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Jody Demling - Recruiting

Whiting said he is still committed to Ohio State and noted that "it's the place I want to go," but said that hasn't stopped other schools from keeping tabs on him.

"Any college that I talk to, I let them know up front that I've made my verbal commitment to Ohio State and a lot of coaches come to me and say that being only a junior they're not going to give up. A of schools tell me I still have some time.

"But I've told them all up front, Ohio State is definitely where I want to go."

Whiting said a number of schools are showing interest, including a lot from Louisville and Kentucky. He said he also has an offer from Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino, whose sons played at Trinity when he was in Louisville.

Alabama, Tennessee, USC, Georgia, Georgia Tech, North Carolina, Virginia and Virginia Tech are other schools showing interest in the Rivals.com No. 49 ranked player in the country.

But even with all of the love other schools are showing Whiting, he's still firm on his commitment to the Buckeyes. He was the first commitment in the Class of '09 for Ohio State, which now has five verbal commitments.

"I have a lot of family there and it's a place where I want to go to get my degree and it's a great school for my major (business and sports management)," Whiting said. "It's the best business school possibly available to me. It's the best fit for me."

On his trip to Columbus this weekend, Whiting said he had a chance to meet and hang out with some of the Buckeyes' top targets for next year. He also watched the Ohio State vs. Michigan wrestling match with fellow '09 linebacker commitment Storm Klein and Ohio State All-American linebacker James Laurinaitis.

"I am getting comfortable being there," he said. "I got a chance to talk to coach (Jim) Tressel and look around some more. I really like it there."