OSU Buckeyes

Motivation has never been tough for defensive end George Brown Jr. (Cincinnati/Colerain).

With over 25 offers already, the 6-foot-6, 255-pound sophomore is hardly a secret in the recruiting world.

The one offer missing is from the big in-state school, and Brown is making sure Ohio State sees what it needs to see in him.

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Throughout the next few months, BuckeyeNation will look further into those juniors offered by Ohio State.

We’ll give as much detail as we can and go behind the scenes to see why these Class of 2014 standouts are so attractive to the Buckeyes.

Next on the list of safeties is Erick Smith, who comes from a school that has sent 19 athletes on to Ohio State -- with a 20th waiting in the wings -- since 2002.

Vitals: Smith (Cleveland/Glenville) is 6-foot-1 and 185 pounds.

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Under Jim Tressel, it was hard not to trip over a Tarblooder.

Ohio State’s lineup was loaded with Glenville products under the former Buckeyes coach as he tried to keep a budding pipeline strong. During his stay, Tressel managed to get 16 Tarblooders to sign national letters of intent.

He had his hits with players such Troy Smith, Ted Ginn Jr. and Donte Whitner. He had his misses with Jonathan Newsome, Shawntell Rowell and Freddie Lenix.

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One thing is becoming abundantly clear in the Urban Meyer era.

The two-time national champion coach likes players with NFL bloodlines. In the Class of 2014, Ohio State has offered Christian McCaffrey the son of three-time Super Bowl winner Ed McCaffrey. Jonathan Haden, the brother of NFL superstar Joe Haden, and Austin Roberts, the son of Super Bowl champion Alfredo Roberts.

Tennessee offensive line commit Orlando Brown Jr., the son of late Cleveland Browns offensive tackle Orlando Brown, was also offered by the Buckeyes as was linebacker Dillon Bates, the son of three-time Super Bowl winner Bill Bates.

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It was a Thursday night in late April and Alex Bookser (Pittsburgh/Mount Lebanon) was watching the NFL draft. A 6-foot-6, 295-pound prospect, Bookser is being recruited as a lineman on both sides of the ball.

Bookser was an offensive lineman by the end of the night Thursday.

“Ever since I saw the draft I decided to go O-line,” said Bookser, referring to the run on tackles in the first round, including three among the first five picks. “That was the biggest draft I’ve ever seen, so I was like if I can get that far it’ll definitely pay off.”

With more than 20 offers to his name, Bookser was already being recruited mostly as an offensive tackle, where he is ranked No. 14 nationally. As a two-way player for Mount Lebanon, Bookser likes defense a little more because he can play with a little more emotion on the defensive line. He understands why coaches project him best on offense, though.

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