Ohio State Football Recruiting: Davonte Neal Reportedly Rebuffed by Buckeyes

Ohio State is reportedly saying "no thank you" to highly touted WR prospect Davonte Neal. Ohio State is enjoying a fabulous recruiting run, but it is still shocking to hear that they would turn down a player of this caliber.

The news comes to us via Mike Farrell of Rivals.com. 

Neal is rated by Rivals as a 4-star prospect, and the 17th best player at his position in the nation. ESPNU holds him in even higher regard. They have him as their eighth rated player in the nation, which makes them their second highest receiver. 

Although they list him as an athlete, at 5'11", the thought is that Neal may be ultimately better suited to play corner. 

Here is a glimpse of his scouting report by an ESPN analyst:

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What Neal may lack in size, he makes up for in acceleration and speed. Neal is a gifted, smooth athlete with the ball in his hands and a dangerous space player. He lacks great height and bulk and we are not sure due to his size he will not end up being a cornerback at the next level. Regardless, he will be a return specialist likely early and often in his collegiate career. Offensively Neal displays rapid acceleration off the line and runs with a low center of gravity. Can weave and get on the toes of the defender in such a hurry that they get flat-footed in their back pedal and it is over if he is going vertical. Neal shows decisive burst into and out of cuts and has huge upside to be a lethal route runner because of his feet and quickness and is already a threat in this area. 

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In light of this, the news that Ohio State would turn him down is surprising, and it may not even end up being true. 

Richard Obert, of the Arizona Republic, shares this information:

Luke is Davonte's father. 

Time will tell if this report is true. If it is, one possible reason for the denial is that Ohio State has run out of scholarships. 

However, that also runs counter to information that Luke Neal had. 

You would have to believe that would be the case. Typically, when a prospect of this caliber wants to commit, teams find a way to make it happen. This will be an interesting story to follow.