Bucknuts.com was on hand at the 55th Annual Touchdown Club Of Columbus Banquet on Saturday night as Ohio State coaches, players and targets were in attendance.
Jones, Bryant and McVey
The 55th Annual Touchdown Club Of Columbus Banquet was held on Saturday night at the Lifestyle Communities Pavilion, and Bucknuts.com was on hand.
So were many of the top class of 2011 prospects in the state of Ohio. I have the honor each year of recommending the top juniors and seniors to be invited, and half of the ten invited juniors were able to make it through the snowy conditions to receive their award on Saturday.
Defensive end Kenny Hayes (Toledo Whitmer), linebacker Trey DePriest (Springfield), defensive back Ron Tanner (Columbus Eastmoor), quarterback Cardale Jones (Cleveland Glenville) and defensive end Chris Rock (Columbus DeSales) attended the banquet.
Hayes has committed to the Buckeyes while DePriest and Tanner have an Ohio State scholarship offer. (Click here for our video interview with DePriest from Saturday's banquet.)
Senior prospects in attendance included three players who signed with the Buckeyes on Wednesday, defensive end Darryl Baldwin (Solon), linebacker Scott McVey (Cleveland St. Ignatius) and defensive back Christian Bryant (Cleveland Glenville).
The Ohio State coaching staff was well represented with Jim Tressel, Jim Heacock, Jim Bollman, John Peterson and Dick Tressel all on hand.
A number of current Ohio State players also made it to the banquet including Terrelle Pryor, DeVier Posey, Brian Rolle and Dane Sanzenbacher.
Bucknuts will have video interviews this week with DePriest, Tanner and Jones, so stay tuned for those features.
In the meantime, from talking to Tanner again on Saturday night, there is no doubt in my mind that Tanner has a very strong interest in Ohio State. Tanner would not name one single favorite and said he is not on the verge of announcing a decision, but he left no doubt he likes the Buckeyes. I continue to think it is only a matter of time until Tanner announces a commitment to Ohio State.
DePriest attended Alabama’s junior day on Jan. 30 and definitely was impressed. He also attended the Buckeyes’ recent junior day and it would not be surprising if DePriest eventually decided between the two.
I don’t think DePriest makes a decision for quite some time. When he does I would not bet against OSU, at least at this point.
Here are some photos of the event and the stars in attendance.
OSU verbal Kenny Hayes
Archie Griffin
Stanford's Toby Gerhart
Trey DePriest
Christian Bryant and father
Cardale Jones
Terrelle Pryor
Darryl Baldwin, Cardale Jones, Christian Bryant, Scott McVey
Toby Gerhart
Brian Rolle and Boise State quarterback Kellen Moore
Brian Rolle
