Sam Longo, the junior offensive lineman from Bellbrook (Ohio) High School, is just starting his recruiting odyssey. But, it’s starting to pick up steam and he’s looking forward to his first official offer.

“Right now, I’m getting lots of mail from colleges,” Longo said. “I just got one from Iowa today. They haven’t said anything about offers; just that they want to evaluate my film and that they want me to come down to their camps. So right now, I’m just planning my summer for combines and camps.”

Camps are hugely important for high school players wanting to get noticed by college coaches. It gives them the opportunity for the coaches to see them firsthand, instead of just highlight film or game film. Longo has been to the Ohio State camps a couple of times.

“I went to my first at the end of my freshman year,” said Longo. “It was a good learning experience. But last year, I went to the football camp because Jon Peterson, the recruiting coordinator, invited me down. He actually came over the second day to watch me and he said he liked what he saw.”

Longo’s high school coach, Kevin Basinger, can see why Peterson thinks that Longo is worth a look.

“Sam is a kid, that over the course of his high school career, have grown tremendously,” said Basinger. “He’s becoming more of a dominant player. He’s got great feet and he can move very well technique-wise. He’s got a definite frame to grow and we’re excited about his future.”

Longo, who estimates that he’s hearing from 30 to 40 schools right now, says that it’s a wide range of schools that are interested in his services.

“I’m hearing mostly from the Big Ten, the Big East and the ACC,” said Longo (6-5, 262). “There are a couple of Pac 10 and Big 12 schools in there as well. Location is not a factor for me. I just want to play the best football and I want to make sure that it’s best for me and my family. Location is not a factor at all in choosing my college. It’s just about where I’m most comfortable at.”

Figuring out what’s best for him in a college and in a football program is pretty easy right now. He has a simple formation for knowing where he fits and he’s taken about 10 unofficial visits to help work through it already.

Longo, who was born in Michigan, said, “Coaches, location, atmosphere at the game, academics, and how it feels to me. Me and my dad hit the recruiting trail pretty hard this past, well, all through the season. We went to Ohio State, Notre Dame, Rutgers, Michigan State, Ohio University, Indiana, Purdue and a couple of more.”

From all those visits, Longo said that there is one that stands out above the rest.

“Ohio State was definitely the best way by far,” said Longo, whose dad was a walk-on at Ohio State in the 1980s. “I just loved the game, the atmosphere; none of the other visits really compared to it. I liked Indiana. I like how they set the academics; definitely a program on the rise. I also liked Rutgers a lot and Notre Dame was a good visit.”

Facilities is one reason that Ohio State jumps to the front of the line after his unofficial visits. Longo was impressed with the Woody Hayes Athletic Center.

“Definitely a really nice facility,” said Longo, whose team was 5-5 last season. “It’s one of the nicest indoor fields I’ve seen. Ohio State has really great facilities and obviously it shows on the field because it really helps their players.”

Even with the accolades that Longo heaped on Ohio State, he’s not ready to commit to anyone at this point, even if the offers were sitting out there for him.

“I don’t have any offers yet, so I’m really open to everybody,” said Longo. “But there are definitely a couple of schools that stand out to me like Ohio State, Michigan and Illinois. Those are some big schools that I’m really interested in.”

When Lloyd Carr stepped down as the head coach at Michigan and Rich Rodriguez took over, it may have changed the recruiting winds for Longo. As of now, he’s not worried about the changeover and how it might effect him.

“Before I wasn’t getting much (correspondence) at all from Michigan,” Longo said. “They asked for film and I sent that. They sent back to say they got it. I got a couple of letters here and there. I haven’t heard anything yet. The coaching change doesn’t effect me. I’m going up to Eastern Michigan probably on junior day, and I’m pretty sure I’ll hit Michigan on the same day.”

Currently, Longo is concentrating on improving his strength, speed and flexibility for next season. He’s working out with a personal trainer, but that’s not all. He’s doing yoga twice a week as well. The overall improvement is evident. He’s benching 365 pounds and squatting 650. Longo has been putting on weight, up from 240 this past summer and continuing on that path isn’t a problem, he says.

“The offensive line coaches I’ve talk to say I have a good frame and they like it because I carry my weight well,” said Longo. “I’m a pretty fast runner for a guy my size. My fastest 40 was a 4.7 and they said I could pack the weight on. So I think I have the frame that I can put the weight on and maintain my speed.”

Football is his main focus, but Longo also competes in track and field, in the shot put, discus and weight throw (similar to the hammer throw, but for indoor competitions). Last week was his first meet of the season, where he competed well.

“I was a little rusty, but I finished second in the shot put,” Longo said. “It was my first time for weight throw, but I know I placed in the top five. With the shot put, my best throw this year in competition is 50 feet, 4 inches. But last year, I threw it 60 feet.”

Longo described himself as a tough, physical player and talked about his strengths and weaknesses.

“I’m an aggressive player,” said Longo. “I’m quick off the ball. I’m going to drive you down and throw you down to the ground. I like to mentally get into the person’s head so that every time they know I’m coming and get them out of their element. Then they stop thinking about the game and start thinking about me hitting them. I’m a really physical player. My size and my speed, when you add them together, make me a really good player. I need to work on my footwork. I just want to get out of my stance a little quicker, stay low and explode into guys a little more.”

Basinger likes what he sees in Longo as a student of the game and how he’s learning as he gains experience.

“He’s just learning to put the whole package together,” said the coach. “This year he kind of went to the next level of that in terms of really trying to what he’s supposed to be doing. He really took to all the coaching that we gave him and he wants to do even more of that this year.”

Bucknuts recruiting editor Duane Long likes what he sees as well. While Longo is still developing, Long likes the potential.

“Great body,” Long described in a thumbnail evaluation. “He can fill out to 300 lbs. He shows a good motor and good technique for a high school lineman. Good genes too as his dad was a Buckeye linebacker.”

His coach took a little time to talk about Longo as a person, off the playing field.

“I think Sam is very respectful and polite,” said Basinger. “He’s quiet and he carries himself very top level. He’s not going to do things that are going to get him into problems. His dad coming from a military background (Air Force), I think he’s been exposed to that type of environment. He’s a very focused kid and he knows what he wants. He heading in the right direction.”

Longo, who enjoys fishing, hunting and the outdoors, would like to major in criminology in college and reports a 3.5 grade point average. He plans to take the ACT this spring.