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wadc45;1190470; said:North Royalton TE/DE/OL Dan France has offers from Indiana, Northwestern, Michigan State, Iowa, Purdue, Stanford, Vanderbilt, Cincinnati, Louisville, North Carolina and North Carolina State.
Congrats to Dan, but um... what is going on here?wadc45;1222284; said:France has committed to Michigan State.
North Royalton senior Dan France has made an oral commitment to play football at Michigan State University.
France received 18 Division I offers, including 14 from Bowl Championship Series programs, and gave serious consideration to Iowa and Indiana. He said Michigan State projects him as a defensive tackle.
Watch for 7 players, 4 teams to step into spotlight this season
Thursday, August 21, 2008 3:26 AM
By Steve Blackledge
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Dispatch file photos
Running back Shaun Jones of Dublin Coffman is likely to win attention.
Walnut Ridge might make noise, led by Brandon Rice, a standout running back.
Doral Chenoweth IIIDispatch
Head coach Byron Mattox led Walnut Ridge to a 7-3 record last season but missed the playoffs.
If you call yourself a big fan of central Ohio high school football, you probably can identify the stud players entering the 2008 season. Ohio State already has commitments from four of them: defensive back/receiver Jamie Wood and fullback/linebacker Zach Boren of Pickerington Central, linebacker/running back Storm Klein of Licking Valley and defensive back/running back Bradley McDougald of Dublin Scioto.
Plenty of other familiar names from last season return, such as linebacker Will Studlien of Big Walnut, 2,000-yard running back Brandon Rice of Walnut Ridge, all-purpose quarterbacks Seth White of Bexley and Cortez Fleming of Westerville South, and Ready tackle Dean Cullison. Two-way linemen Luke Roesch of Fisher Catholic and Jake Brandt of Bexley are forces on both sides of the ball.
Cont....
Q: Hey, Tim: I have heard the North Coast League has many Division I football recruits. Any news on Dan Molls, Randy Greenwood, Brian Slack, Cory DePiero and others? What a great league, and I know there are others getting a lot of college looks.
-- Tom Ririe, Corpus Christi, Texas
A: Hey, Tom: This is a very good year for the North Coast League. Most of the top talent will face off in the Mid-American Conference in years to come. Slack, a powerful tight end at Hoban, has orally committed to Miami of Ohio. He is surprisingly agile and just crushes defensive backs. Molls, a Padua linebacker/running back who had a huge game against North Olmsted last week, is headed to Ohio University. His teammate, running back DePiero, is getting several Division I looks, but has not made a commitment.
Greenwood, Lake Catholic's all-purpose back, committed to Akron days before breaking his leg and ankle last month, a season-ending injury. He is expected to recover and Akron will honor the scholarship offer. The Zips told Greenwood he will be a wideout.
St. Ignatius wide receiver Connor Ryan has made an oral commitment to play football at Ball State, St. Ignatius coach Chuck Kyle said.
Ryan is a 6-1, 180-pound senior. Ball State has been one of the most active Mid-American Conference schools on the local recruiting front. The Cardinals also have oral commitments from Walsh Jesuit senior tailback/cornerback Armand Dehaney and Amherst senior tailback Brandon Kish.
Recruit under the radar
Brian Underwood, wide receiver
Cleveland Heights HS
Verbal commitment: NC State
This guy could be a real steal for the Wolfpack and a nice snag away from the Big Ten and Big East conferences. Underwood is explosive and shows cat-like quickness, but he is undersized. He is the type of player you want to get in space, involve him in the screen and reverse elements of the offense and utilize his speed and quickness as a punt and kick return man.
As much as we have seen an upswing in the big wide receivers dominating the college landscape, guys like Underwood do seem to be sneaking up and making a splash because of the spread offense. Smaller players are more capable of making people miss and creating mismatches in space, so we would expect guys under 6-0 to continue to have a role, if not an increased one.
Underwood is also a good route runner and if utilized creatively would be a nice addition to any offensive scheme.
stowfan;1291461; said:From my old high school, unusual to see NC State recruiting in NE Ohio..