Football season for the Bobcats may have officially ended Dec. 23, when Ohio lost to Troy at the Dollar General Bowl, but Frank Solich and his staff don't really have an offseason.
After the bowl game, the Bobcats shifted their complete attention to recruiting to try and gather next year's freshman class. National Signing Day is Feb. 1.
Ohio is ranked 117th and sits 10th in the Mid-American Conference, according to Max Preps recruiting rankings. All rankings of the players below are according to 247Sports.
Each Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) team is allowed 85 scholarships on one roster. The Bobcats currently have one signed commit and have 10 hard commits.
For reference, a hard commit is someone who has committed to a school and is not considering any other schools or offers, but has not signed a letter of intent. A soft commit is someone who has verbally committed to a school, but will entertain offers from other schools and visit other colleges.
Here are some high schoolers and college transfers that have already committed to Ohio:
Signed Letter of Intent
Nathan Rourke: pro-style quarterback, 6-foot-2, 205 lbs. Fort Scott Community College
Rourke has already signed his letter of intent, having signed on Dec. 14. He will be a Bobcat next season. Here's his highlight tape of his season at Fort Scott Community College.
Rourke is an unranked quarterback who held an offer from one other MAC school, that school being Akron. He took an unofficial visit to Alabama, but that didn't deter him from his commitment to Ohio. Rourke is originally from Canada, but transferred to Edgewood Academy in Alabama for his senior year of high school.
He didn't receive a Division I offer at the end of the season, so he went to Fort Scott. He threw for 2,367 yards this season on 221-of-378 passing. He also threw for 18 touchdowns and 13 interceptions.
Rourke will join a quarterback depth chart that already features Quinton Maxwell and Joey Duckworth on scholarship, Deeb Haber and incoming freshman Drew Keszei.
Hard Commits (Secondary)
De'vante Mitchell: safety, 5-foot-11, 190 lbs. Champagnat Catholic, Hialeah, Florida
Mitchell has been a commit to the Bobcats since before the season began. He committed to Ohio on May 27, despite seven other offers, including ones from Syracuse, Appalachian State and Indiana. Mitchell is a three-star safety. Here's his highlight tape of his season at Champagnat Catholic.
He will join a crowded safety position come next season; the Bobcats will have nine safeties on the roster, including redshirt freshman Javon Hagan, who became a standout for the Bobcats this season.
Mitchell is currently the only safety commit of the class.
Marlin Brooks: cornerback, 5-foot-10, 157 lbs. Coral Gables Senior, Miami, Florida
Ohio continued its Florida pipeline in the secondary with the commitment of Brooks. Ranked as a three-star recruit, Brooks committed to Ohio on Nov. 27. He held six other offers. Brooks was originally committed to Florida International, but de-committed Sept. 26, just three days after his visit to Athens.
Here's his highlight tape from his year at Coral Gables Senior High School. Brooks runs a 4.59 40-yard dash, 4.33 shuttle, has a 34.2 inch vertical and benches 250 pounds, according to his Hudl page.
There will be 10 other cornerbacks on Ohio's roster, but just two seniors. Brooks, if he impresses early, will have a chance to come into camp and earn playing time.
Brooks and Mitchell are the second and third highest-ranked commits for the freshman class, a promising sign for a team that had its secondary struggle all season long.
