ESPN Midwest recruiting Blog

Posted by Bill Kurelic

Penn State coach Joe Paterno landed two big commitments over the weekend in defensive linemen Evan Hailes (Chesapeake, Va./Oscar Smith) and DaQuan Jones (Johnson City, N.Y.). Hailes is an ESPNU 150 Watch List prospect and Jones is one of the top prospects in the state of New York. Paterno also added a commitment from wide receiver Levi Norwood (Waco, Texas/Midway) on Wednesday.

Jim Tressel has been busy as well. The Buckeye boss landed a commitment a little over a week ago from one of the top quarterback prospects in the Midwest: Taylor Graham (Wheaton, Ill./North). Then on Wednesday, Tressel landed one of the top running back prospects in the Midwest, Roderick Smith (Ft. Wayne, Ind./Harding). Smith picked the Buckeyes over Michigan, Iowa, Michigan State, Purdue and a few others.

Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz landed a huge commitment this past week from ESPNU 150 Watch List defensive end Matt Hoch (Harlan, Iowa). Hoch picked the Hawkeyes over Missouri where his brother Dan plays, as well as Iowa State, Stanford and some others. Hoch is one of the premier defensive end prospects in the Midwest.

Mark Dantonio has had a good week. He convinced ESPNU 150 Watch List quarterback Joe Boisture (Saline, Mich.) to switch his commitment from Boston College to Michigan State. Dantonio also picked up a commitment from another top in-state prospect, running back Nick Hill (Chelsea, Mich.).

The Big Ten's reputation has suffered nationally in recent years. However, some big wins on the recruiting front could be a step towards changing that.

Allen to the Irish?

Things have also gone very well lately for Charlie Weis and the Fighting Irish. It began one week ago as quarterback Andrew Hendrix (Cincinnati, Ohio/Moeller) and defensive end Blake Lueders (Zionsville, Ind.) committed to Notre Dame. Hendrix and Lueders are two of the top prospects in the Midwest.

Weis followed up those two commitments by convincing ESPNU 150 Watch List safety Chris Badger (Provo, Utah/Timpview) to change his commitment from Stanford to Notre Dame. He will be joined in the secondary by cornerback Lo Wood (Apopka, Fla.) who also committed to the Irish.

Defensive lineman Beau Allen (Minnetonka, Minn.) attended Notre Dame's camp on Tuesday and received a scholarship offer from the Fighting Irish on Wednesday. Allen's offer list now includes Notre Dame, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Stanford, Colorado, UCLA, Nebraska and Vanderbilt.

"I'm pretty excited about it," Allen told Irish Sports Daily's Steve Wiltfong when asked about the Notre Dame offer. "I'd say to be honest, they'll be in my top five."

Basil to Buckeyes?

Probably even closer to making a commitment is kicker/punter Drew Basil (Chillicothe, Ohio). Basil, who recently camped at Ohio State, landed a scholarship offer from the Buckeyes last weekend. He is set to visit Ohio State again on Thursday. He also has scholarship offers from Purdue, Kentucky, Cincinnati and Air Force.