Signing Day Primer: Final Projections for Curtis Grant, Aundrey Walker, Ejuan Price, and Other Tidbits

National Signing Day is tomorrow, and the rumor mill is churning everywhere with tidbits of reliable and unreliable info being disseminated across the recruiting sphere. This post will largely function as a collection of what others are saying, with some included projection from us, as well. If you've missed our previous three primers, they are linked below.

Signing Day Primer: Projections for JaJuan Story, Aundrey Walker, and Darius Jennings

Signing Day Primer: Projections for Curtis Grant, Cardale Jones, and Others

Signing Day Primer: Will Ohio State lose Ejuan Price?

Let me point out that I've already missed on my first projection. JaJuan Story is NOT coming to Ohio State. Over the weekend, Story took an unofficial visit to Gainesville and attended a gymnastics meet with Gator quarterback commit Jeff Driskel. He reaffirmed his pledge to Will Muschamp and will sign with Florida on Wednesday. Ohio State will still send him a letter of intent (LOI) in the event he changes his mind, but don't expect it to happen. Story is comfortable with the home state Gators and was sold on new offensive coordinator Charlie Weis. It's disappointing that the Buckeyes came so close to pulling Story only to fall short, but there are still three uncommitted big fish left for Ohio State, one of whom can provide a little payback for Jim Tressel over the Gators.

Where does Ohio State stand with Curtis Grant?

Grant is arguably the biggest recruit left on Ohio State's board and one of the biggest in the nation, period. He's ranked as the #2 overall recruit in the country by Rivals and has offers from literally every program in America. He's been linked to almost as many programs as he has offers, but much of his recruitment has centered around the Florida Gators. When Urban Meyer left, it opened up an opportunity for others to jump in, and jump in they did.

Since Meyer's retirement, Grant has taken four official visits to his four final suitors, Ohio State, Florida, Virginia, and UNC. According to the UNC Scout site, Curtis Grant informed UNC commit Norkeithus Otis that he was down to two schools on his official visit this past weekend, Ohio State and UNC.

This jives with everything the two recruiting analysts closest to Grant have heard. Mike Farrell and Laura McKeeman both have built a rapport with Grant over the past year, and they are both projecting him to the Buckeyes.

So will Grant be a Buckeye? Our projections after the jump.

Smith says: Florida has been out of it for awhile now, Virginia was never in it, & North Carolina is still under a dark cloud brought on by the NCAA investigation into Marvin Austin.  Due to those factors along with the great rapport he's built with Coach Tressel, Grant picks the Buckeyes on Signing Day. 

Tyler says: The only consistent team in Curtis Grant's ever changing top two, the Buckeyes and Jim Tressel land the five star stud from Virginia and steal yet another top linebacker from Will Muschamp and the Gators.

Ross says: Ohio State.

Where do the Buckeyes stand with Aundrey Walker?

The big man from Glenville has been rumored to Michigan State, Ohio State, FSU, and most recently, USC. Bucknuts recruiting guru Gary Hosteau believed that Walker was headed to USC as late as yesterday. Housteau knows his stuff and has connections to Glenville High School, but there are reasons to doubt the veracity of this report.

For one, this is the Glenville game. Every single year, without fail, a Glenville athlete is rumored to be leaning elsewhere yet ultimately ends up at Ohio State. The only one to break that mold was Cordale Scott, who committed to Illinois in 2008 over Ohio State. Cordale transferred to Toledo a year later, and Ted Ginn Sr. now uses him as a cautionary tale to his players.The second factor in Ohio State's favor is Mrs. Walker. Aundrey's father passed away when he was 14 years old, and he's been the man of the house since that time. Aundrey and his mother have a close relationship, and it's hard to see him going 2,000 miles away to attend school in Los Angeles.

Of course, Walker could genuinely be in love with USC and commit there on Wednesday. But it's hard to believe based on past Glenville recruits. Whatever happens, we'll know tonight. Walker and the rest of the Glenville group will make their decisions known around 8 p.m.

Smith says: Walker is trying awfully hard to make people think he's actually going to pick USC.  Almost as hard as he tried to get people to think he was going to Michigan State after visiting there.  It's been the typical Glenville recruitment complete with multiple leaders and plenty of misdirection.  I still see him at Ohio State after the ink is dry.

Tyler says: Glenville players have made fools out of opposing fanbases for years now.  Marcus Hall was supposed to be a Hurricane, Ray Small was supposed to be a Trojan, and Troy Smith should have been a Mountaineer. But they were all Buckeyes, and I expect the same from Aundrey Walker.

Ross says: Ted Ginn doesn't want another situation like Latwawn Anderson again.  So if Walker was seriously not going to go to Ohio State, he would make him inform the staff up front.  But the OSU staff feels confident, so I think OSU. 

Where does Ohio State stand with Darius Jennings?

In our last update, we had Jennings' destination up in the air. And we still do. Jennings has run one of the quietest recruitments you'll ever see a top prospect have, and no one seems to know where, or even when, Jennings is making his announcement.

Jennings is down to three schools-- Ohio State, Virginia, and Wake Forest-- with Wake Forest offering him a chance to play quarterback. The draw of the signal-caller position is thought to be big for him, but we really won't know until he makes his choice. If it's Wake Forest, the offer as a quarterback will have been the most important factor to him, and there's nothing Ohio State or anyone else could have done about it. But if he's willing to move away from the quarterback position, Ohio State and Virginia are seen as the two favorites.

So what does he do?

Smith says: Proximity to home, assurances he'll be used on offense, & the chance to play for his parents alma mater.  I see Jennings landing at Virginia.

Tyler says: I'm going with the Bucks, but just to provide some contrast to Smith. I'm guessing, just as I was guessing when I picked him to Virginia last week. I have no clue, and I'm not sure Jennings knows where he's going at this point.

Ross says: Wake Forest.  Just doesn't seem like a lot of buzz about him and OSU.

What's going on with Ejuan Price?

In short, nobody knows. He's still an Ohio State commitment, but his interaction with Todd Graham and his trips to Pittsburgh tell a different story.

If Ohio State should lose Price to Pittsburgh, we don't feel that the Ohio State coaches would be too heartbroken. Make no mistake, they want Price in Columbus, but they also have two other linebackers currently in this class along with a possible commitment from Curtis Grant on the way. Ejuan Price is a talented linebacker but not a physical behemoth like Curtis Grant.

There are only a handful of Curtis Grants at any position in any given recruiting year, but there are plenty of Ejuan Prices. Linebacker is a deep year in the Midwest next season, and with a strong linebacker class this year, we don't see the Buckeyes giving Price the hard sell before Signing Day. They don't want a player on the roster who does not want to be there, and if Price is seriously torn between Pittsburgh and Ohio State, the coaches may just encourage him to go with his heart, no matter where that may lead.

Will Ejuan Price sign with Ohio State?

Smith says: Remember when Price suddenly had Rutgers in his top 3?  His teammate and good friend Lafayette Pitts had just committed there. The problem was the Scarlet Knights wouldn't take a 3rd Woodland HIlls player & Lafayette's cousin, Jevonte Pitts.  Guess where Jevonte just committed to?  Here's a hint - it's the same school that just offered Lafayette, has been ratcheting up the pressure on Price, and convinced him to surreptitiously take a visit there last weekend.  Oops, I guess that's 3 hints.  Price stays home to be a Panther.

Tyler says: I have nothing to add to Smith's summation of events. Pittsburgh wants Price and is doing whatever it takes to convince him to stay home for college. He's a Panther.

Ross says: His gut seems to be questioning his OSU commitment, so I ultimately think he sticks home. 

Loose Tidbits

• Former Buckeye target Shane Wynn, who at one time held an Ohio State offer, will end up at Indiana. He tripped there this weekend on an official visit and is going to be a member of new head coach Kevin Wilson's first staff. It's a good fit for Wynn and a great pull for Wilson. Getting in Glenville early is a surefire way for Wilson to build a relationship with Ted Ginn Sr. and give himself a chance with future Glenville recruits.
• Glenville LB Frank Clark is probably going to Michigan. He will be the first Glenville player to make the trek to Ann Arbor since the infamous Pierre Woods. Rich Rodriguez could not break into Glenville, so this is a good sign for Brady Hoke.
• This is out of our region, but I've been told that Jermauria Rasco is a silent commitment to FSU. Seminole coaches have deliberately kept it quiet because of the state Rasco hails from (Louisiana), which has a reputation for putting extreme social pressure on recruits to stay in-state.