a major one for Holmes, who said he wants to return to Columbus this summer and already has Ohio State as one of his favorites.

"It was a long process," Holmes said. "It started when I went to go visit Ohio State with Keyshawn (Johnson, Jr.) and I got to know coach Coombs for a good three hours. I was interacting with him and the cornerbacks and I went to the meetings with them.

"He gave me his card so my dad got in touch with him starting on Monday and they had a nice talk. My dad said he was very interested in me and something you always wanted might happen this week. They've been my team since I was a little kid when they had Terrelle Pryor and Ted Ginn, Jr."

The 5-foot-10, 182-pound prospect sent his transcripts to Ohio State and things picked up in the last few days. Since Holmes has already visited the school, the 2017 recruit has a great feel for the program - and he definitely likes the coaching staff a lot.

"I sent my transcripts and all that and they got in touch with me and (Coombs) said everything went well, the whole coaching staff liked what they saw and they wanted to offer me a scholarship," Holmes said. "I was very speechless.

"I like Columbus a lot. Even though it's cold out there it's a very nice city. The football team is very nice. The program is like a hard-knock program. In practice they get after it. If you don't like to hit then you won't be able to fit in the program. That's how it goes. Coach (Urban) Meyer tells people how he feels and he doesn't sugarcoat anything so that's what I like about them."

So far, Holmes has been offered by Arizona, Cal, Clemson, Colorado State, Louisville, Mississippi State, Ohio State, San Diego State, Tennessee, UCLA and Utah.

The Newbury Park recruit said he plans to definitely camp at Clemson and Stanford this summer and hopes to return to Ohio State as well. The Buckeyes are definitely in the running especially after they offered.

"I have a list but I'm not going to mention it," Holmes said.

"I have a top list and Ohio State is in that. Around this time next year I should be committing so for all the colleges that aren't in with me they're going to miss out. If it happens the way I plan I'll be committing around this time next year."