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K Drew Basil (Cleveland Gladiators)

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CHS kicker Basil verbally commits to Buckeyes
The Gazette Staff ? July 4, 2009

When Drew Basil pulled into Ohio State, he already had an offer from Kentucky in his pocket.

He also had some work to do.

"What happened, I went to their camp, which was two days - the 17th and 18th," Basil said. "On the 17th, I was at Kentucky that day, and that's when I got my offer from them. So I went to Ohio State, and I didn't do much kicking that first day. (The second day), I knew I would have to blow everybody out of the water."

Apparently, that's just what he did.

Based largely on that one-day performance at OSU, Basil was given an offer to continue his football career with the Buckeyes.

This past Thursday, he made it official. The Chillicothe High School kicker has verbally committed to becoming a Buckeye even before two-a-days start for his senior season.

"It's an honor. It sure is," he said. "And by me committing before my senior season, I think it will help me relax. I still have to perform my best, but this is one thing that I won't have to think about."

Basil got good feedback from his short performance at OSU.

"I had probably my best kicking day that Thursday (the second day of the camp)," he said. "I was getting good height off the ball, even kicking off the ground. Then, at the end we did kickoffs. And that was when our legs were tired, but I had probably my best kickoff day too. Just about every one of them went to the 5 or into the end zone, which they seemed to like."

Long known as a standout on the soccer field, a future in football developed late for Basil.

"I actually learned how to kick back in the fifth grade," he said. "My brother went to a camp at Thomas More College, and Doug Pelfrey was down there teaching the kids. I think I learned more from that than my brother did.

"I didn't kick on a (football) team until my eighth grade year, but I think soccer has been a huge help in the transition to football."
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CHS kicker Basil verbally commits to Buckeyes | chillicothegazette.com | Chillicothe Gazette
 
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Put the game on his toe
Chillicothe kicker Drew Basil wants to be the hero on the field

BY LANCE CRANMER
Special to the Gazette
August 26, 2009

Oh man, I think they'll be surprised," laughed Basil, the Chillicothe senior kicker-slash-punter. "Most people get the paper and expect to see the quarterback or a linebacker or some other position."


Basil, however, is not just a kicker. He's a phenomenon. He's a Chillicothe legend-in-the-making. Like those who arrived immediately before him -- Caleb Knights and Chris Givens on the football field; Anthony Hitchens in basketball or Seth Dawes in baseball.

Last year, Basil accounted for 59 points, on 8-of-14 field goals and 35-of-37 PATs. He's scored 139 points in his career and averages 40.2 yards per punt. He also booted a school-record 50-yard field goal last year.

But a kicker -- on the cover?

"It means a lot," Basil said, of the honor. "It's just crazy to think how much a kicker means to the team. How much everybody respects me, even likes me to put me as a captain and think of me as a leader of the team."

But it does make sense.

With a full year left ahead of him, Basil already is the program's all-time leading scorer. Last year, he was an all-league, all-district and second-team All-Ohioan. And there is the small matter of Basil being a future kicker at Ohio State University.
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BECOMING A BUCKEYE
Drew Basil was sitting in a parking lot in West Lafayette, Ind., preparing himself to go in and put on a kicking display for the coaching staff at Purdue University.

"I was in their parking lot getting ready to go into their camp," he said. "I was supposed to call (Ohio State's) coach that morning, Coach Gillum, who is the recruiting coordinator I believe. That's when they offered me. In the parking lot.

"He told me to call Coach Tressel then, so I called Coach Tressel from Purdue's parking lot. When he answered the phone, he knew it was me. That's just a cool feeling."

When Basil made the call to Columbus, Tressel made his intentions very clear.

"He said, 'Now, you know, we want you to be a Buckeye. And we're going to do everything we can to make that happen,'" Basil said.

And then? What about the Boilermakers?

"I just went in and had a great day. I was smiling the whole time," Basil said. "I was kicking the ball great. Just having fun."

While Ohio State's offer hit the table that morning in late June, it wasn't official just yet.

"It was down to the five schools that had offered me, which were Air Force, Purdue, Kentucky, Cincinnati and Ohio State," Basil said.

But OSU was the front-runner.

"Mostly. After I got the offer, I wanted to make sure I went and saw the campus and everything before I made a decision," he said. "The other four schools that had offered me, I'd gotten a tour of the campus and had seen the facilities and everything.

"I had to make sure it was the right choice. If they didn't have what I wanted academically, it probably wouldn't have been as good of an option as it was."
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Put the game on his toe | chillicothegazette.com | Chillicothe Gazette
 
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HighSchoolSports.net Game Stats

Two XPs and a 40-yard field goal for Basil...
 
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Drew Basil - College Football Recruiting 2010 - ESPN

Basil has drawn great college interest this past spring and summer. He is solid kicking and punting prospect. His ability to be powerful and smooth has impressed multiple college programs. Drew has a motion that is easily repeatable. A BCS-Conference school would be very happy to land the Ohio native.
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Great evaluation...a BCS school already landed him...
 
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Big plays bite Cavaliers against Wilmington | chillicothegazette.com | Chillicothe Gazette

After Drew Basil buried a 30-yard field goal less than five minutes into the first quarter, it took Wilmington only 10 seconds to respond in a big way.
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Basil then knocked through his second field goal of the night -- this time from 47 yards out -- to make it a 22-point game, but Wilmington responded again, this time early in the fourth when Rollins rushed in from 19 yards out for his third all-purpose touchdown of the day.
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Blue Devils top Cavaliers 14-7 | zanesvilletimesrecorder.com | Zanesville Times Recorder

The Blue Devils' biggest play until that final drive was one that almost didn't happen. After forcing the Cavaliers to punt on their first possession of the game, Chillicothe punter Drew Basil pinned Zanesville inside its own 20.

But an illegal procedure penalty against the Cavaliers brought that kick back and set the table for a 78-yard punt return by Michael Lynn. That set the table for a 2-yard touchdown run by Gladden. The Blue Devils missed the extra point, but still held onto a 6-0 lead
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On the other side, Chillicothe didn't do much either. The Cavaliers responded to Zanesville's first-quarter touchdown with a 45-yard field goal by Basil to cut the Blue Devils' lead in half with about four minutes to go in the first quarter.
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Halfway through the third quarter, Basil missed a 49-yard field goal, but Zanesville went backward on its first two plays of the ensuing possession, setting up a fourth-and-19 punting situation for the Blue Devils. But the snap went over everybody's head, and Lynn, Zanesville's punter, pooched it out of the back of the end zone for a safety.
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