Photo Courtesy of The Plain-Dealer
Melvin FellowsFighting Illini? Nah, I'd rather be a Buckeye.
2009 weakside defensive end recruit Melvin Fellows orally committed to Illinois, but changed his mind last April.
Now, after officially signing with Ohio State on Feb. 4, he joins the ranks of a top-five recruiting class, where he is one of 14 players from Ohio.
The 6-foot-5, 245-pound Fellows brings dimension to OSU's defense. He is ranked No. 3 nationally at defensive end and is one of 50 five-star athletes in 2009, according to scout.com. Not to mention, recruiting service rivals.com ranks Fellows the No. 29 prospect in the country, at any position.
The attention to Fellows is well-deserved. As a junior at Garfield Heights High School outside of Cleveland, Fellows recorded 92 tackles and seven sacks. Senior year was no different, when he recorded 79 tackles and 10 sacks.
Fellows participated in the Under Armour All-America game and was a member of the Big 33 team, which showcases the best high school football players in Ohio and Pennsylvania, and is often referred to as "the Super Bowl of high school football." He was also a member of the SuperPrep Elite 50, a scout.com compilation of the top 50 high school football players in the country.
Fellows has been compared to Thaddeus Gibson by Adam Jardy, staff writer for Buckeye Sports Bulletin and by his high school coach, Chuck Reisland.
"I think Melvin will fit in well with Ohio State's defensive philosophy because he's a good pass rusher," Reisland said. "Thaddeus Gibson turned into OSU's best pass rusher last year, and he's a lot like him, only bigger."
Jardy agreed, "He has a high motor, a big wing span - he can cause chaos. He's like a young Thaddeus Gibson, a player with a lot of natural ability.
"But Fellows has the frame to put on more weight, which can be a major benefit to him in his time at OSU," Jardy said.
Across the board, scouts agree that Fellows' size will be one of his greatest strengths. He is still slender for his build and has the ability to gain more weight, giving him an advantage on Ohio State's depth chart.
"I don't know how big he will get, but he has gained 20 pounds since the season already," Reisland said. "He has room to grow. He is not even 18-years-old yet."
In years past, the Buckeyes have mixed things up with one smaller, quicker defensive end and one larger, more powerful end to head straight for the quarterback. Fellows fits the bill as OSU's token "big defensive end" on one side of the field.
Those who have seen him play agree that Fellows will be keeping the veteran defensemen on their toes in 2009, his freshman season.
"If he can get up to 260 or 270 pounds, Fellows can be an every situation kind of guy, as opposed to a specialist guy," said Jeff Svoboda, staff writer at Buckeye Sports Bulletin. "Once he gets into the weight room at OSU, he could get big enough to be like a Lawrence Wilson."
Fellows' high school status will help Ohio State in other ways as well. Scouts agree that the strength of the school's recruiting class can benefit preseason rankings. "When people are making preseason picks, either now or in the future, Fellows' name will stand out. In the preseason especially, that has a lot to do with how rankings are determined," said Marcus Hartman, a recruiting analyst for scout.com.
Fellows was recruited by some of the biggest names in college football: USC, Michigan, Illinois, Notre Dame.
But Reisland thinks he made the right choice by choosing Ohio State.
"Fellows' best years are still ahead of him. He's a great football player and an even better person," Reisland said. "They're going to love him down there in Columbus."
Gina Ferrentino can be reached at ferrentino.2@osu.edu.
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