Defensive star Dasan McCullough has major Ohio ties
As Ohio State keeps things rolling with its top-ranked 2021 recruiting the class, the Buckeyes have started to get more aggressive in recent weeks in identifying some class of 2022 prospects that they would like to offer. This week, the Buckeyes offered a prospect that they have been keeping an eye on for a while in Overland Park (KS) Blue Valley North safety Dasan McCullough.
The 6-foot-4, 215-pound prospect is an early Rivals100 member and is sitting on 40 scholarship offers already.
"I was very excited about the offer," McCullough recalled. "I was talking to coach (Al) Washington a lot, building a relationship before the offer, so I was very excited when they made the move."
"I got the news closer to the end of my virtual tour," he continued. "The tour was with coach Day, Washington, some of the academic advisors and the strength and conditioning coach."
The Buckeyes have been doing virtual visits with many of their top targets in recent weeks in the 2021 class but now have started the process of getting some elite rising juniors involved in these types of visits.
McCullough has plenty of ties already to the state of Ohio, however. His father is Deland McCullough the running backs coach for the Kansas City Chiefs and who both played and coached briefly at Miami (Ohio). The younger McCullough was born in the Cincinnati area and lived in Ohio until he was nine years old.
With so many ties to Ohio and the Midwest, the tradition at Ohio State isn't lost on him.
"I know that Ohio State produces great football players for the next level," he started. "But also their Real Life Wednesday's program prepares kids for after football, so it's a great place to be. Ohio is always home for me and I can't wait to get down there on a visit."
The Buckeyes and Al Washington are recruiting McCullough has a hybrid safety/linebacker.
"I describe my game as the definition of versatile," he explained. "I play everything from free safety to playing press man-on-man, to blitzing off the edge. I consider myself a student of the game so I study Von Miller's pass-rushing abilities and Tyrann Mathieu's play recognition."
As the son of a coach, being a student of the game isn't a surprise. He has grown up around the game and learned from his father who starred at Miami of Ohio and has had a successful coaching career at places like Indiana, USC, and now in the NFL coming off a Super Bowl championship.
"My dad helps me the most," he said. "Not just with being a great football player but a human that excels in the classroom and off-the-field activities. My recruiting process has been real exciting for my dad and my family. I don't think my dad is surprised at all, I've always been a hard worker, but he just makes sure that I'm staying focused and not getting complacent."