DE Melvin Fellows (official thread)

[SanAntonioBuck]

Welcome to the Buckeye family, Melvin!

[Moose]

Big Congratulations, and welcome to the buckeye nation!!

Moose

[ScriptOhio]

Originally Posted by osugrad21

He says he felt at home while visiting tOSU.

Welcome home Melvin.

[GrizzlyBuck]

Awesome news, very glad the young man decided to stay and become a Buckeye, doubt very strongly that he'll regret it.

[Oh8ch]

Another reason this is so exciting besides the pure talent Fellows brings.

This is (per Scout) the fifth rated player in Ohio. Of the top 11 we now have 7 with 3 still uncommitted.

IMO for Illinois it is worse than if he had never committed in the first place. What it says is that yes, sometimes Ohio kids decide to go elsewhere. But when they get a chance to think it over they recognize their mistake. Illinois? Good school. But I have better options.

[BuckFanAtAkron]

Welcome to the Buckeye Family

[jazzman]

Originally Posted by Oh8ch

Another reason this is so exciting besides the pure talent Fellows brings.

This is (per Scout) the fifth rated player in Ohio. Of the top 11 we now have 7 with 3 still uncommitted.

IMO for Illinois it is worse than if he had never committed in the first place. What it says is that yes, sometimes Ohio kids decide to go elsewhere. But when they get a chance to think it over they recognize their mistake. Illinois? Good school. But I have better options.

I kindda agree, with the exception of Cordale Scott. It didn't happen last year, and I was certainly worried that this might be the case with Melvin. You never know what Zooker is selling to these kids back in Illinois. I am just ecstatic that Melvin ended up where he belongs.

[Oh8ch]

You never know what Zooker is selling to these kids back in Illinois. I am just ecstatic that Melvin ended up where he belongs

It is interesting that by all accounts Zook is encouraging kids to look around if they are not sure. Gotta respect him for that.

[BeanieWells28]

Welcome to the family, Melvin!!! THIS WEEK HAS BEEN AMAZING, WE ARE LIVING IN THE GOLDEN AGE OF OHIO STATE FOOTBALL RECRUITING! I can't wait to see all these guys develop and pan out to be amazing football players for OSU! GO BUCKS!!!

[buckiprof]

Congrats and welcome back to the Buckeye Nation, not that you ever really left!

Originally Posted by Oh8ch

It is interesting that by all accounts Zook is encouraging kids to look around if they are not sure. Gotta respect him for that.

Absolutely the right approach IMO.

[Buckskin86]

Garfield Heights' Melvin Fellows, left, at Saturday's Ohio State spring game with OSU recruit John Simon. Fellows switched his oral commitment from Illinois to Ohio State today.

Major football recruit Melvin Fellows switches from Illinois to Ohio State
Posted by Doug Lesmerises April 24, 2008

The border has been secured.

Melvin Fellows had been the most prominent Ohio high school football player in the Class of 2009 to escape the grasp of Ohio State coach Jim Tressel, but with a phone call over his lunch break today, Fellows changed all that.

The Garfield Heights defensive end informed Tressel that he was switching his oral commitment from Illinois to the Buckeyes, delivering a blow to the Illini and bringing OSU's growing class to 12 pledges.

"It was very, very, very difficult," said Fellows, who gave the Illini his commitment in December. "I had built a relationship with the coaches, but I was at the point where I was trying to have them feel good and me not feel as good. I was trying to have them feel all happy when it's really about me."

Harvey High receiver Chris Fields, another member of the OSU class, said he knew this switch was coming from his friend.

"I was the only person he told, but I kept it on the down low," Fields said. "I knew a few weeks after his football season that he felt it was the wrong decision."

Fields was also heavily recruited by Illinois and is familiar with the ability of Illini head coach Ron Zook and Wolford to sway players.

"They're really good people when it comes to persuading," Fields said. "They almost caught me, but I went, 'Hey.' Melvin fell in the little hole they got there, but he popped out and now he's a Buckeye."

"But I'm 100 percent sure for Ohio State right now," Fellows said. "I'm not changing."

Major football recruit Melvin Fellows switches from Illinois to Ohio State - Cleveland Sports News – The Latest Breaking News, Game Recaps and Scores from The Plain Dealer

[scarletngray]

For those who have seen Fellows in action, who would you liken his play too? Ben Martin? Lawrence Wilson?

[osugrad21]

DDN

Top prospect drops Illinois, picks OSU


By Staff report

Thursday, April 24, 2008

COLUMBUS ? Melvin Fellows, a senior-to-be from Garfield Heights High School, backed out of a verbal commitment from Illinois and accepted a scholarship from Ohio State on Thursday, April 24.
The 6-foot-5, 255-pound Fellows is considered the top defensive end in Ohio and had scholarship offers from Southern Cal, Michigan and Notre Dame. He's the Buckeyes' 12th commitment in the 2009 class

Cont...

[osugrad21]

CPD

Garfield Heights defensive end Melvin Fellows switches oral commitment from Illinois to Ohio State



Friday, April 25, 2008 Doug Lesmerises

Plain Dealer Reporter
So much for the poacher.
Illinois coach Ron Zook has been chasing the best high school football players in Ohio, and Garfield Heights defensive end Melvin Fellows was the catch of the Illini's 2009 recruiting class, proof that Zook could sneak a great player out of Ohio and away from Ohio State.
That all changed on Thursday with a phone call to Buckeyes coach Jim Tressel.


Cont...

[osugrad21]

Dispatch

Prospect reneges on Illinois, commits to OSU

Friday, April 25, 2008 3:08 AM
By Ken Gordon


THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Ohio State is where Melvin Fellows will play football starting in 2009. Really. He swears. "This is final," he said. "No more."
The defensive end from Garfield Heights orally committed to Illinois in December but switched to Ohio State yesterday. The Buckeyes were among many who offered him a scholarship after his original commitment, and the lure of his in-state school proved too much to resist.
"It was just the right time," Fellows said of announcing his switch. "That's where I wanted to be, so I just think it would be pointless to be making other visits somewhere else."
It is a significant addition for Ohio State, as Fellows is ranked the No. 29 overall prospect in the nation by Rivals.com. Of the 12 players committed to the Buckeyes' class of 2009, seven are ranked in the nation's top 100, according to the recruiting service.



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