Ohio State football: A Lamarcus Joyner recruiting update on Terrelle Pryor's OSU anniversary
by Doug Lesmerises
Thursday March 19, 2009
Wish your fellow Ohio State fans Happy Terrelle Pryor Day. It was one year ago today that Pryor made his final official announcement and signed his National Letter of Intent to attend Ohio State.
In honor of that, a quick recruiting story on a top 10 talent the Buckeyes are chasing for the Class of 2010.
Florida cornerback Lamarcus Joyner was just ranked as the No. 7 player in the country by Rivals.com and lists Ohio State as his leader at this point, with Alabama, USC, Florida and Florida State also in a top five. But he also called that top five "wishy-washy" and recently told a Georgia recruiting site that the Bulldogs had replaced USC in that group.
The Buckeyes were in early on Joyner, and though he's trying to narrow his field from among his 23 offers while still moving schools in and out of his list, Ohio State is maintaining his interest.
In an interview this week, Joyner said two of the things drawing him toward Columbus are Ohio State's history with defensive backs and his impression of safeties coach Paul Haynes.
"The first thing is how many DBs they produce," Joyner said. "And Coach Paul Haynes is a great guy. They made me feel real comfortable.
"I talked to Coach Haynes and of all the coaches at all the schools who talked to me, he talked to me for like an hour and 30 minutes about the great things Ohio State has to offer. Not only the football things they have to offer me, but like character building and stuff like that."
It doesn't hurt that Joyner plays at St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Fort Lauderdale, the same school that just sent receiver Duron Carter to Ohio State. Joyner said he is friends with both Carter and incoming OSU freshman running Jaamal Berry.
Joyner is headed to Georgia this weekend, and another trip on his itinerary is Ohio State's spring game on April 25. Joyner believes he has a great ability to read people and thinks first-hand knowledge of a school and potential future teammates will tell him what he needs to know.
"I believe that will be a strong test to see where I'm at," Joyner said.
But, like Pryor, Joyner isn't planning on an early decision.
"I would like to take my time on it. Recruiting is going to be sweet. Everyone is trying to make you feel like you're at home, make you feel like a special person. And I want to get into it and take my visits," Joyner said.