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OSU FOOTBALL
Fullback from New York keeps Buckeyes guessing
Wednesday, January 19, 2005
Tim May
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH


Nothing is certain in college football recruiting until national letters of intent are signed, and so it might be with running back Jason Gwaltney.

The prospect from North Babylon, N.Y., said last week that he expected to announce his choice of Ohio State or Southern California this afternoon, two weeks before signing day. But there were several reports late yesterday that he now wants to visit Boston College.

Coming off the strongest performance of any back Saturday in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl in San Antonio, Gwaltney moved to No. 1 on recruiting expert Tom Lemming’s fullback list.

"He was one of the biggest surprises of the week," Lemming said of the 6-foot-2, 220-pound Gwaltney. "He has a chance to be a great player, an instant impact player. I never thought that until I saw him in person."

A week ago, it appeared Ohio State had gotten some sort of indication from Gwaltney that he was OSU-bound. The coaches opted to back off their pursuit of running back Conredege Collins of Miami, telling him they thought they had commitments from two running backs.

Then highly rated Maurice Wells of Jacksonville, Fla., committed to the Buckeyes on Saturday during the game in San Antonio and said afterward he expected to be one of two backs they get.

Of the 15 OSU commitments thus far, only Wells is listed at running back. Even though versatile and speedy Freddie Lenix, a linebacker from Cleveland Glenville, has the potential to carry the ball, it’s believed the coaches have other things in mind for him.

"It’s still very important to Ohio State if it can get (Gwaltney) because he has a chance to be an impact player, but it’s not quite as urgent because the Buckeyes have landed Maurice Wells," said recruiting expert Bill Kurelic of ohiostate.rivals.com. "The thing that was most important was that they get at least a running back in this class."

tmay@dispatch.com