The only uncommitted member of the original "Block O" is headed to Florida State....to play baseball. Kyle Long, son of for Oakland Raider Howie Long, recently committed to play for the Seminoles highly regarded baseball team. Long is a left-handed pitchers with a mid-90's fastball, and if drafted high enough next year may never make it to Florida State.
At one point in time, Long seemed a lock to join Brewster, Adams and Shugarts in Columbus. Long attended the (tragic) BCS National Championship with Brewster, with tickets from his Dad and sporting an OSU jersey. In fact, most Buckeye fans were more confident of him that Shugarts, who seemed to have a number of favorite schools. But baseball was always the top threat, and Long has publicly indicated that he won't even suit up for Bobby Bowden at Florida State. It appears that if Long had wanted to play college football, he would have become a Buckeye. But OSU doesn't have an elite baseball program, so this choice makes sense for him. Some delusional Virginia fans thought he was a silent lock to follow his brother to UVA, but people close to the situation believe that was never really considered.
With Long off board, Josh Jenkins is now OSU's top offensive line target. Jenkins is currently a soft verbal to West Virginia, and it will be difficult for him to switch to another school. However, if he de-commits from his hometown it will be for Ohio State. Brewster and the rest of the class continue to work him hard, and having a natural guard would be a great way to finish off the line class. There will be tremendous pressure for Jenkins to stay at home, so his recruitment will be an interesting one to watch.
Though Jenkins would be the fourth commit and conceivably close out the offensive line class with four outstanding prospects, a number of other names remain on the radar for Ohio State.
Greg Shaw (FL) is will be in Columbus for camp, and the coaches will get a chance to evaluate him in-person. An offer could come with a solid camp performance, and if his grades are in order. Shaw currently holds offers from the big three Florida schools and many of the upper echelon ACC and SEC schools.
As I've mentioned on a few occasions, Ohio has a very deep pool of linemen this year. Should the Buckeyes miss on both Jenkins and Shaw, they have options to fill the last line spot. Though Elliot Mealer is already off the board, there are other potential three-stars out there that don't need to be offered right away. The following four players have been hearing from Ohio State, but don't have offers as of now. You'll notice Zebrie Sanders is not on this list, and it sounds like he currently has no chance to get an offer from the Buckeyes.
Harold Coates: Youngstown Ursuline
Nick Scott: Bedford
Blaec Walker: Middletown
Marc Stevens: Lexington
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