Ohio State football: Fellows, Hall, Newsome and more recruiting
Posted by Doug Lesmerises April 23, 2008
Here's a little more information about where three remaining Ohio State targets from Northeast Ohio stand in their recruitment.
Melvin Fellows, defensive end, Garfield Heights, 6-foot-5, 245 pounds, ranked as No. 82 prospect by Scout.com and No. 29 by the just updated ratings at Rivals.com.
Fellows is the type of kid who appears to be enjoying the recruiting process and the idea of being wanted. Who wouldn't?
"It's not tough at all," he said. "I take it all in stride, that everyone would love to have at least one scholarship offer. I take it like I'm blessed."
When Notre Dame joined the list of schools offering Fellows a scholarship in February, he made sure that word got out. That's what helps throw into question his oral commitment delivered to Illinois in December, though he takes some offense at any perception that he made a rash decision.
"Everyone asks, 'Did you commit because they were the first school that offered you?'" Fellows said. "They don't understand that I was offered after my sophomore year. So I thought long and hard about that."
And he's continuing to think. His visit to Ohio State's spring game on Saturday went well, but he's hanging with the Illini for now.
"It's not a sprint, it's a marathon. And I'm going to take my time," said Fellows, though if he's not switching, with signing day 10 months away, his work should be done.
While the buzz continues to grow that he'll wind up a Buckeye, he's clear about his attraction to the Illini.
"It seemed like everyone had a real comfortable role with their coach, even if a person doesn't start," Fellows said. "There's a defensive end from our school (Sirod Williams), and usually if a person's not starting they always have bad things to say about the coach. But Sirod, he said everything good about the coach. He loves it down there, and I like the way that Ron Zook cares about the players. I love the atmosphere down there. And they have a great academic side.
"I think Illinois could make a mark because it's an up-and-coming program. They're going to win games in the future. You've got to look at that. You've got to go somewhere where you want to win."
The Illini are focused on being that next option for any Ohio kid who doesn't want to follow the crowd, who wants to go somewhere different but still close enough for friends and family to get to games. Fellows has to determine if he's one of those guys, but if is, he wouldn't mind some company.
"I'm one of the top players in Ohio, but everyone is not going to go where one person is going," Fellows said. "But if I go to Illinois I want a lot of people to go there from Ohio so we can bond a little bit. I think that would help."
