The official first week of summer brought temperatures in the 90s with significant humidity last week in the Cincinnati area. It was also a week that saw college football recruiting heat up for some of the area’s top high school players in the 2011 class.
There were at least three reported college commitments last week, including Princeton (Cincinnati, Ohio) wide receiver Jay McCants (Indiana), La Salle (Cincinnati, Ohio) quarterback Drew Kummer (Miami University) and La Salle offensive lineman Jesse Back (Buffalo).
McCants, who is 6-foot-5 and 210 pounds, had 29 receptions for 446 yards a touchdown last season for the Vikings. McCants is the first Cincinnati-area player to commit to the Hoosiers from the 2011 class.
Kummer, who is 6-3 and 206 pounds, committed to the Mid-American Conference program after he also had offers from Ohio University, Marshall, Kent State and Youngstown State.
“(The Miami campus is) only about 25 minutes from his parents’ house,” La Salle coach Tom Grippa said. “I think that is a really good fit.”
La Salle has had a tradition of sending players to Miami throughout the years and Grippa said the RedHawks put Kummer No. 1 on their recruiting board for quarterbacks.
Kummer led the Greater Catholic League with 1,863 yards passing. He also threw for 14 touchdowns and rushed for four.
“He has all the tools to be one of the top quarterbacks in Southwest Ohio,” Grippa told the Cincinnati Enquirer.
Back (6-4, 280) committed to Buffalo June 18 after he had interest from several other programs. Back attended a summer camp in Buffalo and made his commitment. Buffalo coach Jeff Quinn, who was a University of Cincinnati assistant last season, knew about Back from last season.
2. Summer visits: Some of Cincinnati’s top football players in the 2011 class continued to attend camps or make unofficial college visits last week. Fairfield (Ohio) linebacker Marquise Vann (6-1, 215 pounds) has plans to visit Minnesota and Central Michigan in July, according to the Enquirer. He has already visited Michigan State. Vann has scholarship offers that include Duke, Stanford, Minnesota, Central Michigan, Michigan State and several others. Walnut Hills (Cincinnati, Ohio) tight end Benson Browne (6-6, 237) visited Illinois on Thursday and had scheduled to attend camp at Ohio State this past weekend. Browne has offers that include North Carolina State, Marshall, Illinois, West Virginia, Kansas, Louisville, Minnesota and others.
3. Hicks, Burchenal honored: Lakota West (West Chester, Ohio) All-American linebacker Jordan Hicks (Texas signee) and St. Ursula (Cincinnati, Ohio) soccer standout Elizabeth Burchenal (North Carolina signee) were named the Male and Female LaRosa’s MVPs, respectively, on Sunday. Hicks, one of the nation’s top players in the 2010 class, was the Division I state defensive co-player of the year. He had 65 solo tackles, 30 assists, 13 tackles for loss, three sacks and two interceptions. Burchenal, who was the Division I state player of the year, had 37 goals and 14 assists for the Bulldogs this past season.
4. Hamilton (Ohio) hires girls basketball coach: Stefanie Miller has been named the new girls basketball coach at Hamilton, according to the Dayton Daily News. Miller was reportedly an assistant coach at Trotwood-Madison (Trotwood, Ohio) for one year and has also worked as an AAU coach, according to the publication. Miller was a point guard for Beavercreek in the late 1990s and was a four-year starter at the University of Dayton, according to the publication.
5. Bryant has three offers: Roger Bacon (Cincinnati, Ohio) 6-foot-8 center Jared Bryant recently received a scholarship offer from Wright State. He also has offers from James Madison and Bowling Green. Bryant, one of the state’s top players in the 2011 class, was special mention all-district and first-team all-Greater Catholic League Central Division last season. He averaged 12.8 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.1 blocks for the Spartans.
Recruiting news
Dunbar (Dayton, Ohio) graduate Geron Johnson has signed to play basketball at Chipola (Fla.) College, according to the Dayton Daily News. …Lakota West graduate Kindsay Brandt has committed to play women’s basketball at Santa Fe College (Fla.), according to the Pulse Journal. Brandt was first-team all-Greater Miami Conference this past winter. …Worthington Kilbourne (Columbus, Ohio) offensive lineman Matt Skura (6-3, 285) reportedly made an oral commitment to play at Duke, according to ScoutingOhio.com.
Random thoughts
The Ohio High School Athletic Association recently inducted 14 officials to the OHSAA Officials Hall of Fame. The 2010 class includes Linda Cairney (Columbus, softball and volleyball), former OHSAA commissioner Clair Muscaro (Gahanna, basketball), Buehl Roach (Hamilton, football, basketball, track and field), Michael Sharkey (Cincinnati, baseball, basketball, soccer, volleyball, football and softball), Gary Switzer (Loveland, basketball and football). … Former University of Cincinnati quarterback Ben Mauk will be the Western Brown (Mt. Orab, Ohio) offensive coordinator this upcoming season. …The Kings (Kings Mill, Ohio) football team will return 18 starters this season, including only three players projected to be seniors.
