Raekwon McMillan details upcoming visit
Raekwon McMillan (Hinesville, Ga./Liberty County) has been to Ohio State on several occasions. Next time, the ESPN Watch List junior has an agenda. Making a rare, three-day unofficial visit April 1-3, the 6-foot-2, 234-pound inside linebacker is headed to Columbus, Ohio, for a different reason. He already knows what the coaching staff has to offer, which is a major reason why he’s kept the Buckeyes at or near the top during the recruiting process.
Watch List RB talks SPARQ, recruitment
Cedartown (Ga.) running back Nick Chubb posted one of the top SPARQ scores at the Nike Combine in Atlanta. The ESPN Watch List junior spoke about his performance and recruitment with Radi Nabulsi.
Watch List OT Smith plans three visits
It won’t be much of a break for Braden Smith (Olathe, Kan./Olathe) in a few weeks. Then again, one of the most sought-after offensive guards in the nation wants to make sure he’s making the right choice when it comes to colleges. The 6-foot-6, 285-pound junior has planned unofficial visits to Ohio State, Michigan and Notre Dame. The ESPN Watch List junior will visit the Buckeyes on March 18 and then follow up with visits to the Wolverines and Fighting Irish throughout the course of a week.
Watch List WR cuts list, returns to UGA
ATHENS, Ga. — ESPN Watch List wide receiver Demarre Kitt (Tyrone, Ga./Sandy Creek) recently cut his mammoth offer list down to a top-15 group of schools that he will consider. “It got crazy at one point with almost everybody that offered me trying to talk to me,” Kitt said. “So I had to cut my list down to 15 schools. After spring practice I will cut it down to eight or 10. At the end of summer I will do five and then go from there.
Watch List OT finally visiting Ohio State
Back on Oct. 28, ESPN Watch List offensive tackle Quenton Nelson (Red Bank, N.J./Red Bank Catholic) was excited about his offer from the Buckeyes. It was the sixth offer from a BCS school and it set the dominoes in place for what has become an incredible offseason for the junior. Nelson, who now counts 25 such offers, tried to get to The Horseshoe for the Ohio State-Michigan game last fall, but high school playoffs got in the way and he had to scratch the trip.
Watch List OLB has cold day, hot future
ATLANTA — With a wind-chill factor in the low 20s and occasional snow flurries blowing through the air, ESPN Watch List outside linebacker Petera Wilson (Memphis, Tenn./White Station) had a hard time staying warm Saturday. The cold kept his legs tight and he was not happy with his 40-yard dash or agility shuttle times. After having driven from Memphis, Tenn., to Atlanta to compete in the Nike SPARQ Combine, the talented junior left Lakewood Stadium cold and disappointed.
Watching the Watch List: Jeb Blazevich
Each week this spring, RecruitingNation will take a closer look at some of the nation’s top Class of 2014 prospects from the ESPN Watch List. This week we kick things off with Charlotte (N.C.) Christian tight end Jeb Blazevich. Few people — well, other than astute recruiters — knew who Jeb Blazevich was last summer. Then the offers started pouring in. Blazevich was a self-described average receiver before he started eating — a lot.
Watch List OT Bauer piling up offers
As ESPN Watch List offensive tackle Andy Bauer (St. Louis/ De Smet) creeps up on 40 offers, he is reminded of two important yet unofficial rules to the recruiting game. Network, first of all; and second, have fun. Bauer has been making his rounds across the country taking both of those rules into consideration. The 6-foot-6, 304-pound lineman most recently visited Ole Miss with his family two weekends ago and hopes to take in a few other schools during the spring.
Illinois, Mizzou next trips for Watch List OT
ESPN Watch List offensive tackle Roderick Johnson (Florissant, Mo./Hazelwood Central) is up to eight offers – four from the Big Ten, three from the SEC and one from the ACC. The spring could be the perfect time for Johnson’s recruiting to see a major spike. At 6-foot-7 and 325 pounds, Johnson recently picked up offers from Florida State and Tennessee. He also had offers from Missouri, Texas A&M, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State and Iowa.
Assessing the 2014 defensive backs
After scoring the No. 1-ranked defensive backfield in the nation in 2013, the question becomes can Ohio State do it again? While the Buckeyes missed out Wednesday on safety Quin Blanding (Virginia Beach, Va./Bayside), who chose Virginia over Ohio State, the team certainly isn’t backing down from adding to an already-solid unit. The Buckeyes have offered 21 defensive backs from the class of 2014 — 13 of them at the cornerback position — and count 18 ESPN Watch List individuals among them.
