Our Honor Defend

The good news won’t stop for Ohio State recruiting as the Buckeyes’ staff continues to rake in their prime targets at the clip of an impulsive shopaholic. Corey Brown (Monroeville, PA), a defensive back/wideout prospect and teammate of Buckeye commit Dorian Bell, has just become the 21st verbal in the 2009 class.  The news of the verbal was delivered at an impromptu presser just moments ago.

Corey Brown received his offer in the second week of May amidst the fallout of Darrell Givens’ decommitment.  Immediately after receiving word of the offer, Corey Brown put the Buckeyes at the top of his list and almost assuredly made it known, if implicitly, he would be joining Dorian Bell at Ohio State in 2009.  For those unaware of the broader story of the offer, there were several indicators that Corey would be joining Dorian at Ohio State.  First, in the buildup to the Spring Game, Dorian was talking less about whether or not he would be attending Ohio State and more about the possibility of Ohio State eventually offering Corey.  Further, when Dorian committed to Ohio State at his presser, Corey was holding up an Ohio State flag in the background.  And further, when Corey finally received his offer from Ohio State, he noted it was the offer he coveted the most.  An impromptu presser was pushed forward to today, with Corey publicly revealing what had been a long time coming.

Corey Brown is a tweener at the moment, but it looks like he will end up as a defensive back, where his 6’2 size figures to give him an advantage going forward.  Interestingly enough, Corey appeared to have made wideout his preferred position, leaving me to suspect he would get an offer if something fell through with James Jackson or Duron Carter.  However, Jim Tressel visited Corey during May and confirmed to him they want him as a defensive back.

What makes this offer even more intriguing is that Corey Brown is one of the fastest rising recruits on Rivals.com’s Rivals100 list for 2009.  All rankings are subject to change, of course, and Corey might be another victim of the unfortunate Rivals.com Buckeye bounce (where highly-prized recruits tend to get knocked down a few notches in a stochastic manner on the Rivals.com rankings after committing to Ohio State).  However, Corey Brown really impressed at the State College Nike Camp awhile back, where he dominated at both wideout and defensive back and was named MVP of all the defensive backs.

Further, with current rankings, the Buckeyes now have an outstanding 8 in the Rivals.com Rivals100 at the moment, counting Corey Brown.  On the list: Dorian Bell (#23), Jamie Wood (#26), Melvin Fellows (#28), CJ Barnett (#56), Jordan Whiting (#57), Justin Green (#67), Corey Brown (#73), and Chris Fields (#95). Nobody else has any more than 5 (USC being that school).

This might be the golden age of Buckeye recruiting, with all things considered.

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