COLUMBUS — Even if space is almost gone in the fast-filling Ohio State 2009 football recruiting class, Bradley McDougald said he was not sensing pressure from Jim Tressel and his coaching staff to jump on board.
Nevertheless, the safety from Dublin Scioto made the decision on Monday. He became the 22nd commitment moments after Corey Brown of Monroeville (Gateway), Pa., took the 21st spot.
“I was just ready to get it over with; I didn’t want to delay it if I knew where I wanted to go,” said McDougald, who, like Brown, is 6 feet 1 and 190 pounds. “I thought I should just come out with it. I was ready to be a Buckeye.”
That’s about what Brown said 200 miles away after he announced his decision, picking Ohio State over Pittsburgh and Michigan. He joined a teammate — Dorian Bell, a blue-chip linebacker who announced his choice a month ago — in choosing OSU.
“I picked Ohio State really because of everything you can think of,” Brown said. “The academics, the coaches, the facilities, the tradition, the great players they’ve got now, the way they keep playing for championships — they’ve got everything you want up there.”
McDougald said he has seen that firsthand most of his life.
“Growing up here, being around it 24/7, it’s always been a dream to play for the Buckeyes,” McDougald said. “Going down to the Ohio State camp (for rising high school seniors) on Friday, I think the coaches were impressed with me and I was impressed with the coaches.”
Like Brown, he was offered a scholarship by Ohio State awhile back. But even as the class began to fill in unprecedented early fashion, “they never gave me an ultimatum,” McDougald said.
There was a good reason, said Bill Kurelic, a recruiting analyst for Bucknuts.com.
“He’s one of the top athletes in central Ohio, and he’s the tall kind of safety they’re looking for these days,” Kurelic said.
Brown, whom Kurelic rated as the sixth-best prospect in Pennsylvania, played defensive back but is also the kind of sure-handed receiver that teams desire. He said he could play either one in college, whatever the coaches want. He picked Ohio State over Alabama, West Virginia, Notre Dame and North Carolina.
“He doesn’t have blazing speed,” Kurelic said, “but he’s a great player, which is why so many schools were after him.”
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Dublin’s McDougald latest to join OSU
Highly recruited safety added to large ’09 class
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