Detroit (Mich.) Southeastern is rolling along in the state playoffs and a big reason has been the play of their defense, lead by junior William Gholston. Gholston, one of the top underclassmen in the Midwest, received his third offer today.
"I just got that offer from Wisconsin," he reported.
He now has offers from the Badgers, Michigan and Michigan State.
A pair of defensive ends from Illinois received offers this week. Oak Park River Forest's Mark Willis picked up an offer from Miami (Ohio). The Redhawks are the third team to offer him along with Akron and Eastern Illinois.
The Panthers of Eastern Illinois also offered Marian Catholic's Joshua Forney. That was Forney's first offer, although several schools are showing interest, including Ball State, Northern Illinois and others.
Staying in the MAC, Ball State has had a great season so far and it is showing in recruiting as well. The Cardinals picked up another verbal commitment last week when Warren Central RB Eric Williams pledged to Brady Hoke and co. The 5'11, 200-lb back had offers from Northern Illinois, Eastern Michigan and others, but couldn't pass up the opportunity to stay close to home and play for an up and coming program.
The Central Michigan Chippewas are another MAC team who have done well on the field and in recruiting. This week, the Chips extended an offer to one of the top juniors in Michigan, Warren Fitzgerald linebacker Austin Gray. The 6'3, 220-lb backer now has offers from CMU, Purdue and Toledo.
Virginia Tech picked up a big commitment this week when Lynchburg, Va., product Logan Thomas decided to give a verbal pledge to the Hokie coaching staff. The 6-foot-6, 220-pound athlete from Brookville High School is the No. 3 ranked tight end in the nation and will give them an explosive player to work off of the line, in the slot or spread out wide on offense.
Scout.com traveled to Manheim, Pa., to see junior linebacker Dakota Royer on Friday night and he did not disappoint, catching 5 catches for 112 yards, scoring two touchdowns and making 8.5 tackles on the night. Royer currently has offers from Penn State, Pittsburgh and Maryland and is hearing a lot from both LSU and Notre Dame.
With the recent shake up in Knoxville, plenty of recruits are reacting to the resignation of Phillip Fulmer on the east coast. Scout.com spoke with Damien Thigpen, Je’Ron Stokes and Tajh Boyd, all three of whom are currently going to be staying with Vols for now.
West Virginia verbal commitment Chris Snook enjoyed a great night helping Highland’s High School (Ohio) to the next round of the Ohio Division II State Playoffs. For the night Snook rushed for 175 yards and two touchdowns on 31 carries while also showing his ability on defense by blocking a punt and pulling down an interception then returning it for a score.
Cincinnati (Ohio) Withrow running back Jelani Alford has issued his verbal commitment to MAC leader Ball State after looking at several programs. Alford, a 5-foot-10, 175-pound back has speed and great cutting ability and should help Ball State continue to be one of the MAC’s top programs.
Sophomore running backs Tyler Williams and Trayon Durham showed why many feel Colerain could make a return trip to Canton for the Division One State Championship game in their performance against Huber Heights Wayne. Combined the two rushed for 193 yards with Williams scoring three touchdowns. Colerain will play Cincinnati Elder this Saturday at the University of Cincinnati’s Nippert Stadium.
University of Cincinnati verbal commitment Josh Jones helped Elder advance to the Region Four finals next Saturday by pulling down 4 passes for 98 yards against Clayton Northmont.
In Division II play Columbus (Ohio) DeSales ended the season ranked at the top team in Ohio with Louisville at number two. The two teams will match-up this week in what should be one of the better games of the playoffs this year. DeSales has several major prospects including Davon Custis.
Ohio State verbal commitment Storm Klein showed he is driven to make a return to the state championship game by rushing for 20 times and picking up 188 yards and three touchdowns. Klein and his Licking Valley (Ohio) teammates came up short last season losing in the state championship game to Big Walnut.
Give Pickerington Central head coach Jay Sharrett some credit for using his horses. Sharrett has three Big Ten verbal commitments in Zach Boren, Jamie Wood (Ohio State) and Patrick White (Michigan State). Trailing at the half the head coach placed all three players in the backfield and force fed them the ball one play after another turning the scoreboard in his favor as his team advanced 24-16 over Upper Arlington.
Former Withrow High School (Cincinnati, Ohio) wide receiver Jamar Howard signed with Cincinnati in the Class of 2006. The NCAA waited until the night before Cincinnati’s season opener to declare Howard wasn’t eligible and would have to go the Junior College route. Now Howard is set to return giving Cincinnati his verbal commitment and turning away programs like Florida State and California to name a few.
In a rematch of one of Ohio’s best games of the season Cleveland (Ohio) St. Ignatius defeated Cleveland (Ohio) Glenville 8-7 in a wild and crazy game. The two teams battled all night in front of 9,000 fans. Seamus Hennessey’s 37-yard field goal with 6:11 to go was the points needed by Ignatius to advance to the Region One championship game next Saturday.
Cincinnati (Ohio) Winton Woods junior quarterback Dominique Brown is making a name for himself during the team’s playoff run. Often overlooked with three verbal commitments, Brown is the heart of the Winton Woods offense helping them advance to the regional final with two touchdown performance.
Franklin-Simpson (Kentucky) quarterback Courtney Dalcourt helped knock off one of the favorites to win a state championship in the Commonwealth of Kentucky to close out the regular season. Dalcourt, who has yet to make his verbal commitment ran for 85 yards and threw for 91 yards during a 17-7 victory over defending champ Fort Campbell. The victory snapped a 22-game winning streak by Fort Campbell. Despite the loss many feel Fort Campbell is a team to beat for state.
Fort Thomas Highlands (Kentucky) used the arm of senior quarterback Tony Guidugli (11-15-220) and the legs of junior athlete Austin Collinsworth (85 yard kickoff return for touchdown) in a 28-0 victory to close out the regular season. The Bluebirds are looking to win another state championship this year after winning one last season and being one of Kentucky’s top prep programs.