Columbus lineman commits to OSU

1/20/2014
BY DAVID BRIGGS
BLADE SPORTS WRITER

COLUMBUS — As far as safety options went, Brady Taylor had it made.

The offensive tackle from Columbus was committed to play football at Virginia Tech and held scholarship offers from Michigan State, West Virginia, and Wisconsin among others. All pursued the three-star prospect harder than Ohio State, which viewed Taylor as a nice backup plan.

But if Taylor’s dream school up the road ever offered, there would be no hard feelings.

That invitation came last week, and on Monday the three-star Bishop Ready prospect announced he is joining the Buckeyes’ hyped 2014 recruiting class.

"Growing up I was always told to follow my dreams," Taylor wrote on Twitter. "I am officially committed to THE Ohio State University."

Taylor flipped from Virginia Tech to become the Buckeyes’ 22nd commitment, adding late depth to one of the nation’s top classes. Back-to-back top-five hauls could give way to coach Urban Meyer’s most heralded one yet, with OSU’s roster of commits ranked second behind only Alabama by Rivals.com and 247Sports.com and third by Scout.com.

In the latest Rivals rankings released, the Buckeyes had eight recruits ranked among the top 100 nationally. The rest of the Big Ten claimed four. (SEC teams, by comparison, have commits from 38 of the top 100 prospects.)

The 6-foot-5, 280-pound Taylor is the Buckeyes’ fifth offensive line commit, joining four-star recruits Jamarco Jones (Chicago), Demetrius Knox (Fort Worth, Texas), Marcelys Jones (Cleveland Glenville), and Kyle Trout (Lancaster, Ohio). Rivals ranks Taylor the nation’s No. 58 tackle prospect and the No. 46 overall recruit in Ohio.

National signing day is Feb. 5.

HEAD START: Five-star freshman Raekwon McMillan headlines the commits already on OSU’s campus for today’s first session of winter conditioning.

McMillan, a Hinesville, Ga., native billed as the nation’s top inside linebacker, is one of the Buckeyes’ seven early enrollees. He is joined by Jones, Trout, quarterback Stephen Collier (Leesburg, Ga.), receiver Johnnie Dixon (West Palm Beach, Fla.), receiver Curtis Samuel (Brooklyn, N.Y.), and kicker Sean Nuernberger (Buckner, Ky.).