FOOTBALL RECRUITING: Southfield's Marshall commits to Ohio State
By SCOTT M. BURNSTEIN
@MIPrepZone
Southfield junior defensive end Lawrence Marshall committed to Ohio State University Sunday. The Buckeyes were on of more than 10 schools to make an offer to Marshall, widely considered one of the top five junior recruits in the state of Michigan.
Southfield junior football star Lawrence Marshall will be heading across the border for college.
The Michigan-Ohio border that is.
Marshall (6-foot-5, 240 pounds), a ferocious pass rusher on the defensive line and Oakland County?s most sought-after recruit for the Class of 2014, committed to Ohio State on Sunday while on a visit in Columbus.
?I love everything about Ohio State,? he said. ?The coaching staff, the team and the campus are all amazing. I?m so pumped up about my decision. I can?t wait for the day that I?m a Buckeye and I?ll be wearing the scarlet and gray.?
Last season, Marshall recorded 105 tackles and six sacks in his second year starting in the trenches for Southfield. As a sophomore, he helped lead the Bluejays to a district championship.
A series of impressive workouts last offseason at a group of showcase camps blasted him onto the national recruiting scene.
He selected the Buckeyes over close to a dozen other major Division I colleges offering scholarships. The finalists were Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State and Tennessee.
Scouting experts rate him one of the state?s top five recruits in the junior class.
Tim Conley, his head coach at Southfield, knows what a sparkling talent Ohio State is getting itself in Marshall.
?Lawrence is the total package at his position,? Conley said. ?He has speed, size, strength, instinct and outstanding natural technique. The way he comes off the edge is just nasty.?
Ohio State went 12-0 under first-year head coach Urban Meyer in 2012, putting the pieces back together following the program?s NCAA sanctioning under the previous Jim Tressel regime. The Buckeyes? current 2013 recruiting class is ranked No. 1 in the country.
After the Buckyes spent little time scouring for prospects in the area in decades past, Meyer has recently stated his intent to start focusing attention on the state of Michigan and its rich recruiting territory.
Meyer and his coaching staff have reaped quick dividends. In addition to Marshall, Ohio State secured the commitment of Detroit Cass Tech wide receiver-defensive back Damon Webb, another one of the best recruits in the state?s Class of 2014, last month.
