Zaire details OSU junior day visit

Ohio State hosted a star-studded junior day on Sunday in conjunction with their home basketball contest against Michigan. One of the state's top junior quarterbacks, Malik Zaire of Kettering (Ohio) Archbishop Alter, was in attendance.

"It was kind of interesting because a lot of guys I saw today were guys that I have been friends with throughout the whole recruiting process and growing up," Zaire said.

"Robert Foster, I got to talk to him a lot. He's a really good kid and he's going to be special wherever he goes. Hopefully we get a chance to play together. Then, seeing Cam Burrows, Jalin Marshall and guys I have been around with at camps was nice."

The 6-1, 190-pound Zaire has been to Ohio State several times over the last few months, including a visit for their home contest against Wisconsin back in October. He knows the campus well, but enjoyed the opportunity to connect with new people on Sunday.

"There were some things that were more of the same, but I also got a lot of the excitement and charisma from Coach [Urban] Meyer and his staff," Zaire said. "It is definitely a winning program that is perfect for me and anyone else who wants to college football."

Ohio State actually offered Zaire when current assistant Luke Fickell was head coach. Sunday gave Zaire the chance to talk with Urban Meyer about what the new staff sees for him.

"We didn't get into too many specifics, but they are definitely very interested in me," Zaire said. "I don't know exactly what they are going to do because Jalin is probably going to end up going there and he wants a shot at quarterback. I don't know what their plan would be for me, but I will probably catch up with them later on and see what he thinks and what Coach [Tom] Herman thinks about how they want to put that together."

Last week, Zaire listed Ohio State, Pitt and Nebraska as his three favorites and the Buckeyes retain a spot in his top group after Sunday's junior day.

"I like Ohio State a lot and we'll see how it goes," he said. "They are still in the top three and I still have a lot of love for Ohio State, Nebraska and Pitt. I'm just enjoying the process right now."

Zaire's enjoyment of the process was heightened this past weekend when he picked up two new offers to move his total to nine.

"Pitt offered yesterday and Illinois actually offered last week," Zaire reported. "Those two are very good schools.

"I have a great relationship with Coach [Paul] Chryst and Coach [Joe] Rudolph [at Pitt] because they were previously at Wisconsin. We get along pretty well and I think we could be a good team together. I am open to Illinois, I just need to know a little more about it."