Mark's Remarks

Urban Meyer signed four outstanding wide receiver/slot receiver prospects in his 2013 recruiting class. But Meyer wants to sign at least two more in his 2014 class and maybe as many as four more.

At 6-foot-3 and 190-pounds, Johnson will give Urban Meyer some needed size in the Buckeyes' wide receiver core.

Today he landed one of those two to four receivers for his 2014 recruiting class and in Lonnie Johnson he has a very, very good one.

Johnson still needs to take care of everything in regards to the NCAA clearinghouse, but he has an entire year to do so and certainly providing he does the Buckeyes have another very talented athlete set to play for Meyer and company.

The 6-foot-3 and 190-pound Johnson caught 31 passes for 777 yards and 13 receiving touchdowns during his junior season. He also played running back and had 25 total touchdowns.

Johnson gives Meyer another offensive weapon with big play potential. He presents match-up problems for smaller defensive backs and has the ability to break tackles and take the ball to the house.

Meyer landed Jalin Marshall, Dontre Wilson, James Clark and Corey Smith in his 2013 recruiting class, but none of those players is taller than 6-foot-0. There are no wide receivers on the current roster taller than 6-foot-2, and one of the two that are 6-foot-2 is Chris Fields who is going into his senior season.

At 6-foot-3 and 190-pounds, Johnson adds size to the Buckeyes' wide receiver core along with outstanding athletic ability. While he isn't a 6-foot-5 or better type guy like Derek Kief, Dallis Todd, or Mark Andrews for example, he does have good length.

There are currently just six scholarship wide receivers on the roster. In addition to Fields, Devin Smith and Evan Spencer are headed into their junior seasons. So there is definitely a need for help at wide receiver in the Buckeyes' 2014 recruiting class and Johnson is the first with at least one more needed, and I think likely at least two more.

Now having said all of that, Johnson is also an outstanding safety prospect and the Buckeyes are looking for a couple of impact safety prospects for their 2014 recruiting class. Johnson has said he definitely prefers wide receiver and the OSU staff has recruited him for that position. But an eventual move to safety is absolutely a possibility.

Bottom line, Johnson has big-time athletic ability and good size, and could be an outstanding player for the Buckeyes on either side of the ball. He intercepted six passes during his junior season. Meyer and company will figure out the best spot for him once he gets to Ohio State.

Meyer is doing an outstanding job recruiting the Midwest and Johnson gives the Buckeyes another one of the top prospects in Big Ten country.

And with Johnson Meyer has taken another step in building an outstanding base to his 2014 recruiting class. Johnson joins offensive lineman Marcelys Jones (Cleveland, Ohio/Glenville), cornerback Damon Webb (Detroit, Mich./Cass Tech), offensive tackle Kyle Trout (Lancaster, Ohio/Lancaster), running back/athlete Parris Campbell (Akron, Ohio/St. Vincent-St. Mary), defensive lineman Dylan Thompson (Lombard, Ill./Montini Catholic), athlete Sam Hubbard (Cincinnati, Ohio/Moeller) and linebacker Kyle Berger (Cleveland, Ohio/St. Ignatius) in the Buckeyes' class.

As Meyer and his staff do a great job in Ohio and the Midwest, look for them to be able to concentrate also on the South and really the rest of the country as they load up for what projects to be a spectacular 2014 recruiting class.

The Ohio State Buckeyes add an ACC receiver to their squad for 2014. This story is from Bucknuts.com via NBC Sports


After deciding it would be best to "part ways" with Georgia Tech last December, Jeff Greene's name was briefly connected to the likes of Arkansas and Cincinnati.

Apparently, the Yellow Jackets' former leading wide receiver will instead go in another direction entirely — reportedly. According to Eleven Warriors, Greene will instead transfer to — and pay his own way through — Ohio State as a walk-on. Greene's former high school coach confirmed the move to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution later on Thursday. The decision to walk on likely comes from the fact that the Buckeyes are facing scholarship reductions from the NCAA's investigation of the program a couple of years back.

Greene will still have to sit out the 2013 season, but will be eligible to play and compete for a scholarship in 2014. He will then have two years of eligibility remaining.

Greene led all receivers at Georgia Tech as sophomore with 18 catches for 284 yards and two touchdowns.