West Virginia RB Jason Gwaltney (official thread)

[Holy Buckeye!]

Nutty, Mili, Llyod, and any of the other good recruiting helpers, any word on this 230lb runner?

[crazybuckfan40]

I am not one of them but there hasnt been anything new about this bruiser.

[jimotis4heisman]

Jan 15th at the AA game he is announcing so I would be suprised if there is any big news until then.

[jimotis4heisman]

Dispatch article today has a blurb on him

http://www.dispatch.com/football/foo...201-B1-03.html

"Kurelic said Ohio State’s ideal scenario would be to land Wells and Jason Gwaltney, a bigger back (6-0, 230) from North Babylon, N.Y. Gwaltney verbally committed to West Virginia but is apparently still on the open market, making all five of his official visits. He came to OSU on Oct. 30."

[BuckNutty]

Originally Posted by jimotis4heisman

Dispatch article today has a blurb on him

http://www.dispatch.com/football/foo...201-B1-03.html

"Jonathan Stewart of Lacey, Wash., would be a big prize, but he appears more likely to stay closer to home.

"I tend to doubt he ends up in this class, but he’s on the radar," Kurelic said. "

Wrong bruiser, Jim.

[jimotis4heisman]

i fixed it nutty my bad

[Taosman]

Can somebody please print the whole Dispatch article?*******

[bucknut11]

It's a $$$ site. I don't think we can post pay site material on here.

[jimotis4heisman]

thats it on him, i posted a bit on each of the four big backs, so reference the mo wells, ringer, and stewart threads

[wadc45]

OSU FOOTBALL
Big victory over Michigan impresses RB prospect
Wednesday, December 01, 2004
Ken Gordon
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
<!--PHOTOS--><TABLE class=phototableright align=right border=0><!-- begin large ad code --><TBODY><TR><TD id=story-ad><SCRIPT ********************1.1 src="http://adsrv.dispatch.com/RealMedia/ads/adstream_jx.ads/www.dispatch.com/osufootball@Position1" type=text/**********></SCRIPT> <NOSCRIPT> </NOSCRIPT></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>



Beating Michigan soundly in front of a raucous crowd might end up paying dividends for Ohio State far beyond this season.

Prized running-back recruit Maurice Wells just happened to make his official visit Nov. 20 and came away sounding in awe of the atmosphere.

"There were 100,000 people in the stands," Wells said yesterday from his Jacksonville, Fla., home. "I’d never seen anything like that before. I liked what I saw."

Wells is one of several key players the Buckeyes are pursuing during the final big push to complete the 2005 recruiting class. Starting Sunday, in-home visits were allowed, and Ohio State coaches have scattered across the nation.

Signing day is Feb. 2, and Ohio State needs running backs badly.

With the departure of seniors Lydell Ross, Maurice Hall and fullback/tailback Branden Joe after the Alamo Bowl, the Buckeyes will have just two scholarship tailbacks on the roster for next season: Antonio Pittman and Erik Haw.

Pittman showed promise as a freshman this season, running for 378 yards in part-time duty. Haw was redshirted.

At a big-time program, that’s about as bare as a cupboard gets at such a key position.

"I think without a doubt signing at least one running back is a priority (for Ohio State)," said Bill Kurelic, publisher of Ohio Football Recruiting News and Midwest Football Recruiting News. "Preferably, they’d like two. They’d like to get a power back and more of a speed guy."

Wells, at 5 feet 9, 185 pounds, fits more into the speed category. He rushed for more than 3,000 yards in 2003 and 1,800 this season despite sitting out several games.

Wells said Buckeyes coach Jim Tressel is due for an in-home visit within the week, as well as receivers coach Darrell Hazell.

He said he will choose between Ohio State and Georgia Tech and announce his choice Jan. 15 at the U.S. Army All-American game in San Antonio.

"I feel like I would have an opportunity to come in and play right away," Wells said of Ohio State. "That’s always good."

Kurelic said Ohio State’s ideal scenario would be to land Wells and Jason Gwaltney, a bigger back (6-0, 230) from North Babylon, N.Y.

Gwaltney verbally committed to West Virginia but is apparently still on the open market, making all five of his official visits. He came to OSU on Oct. 30.

Jonathan Stewart of Lacey, Wash., would be a big prize, but he appears more likely to stay closer to home.

"I tend to doubt he ends up in this class, but he’s on the radar," Kurelic said.

An interesting story is Javon Ringer of Dayton Chaminade-Julienne. Ringer rushed for 1,776 yards and 20 touchdowns in seven games before suffering a torn knee ligament.

OSU coaches have let Ringer know they want him but have not offered a scholarship. Academic concerns appear to be the holdup.

Apparently, Ringer may fall in the gray area between being an NCAA qualifier but not meeting Ohio State’s increasingly high standards.

Chaminade-Julienne coach Jim Place said Ringer wants to play for Ohio State but is on the verge of moving on to another choice, perhaps Michigan State. "Our lines are still open (to Ohio State)," Place said. "We’re just trying to work through the things that need to be done."

[Buckskin86]

Insiders premium

He is currently visiting UCF but Coach Hazell had an in-home visit with Jason earlier this week. He really gets along with Coach Hazell and is impressed with the rest of the tOSU coaching staff. Later in the article he mentions his bond with the coaching staff as a determing factor in his final decsion.

He said it will probably come down to tOSU, USC and WVU. He still has to visit USC and WVU

[crazybuckfan40]

I think we have a good chance on him, the only things that worries me is does he want to come in with another top ten back and compete for the job. If he goes to USC there will be competition along with some at WV were Pernell Williams has been impressive.

[tsteele316]

Originally Posted by crazybuckfan40

I think we have a good chance on him, the only things that worries me is does he want to come in with another top ten back and compete for the job. If he goes to USC there will be competition along with some at WV were Pernell Williams has been impressive.

osu currently doesnt have a top ten back committed. we all feel good about wells, but he isnt deciding until the same day as gwaltny. that wont be an issue. osu is going to need to get JT to NY for an in-home sometime before the AA game.

[crazybuckfan40]

Originally Posted by tsteele316

osu currently doesnt have a top ten back committed. we all feel good about wells, but he isnt deciding until the same day as gwaltny. that wont be an issue. osu is going to need to get JT to NY for an in-home sometime before the AA game.

I know that, but HH talks like he is ours and we all feel that way. Also they will probably talk at the game and one will know where the other is going which could be the deciding factor.

[tsteele316]

Originally Posted by crazybuckfan40

I know that, but HH talks like he is ours and we all feel that way. Also they will probably talk at the game and one will know where the other is going which could be the deciding factor.

do you really think that gwaltny would decide after his wvu visit that he wants to go to osu, then a week later talk to mo wells hours before he announces on national tv, finds out wells is going to osu, then changes his mind and announces for somebody else?

i dont see that happening. i also dont see gwaltny coming to osu anyway, so it doesnt matter.