Justin Hilliard commits to Ohio State: Buckeyes land no. 2 rated linebacker
By Jack Crosby
The Ohio State Football recruiting class for the 2015 was in a rather bad place coming out of the month of May with only three commitments, however things picked up in the month of June as that number grew to 10. On Wednesday, just the second day in the month of July, things really picked up as five-star linebacker Justin Hilliard announced that he will be playing his college football in Columbus.
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Hilliard, out of St. Xavier High School in Cincinnati, is the no. 2 rated outside linebacker according to the 247 Sports Composite rankings and the top-rated player in the entire state of Ohio.
Hilliard is a Buckeye. pic.twitter.com/pR0ihvHEYL
— Kyle Rowland (@KyleRowland) July 2, 2014
In committing to play his college ball at Ohio State, Hilliard spurned offers from the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Alabama Crimson Tide, Iowa Hawkeyes, and of course, the Buckeyes’ biggest rival, the Michigan Wolverines.
During a discussion with Eleven Warriors recently, Hilliard discussed just how involved Buckeyes head coach Urban Meyer was in the recruiting process, while at the same time trying not to discredit the others that he spurned to get to where he will be next year.
“Coach Meyer is very involved in my recruitment,” he said of the Ohio State head coach. “We talk almost every day. He’s very personal outside of football and all business when he’s involved in the game. It still makes me laugh that I have the ability to pick up the phone and call Coach Meyer, Coach Saban, Coach Ferentz, Coach Kelly, or Coach Hoke. My recruitment has come with plenty of benefits, it’s been an enormous blessing.”
Hilliard now marks the 11th commitment in the Buckeyes’ 2015 class, so things certainly seem to be picking up a lot from where everyone was with the panic just a short time ago.