While the college football season fast approaches, Ohio State continues making progress on the recruiting front as well.
The newest verbal commit for head coach Urban Meyer and the Buckeyes is Curtis Samuel, a four-star wide receiver from Brooklyn (N.Y.) Erasmus Hall who made his decision public Friday.
Samuel, a 6-0, 185-pounder rated the No. 25 receiver in the country by Scout.com, also had offers from the likes of Florida, Miami (Fla.), Nebraska, Notre Dame, Rutgers, Syracuse and Penn State.
The Scarlet Knights turned out to be his second choice, but a chance to emulate former Meyer standout Percy Harvin was too much to resist for the shifty speedster, according to his head coach Danny Landberg.
Samuel became the 17th member of Ohio State's 2014 recruiting class and the fourth receiver.
He is the eighth consecutive OSU verbal commitment from outside Ohio and a rarity from his home state – Ohio State has only signed four players from New York in the past 15 classes, including none since defensive lineman Doug Worthington of Athol Springs in 2005.
The other three were all in 2000 – defensive lineman Will Smith of Utica Proctor, offensive lineman Shane Olivea of Cedarhurst Lawrence and running back Sammy Maldonado of Harrison. Smith, Olivea and Worthington were all multi-year starters who made NFL rosters while Maldonado eventually transferred to Maryland.
Smith has 67.5 career NFL sacks and made the Pro Bowl in 2006.
