After being unable to make it up to Columbus for a visit throughout the summer, Miami (FL) Palmetto running back, Jaamal Berry, made the trip up to Ohio Stadium for the Buckeyes’ first game on Saturday. The Bucks have been Berry’s leader over Ole Miss, Florida, LSU, Michigan, and others for a while now, and one of the top backs in the nation just needed his mother to see the school and meet the coaches at OSU before he pulled the trigger on a commitment. His mother must have liked what she saw this weekend, because Berry became commitment number twenty-five for Ohio State’s 2009 recruiting class.
The commitment of Berry is huge for Jim Tressel’s latest top class, as we now inch closer to closing up this class that could add 1-3 more players. After getting off to a hot start, recruiting has cooled down the last six weeks, and the addition of Berry, the top running back in 2009 according to ESPN, gives Buckeye fans something else to talk about besides the pending injury of Beanie Wells. Berry (5′11″ 195 lbs.) joins Carlos Hyde (Tallahassee, FL) and Jordan Hall (Jeannette, PA) as the third running back in the class. While Hyde brings a bruising, power edge to his game, and Hall brings a “Reggie Bush-esque” versatility factor as a receiver out of the backfield, Berry can do it all. He was clocked at 4.31 in the 40-yard dash at a combine this summer and is not afraid to put his shoulder down and take on tacklers. He is a consensus top-tier back in the country across all recruiting services and should have an excellent career in Columbus.
As stated earlier, there is probably only room for 1-3 other players in this class. Candidates for the last few spots include Cleveland Glenville OT Marcus Hall, Minneapolis Washburn TE Ra’Shede Hageman, Memphis Harding WR Marlon Brown, Orchard Lake St. Mary’s TE Dion Sims, St. Lake City OG John Martinez, Scottsdale Saguaro DT Corey Adams, Miami (FL) Gulliver Prep ATH Frankie Telfort, and Plantation (FL) DB Vlad Emilien. Ideally Buckeye fans would want Hall, Brown, Adams, and one of the tight ends, but that would be in a perfect world. Either way the Bucks are going to have a great recruiting class for 2009, and should be prepared to make runs at the National Championship Game for years to come.
