His old junior high wanted a picture as soon as the announcement was made official. The local product, staying home.
For Pickerington native Jamie Wood, the announcement was a formality.
"I've always been a Buckeye fan, always loved the Buckeyes," Wood said. "Ohio State, it doesn't get any better than that."
Jamie WoodA safety who runs the 40-yard-dash in 4.48 seconds, Wood should be running the field's width by sophomore year, if not sooner.
Participating in spring practice, Wood will push incumbents Anderson Russell and Kurt Coleman for playing time, likely seeing the field on special teams or in the nickel package, said Steve Helwagen, managing editor of Bucknuts Media Network.
James Pallitto can be reached at pallitto.1@osu.edu. Ranked fourth among safeties by rivals.com, Wood was one of four incoming Buckeyes to play in the 2009 U.S. Army All-American Bowl.
"If I had one pick for the top player in the state of Ohio, it would be Jamie Wood," said Jeremy Crabtree, a recruiting analyst for rivals.com, in a video on the Web site. "The kid is just all over the football field. He's an impact player at defensive back, an impact player on returns. This kid just does it all and takes over football games."
Possessing an innate football sense, Wood takes over whether the ball is in his hands or not, said Pickerington Central coach Jay Sharrett.
"His coach said that either he would make a play to help them win the game or have a suggestion for the coaches on what they should do strategically to get things in gear to win a game," Helwagen said. "He's a guy that could be a leader at Ohio State in a couple years."
While his starting role might be a couple years away, his leadership is already apparent.
A match made for Wood at an early age, Ohio State will enjoy the fruits of his lifelong affiliation in the form of scout.com's No. 1 ranked recruiting class.
"He's been a Buckeye most of his life, if not his entire life," Helwagen said. "He knew that Ohio State was where he wanted to play. I think that it's also helped the cause. He's been very active in talking to other recruits. He's a guy that's had that impact of, 'Let's go to Ohio State and try to win some championships.' "
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