Wilson flips to Ohio State
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Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer has flipped another highly rated recruit. The latest in the long line of big flips by Meyer is DeSoto (Texas) four-star athlete Dontre Wilson. The 5-foot-10, 174-pound speedster switched his verbal pledge on Monday night from Oregon to Ohio State. Wilson, who also considered Texas, made his announcement live on Dallas FOX affiliate KDFW.
"It was a long hard decision," said Wilson as he picked through the three hats in front of him. "I thought about it a lot, but I'm going to [The Ohio State University]."
Wilson becomes commitment No. 24 for Ohio State in the 2013 recruiting class after a suspenseful month that saw Ohio State and Oregon seemingly go back and forth in the race for his signature. The Buckeyes, who had been recruiting Wilson for about a year, were able to creep back into the picture in a big way once former Oregon head coach Chip Kelly left for the NFL to coach the Philadelphia Eagles.
"I just feel that coach Meyer has something going there right now," Wilson said. "They could have been in the national championship last year if they could have went to a bowl game. I think I can go down there and be a good asset to their team."
With the need for speedy playmakers in Meyer's spread offense, Buckeye fans could see Wilson on the field sooner rather than later.
"(The Ohio State coaches) said I will get a lot of (playing time)," Wilson said. "I'll also be a great special teams player for the team."
Wilson made an official visit to Ohio State the weekend of January 25th and since that time, the momentum really turned for the Buckeyes. Wilson also made a visit this past weekend to Texas, though the Longhorns were generally considered to be running third in the race.
Wilson is the third big-time prospect out of the state of Texas that the Buckeyes have landed in this class, joining Plano Prestonwood five-star linebacker Mike Mitchell and Wichita Falls Rider four-star quarterback J.T. Barrett. All three prospects are in the Rivals250.
The late pick-up of Wilson is certainly a big one for Ohio State as they look to continue to add speed at the skill positions. According to Rivals.com Southwest analyst Jason Howell speed and playmaking ability are exactly what the Buckeyes are getting with Wilson.
"Dontre Wilson is a guy who can do so much with the ball," Howell explained. "He can run between the tackles but he is also a very dynamic receiver both out of the backfield and split out in the slot. He allows an offense a lot of versatility and can play in a variety of offensive sets."
Wilson is ranked as the No. 100 overall player in the nation by Rivals.com and the No. 12 overall player in the state of Texas.
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