Ohio State Football Recruiting: Update on Alex Anzalone Situation

A simple de-commitment—something that happens frequently in college football—turned into national news when Pennsylvania linebacker Alex Anzalone decided that Ohio State was not what he expected it to be.

The main reason for his abrupt decision was due to a Buckeye superfan, who had uploaded a picture of he and Anzalone, along with others, onto his Twitter account.

Dr. Sal Anzalone, Alex's father, told the Reading Eagle that "something is just not right at Ohio State. It's not for him." Shortly after, he retracted his comments:

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There's nothing wrong with Ohio State; it's a great institution. When I said there was something wrong with Ohio State, I was talking about the visit—there was something wrong with the visit, not with Ohio State.

"

Sal also added that, despite his earlier comments, Ohio State was absolutely still in the running for his son and that Alex just "needs time to reassess the situation."

Well, it's been over a month since the incident and it seems as if the firestorm has calmed. Anzalone is still interested in playing for the Buckeyes, and the feeling is mutual.

Anzalone took an official campus visit to Notre Dame today (June 14) and expects to go straight to Columbus Friday morning. Although he's already taken three trips to Ohio State, he's going for a fourth to "talk to the coaches in person," reports Silver Bullet Recruiting.

This is a crucial moment for Urban Meyer and the rest of the coaching staff if they plan on getting the 4-star OLB to re-commit at some point in the future. This is an opportunity to create a clean slate and a positive atmosphere to help sway his (and his dad's) decision.

Anzalone's has narrowed his list of schools down to six: Florida, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Penn State, Stanford and USC (in no order). He will not visit Alabama.


UPDATE: Silver Bullet Recruiting's Miles Joseph reported via Twitter at 10:40 a.m. ET. today that Anzalone will not make his trip to Ohio State today. This is not a good sign for things to come in terms of having him re-commit, especially right after a visit with Brian Kelly and the Fighting Irish who are working on an outstanding recruiting class for 2013. 


Follow this reporter on Twitter: @Tyler_Waddell.