No real big surprises in this free update from Bucknuts' Gary Housteau, but it's sure nice to read.....
http://ohiostate.scout.com/2/331284.html
It wasn’t more than a couple of days after Glenville lost to Canton McKinley in the state semi-finals, a game that <!--Default NodeId For Jim Tressel is 1192476,2004-->
Jim Tressel himself attended, that <!--Default NodeId For Mel Tucker is 1192464,2004-->
Mel Tucker came to see <!--Default NodeId For Freddie Lenix is 843538,2004-->
Freddie Lenix at his school and offered him a football scholarship to attend <!--Default For Ohio State is to ignore-->Ohio State.
“Yeah they offered me,” Lenix said. “Coach Tucker came to the school and told me the whole situation, why it took so long for me to be offered. He said that they wanted everybody on the coaching staff to feel good about having me.
“They told me that they had their eyes on me for a long time but it was just the whole thing about having the whole coaching, and not just a couple of coaches, want me.”
When the much-coveted offered finally came his way, Lenix said he just took it in stride even though he couldn’t have been any happier.
“When they offered me, I took it like any other offer. But it meant a little bit more to me because it gives me a chance to represent my state,” Lenix said. “I’m really excited about it. And I was just thinking about my son at the time because it gives me a chance to be closer to home now.”
But first Lenix had a couple of official visits that he had to honor before he did anything else. “I accepted the offer and told them it would be a pleasure to play for them,” he said. “But I’m not going to commit right now because I feel like I’ve worked hard to get all of these offers that I got and I’m going to go their school and check it out. I worked hard for all of this so I’m just going to go and enjoy my visits.”
Iowa was his first official visit last weekend.
“Iowa was a nice visit. The coaches and everyone showed me a very nice time. And the players,” Lenix said. “Iowa was an important visit to me because they were a school that I’ve been looking at for a while now.”
He’ll go to <!--Default For Michigan State is to ignore-->Michigan State this coming weekend.
“When I go to this visit I’ll just do what I’m going to do at every other school,” Lenix said. “I’m going to go look at the campus and see how I like the players and the coaches and focus on the recruiting process.”
And after the new year, Lenix will venture to Columbus, with his Tarblooder teammate Jamario O’Neal, on the first weekend in January for his official visit to <!--Default For Ohio is to ignore-->Ohio State.
“It’ll be a really nice visit to go on even though I’ve been on the Ohio State campus a lot at their games,” he said. “But it will give me a chance to look at more than just the field. It’s really exciting but I’m excited to go on all of my visits. But you could say that this one’s a little special.”
Lenix said that Ohio State is interested in him as a safety or a running back. “There’s still a chance that I will play linebacker but they mostly see me as a safety or a running back,” he said. “I feel confident about that because it’ll give me a chance to show what I can do at other positions. But none of that matters to me right now. I got the offer.”
After his visit to Ohio State, Lenix has a banquet with the Touchdown Club in Columbus on Jan. 17 in which he’s a candidate for the honor of being the state’s defensive player of the year. And then he has a tentative visit with <!--Default For North Carolina is to ignore-->North Carolina set for the end of January but he’s uncertain if he’ll make there at this time.
“I’ll decide where I’m going sometime after I go to Ohio State,” said Lenix who mentioned that no one from Ohio State has put any time constraint on him making a verbal commitment. “After I take my visit there, that’s when I’m going to really nail down what school I’m going to go to.”
Lenix, however, is very appreciative of the support that he’s received from Ohio State fans who have been clamoring for him to get an offer. There were many times, even recently, that he thought he might never get offered by the Buckeyes. “It’s a big relief and I just want to thank everyone for supporting me and wondering why I wasn’t getting an offer,” Lenix said. “But now that I got the offer I just want to tell them that there’s a strong chance of me being a Buckeye.”
