College Signings
Scores of area athletes moving on to next level
After Urban Meyer was hired as Ohio State’s football coach in late November, some recruits such as Cleveland Heights High School offensive lineman Kyle Dodson decided to rescind their previous commitments and sign with the Buckeyes on Feb. 1.
The process leading up to national signing day was far different for players such as DeSales running back Warren Ball, Olentangy outside linebacker Joshua Perry, Pickerington Central offensive lineman Jacoby Boren and Upper Arlington wide receiver Frank Epitropoulos.
Those four were among five athletes from the 2012 class who verbally committed to play for the Buckeyes when Jim Tressel still was the coach.
They then watched as Tressel was relieved of his duties last May and Ohio State stumbled to a 6-7 finish under interim coach Luke Fickell.
Despite the ups and downs, Ball wouldn’t trade where he and his future teammates are now.
“When you’re dedicated through something you might experience adversity, but if you stick with it, nothing but good things will happen,” said Ball, who is the No. 9-ranked big back according to MaxPreps.com and is considered a four-star recruit by both Rivals.com and Scout.com. “It’s really been a great process so far, especially the way Ohio State has been picking up some nice recruits.”
Joining Ball, Boren, Epitropoulos and Perry as Buckeyes on signing day were Pickerington North offensive lineman Pat Elflein and Lancaster linebacker Luke Roberts. Pickerington Central’s Roger Lewis was among Ohio State’s earlier verbal commitments before off-the-field issues over the past few weeks prevented him from signing.
For players like Perry and Ball, who grew up Ohio State fans, electing to stick with the Buckeyes wasn’t a difficult decision. Epitropoulos grew up in Upper Arlington and is the son of a former Ohio State player, while Boren has two older brothers who played for the Buckeyes.
“I knew I was going to get the best in terms of coaching because it was the Ohio State University and I knew we’d get good bowl games in the future,” Perry said. “It’s been an adjustment, but it was always what I wanted to do.”
•ALSO BIG-TIMING IT — This season’s crop of central Ohio signings in the Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I-A) and Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) lines up similarly to those of previous years.
On signing day, there were numerous players who joined Mid-American Conference programs, a few who chose service academies or Ivy League schools and a handful who will play for major programs.
In both 2009 and 2011, there were 13 players who signed with schools that are members of Bowl Championship Series conferences. Ten did so in 2010 and this year.
While this class might stand out because so many signed with the Buckeyes, the others who signed with BCS schools had plenty to celebrate as well on signing day.
Dublin Jerome wide receiver Cameron Wilson, according to coach Mark Hundley, holds every school record for receiving.
He finished his prep career with 176 catches and 21 touchdowns and became the first player from the school to sign with a BCS program.
“Certain schools made me feel more at home, but I definitely looked for schools that acted like they wanted me,” said Wilson, who signed with Iowa over Illinois, Michigan State and Notre Dame. “It’s always been a dream of mine (to sign with a major college program) and I’m really happy for the opportunity to play under coach (Kirk) Ferentz.”
Others to sign with BCS programs were Olentangy offensive lineman Kenton Playko (Northwestern), Thomas Worthington defensive back Nana Kyeremeh (West Virginia) and Marion-Franklin defensive lineman Terrell Jackson (Pittsburgh).
Playko was one of four players from Ohio to sign with the Wildcats, who lost the Meineke Car Care Bowl to Texas A&M 33-22 on Dec. 31 to finish with a 6-7 record.
Playko will attempt to help Northwestern win its first bowl game since the 1949 Rose Bowl.
According to Rivals, Northwestern had the ninth-best recruiting class among the 12 schools in the Big Ten.
“I can’t wait,” Playko said. “All of the guys we recruited are awesome.”
Jackson was part of what Rivals ranked as the third-best recruiting class in the Big East behind Rutgers and Louisville, while West Virginia was ranked fourth.
•CEREMONIALLY SKILLED — Both the DeSales football and Jerome girls soccer programs did their respective best to make large ceremonies seem smaller on signing day.
Ball and teammates R.J. Ball (Butler), Charles Chandler (Kent State), Jalen Noble (Air Force) and Alex Washington (Navy) gave DeSales a larger-than-usual number of FBS and FCS recruits.
“I think we had four in 2007 and 2009,” coach Ryan Wiggins said. “It’s certainly exciting for our program and exciting for our kids. It’s something that the younger kids look up to.”
The talent that Jerome continues to produce in girls soccer won’t be fully realized until next season when it is expected to have three players sign with major Division I programs, including junior Lindsey Agnew with Ohio State.
At this year’s ceremony, Courtney Kobashigawa highlighted a group of four members of the 2012 class to sign with Division I programs when she committed to Kentucky. Joining her were Abbey Drake (Duquesne), Katie Mazurek (Miami University) and Amelia Robison (Akron).
“This area is developing a lot of really strong soccer players,” coach Josh Brader said. “All four are very good leaders and are very team-oriented. It was a really strong class around central Ohio, but I don’t know if there’s any team around here that has four girls at this level.”
