In what is becoming a trend amid the coronavirus pandemic, Overland Park (Kan.) Blue Valley North four-star athlete Dasan McCullough committed to Ohio State on Tuesday afternoon without ever having stepped foot on campus.
Committed… pic.twitter.com/Md5kZuLLBC
— Dasan Mccullough ¹✊🏾 (@Dasan2022) August 18, 2020
The 6-5, 220-pound McCullough is considered the seventh-best athlete and No. 70 prospect overall in the class of 2022, as he’s been recruited by some schools as a linebacker and by others as a safety. The Buckeyes view him as a outside linebacker who can drop back in coverage from time to time, filling a need at the Bullet position.
McCullough landed an offer from Ohio State on April 21, when he and his father, Kansas City Chiefs running backs coach Deland McCullough, took a virtual tour of the Buckeyes’ campus and facilities with head coach Ryan Day and linebackers coach Al Washington. He subsequently named his top schools on June 10, listing Ohio State alongside Clemson, Florida, Florida State, LSU, Michigan, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas and USC.
Even before that virtual visit, though, McCullough was quite familiar with the state. He was born in Cincinnati and lived there until he was 9 years old. Both his father and grandfather played college football at Miami (Ohio), while his old brother, Deland II, currently plays defensive back for the RedHawks.
McCullough’s relationship with offensive coordinator/tight ends coach Kevin Wilson predates his recruitment, as well. Wilson was the offensive coordinator at Miami during Daland’s playing days (1992-95), then hired him to be the running backs coach at Indiana from 2011-16, which is when the family moved away from Cincinnati in the first place.
100% BUCKEYE FOR LIFE🌰🌰 pic.twitter.com/9d06WvZDwT
— Dasan Mccullough ¹✊🏾 (@Dasan2022) August 18, 2020
The Buckeyes already hold a pair of commitments at linebacker in the form of Kettering (Ohio) Archbishop Alter four-star C.J. Hicks and Marysville, Ohio, four-star Gabe Powers, and that duo put increased pressure on McCullough to join the fold in recent weeks. He planned to take several unofficial visits this fall before making a decision, but the postponement of the Big Ten season obviously made him reconsider his timeline.
McCullough becomes the fifth member of Ohio State’s 2022 recruiting class, joining the aforementioned Hicks and Powers, as well as West Chester (Ohio) Lakota West teammates, four-star offensive tackle Tegra Tshabola and four-star cornerback Jyaire Brown. That group gives the Buckeyes the nation’s second-best haul, trailing only LSU, who holds commitments from seven players by comparison.
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