High school football: Commitments highlight busy period for recruiting

Here is a quick look at what some of the players from the area have been up to (Seniors/class of 2022 unless otherwise noted):

1. A pair of players committed over the weekend.

Hamilton running back Kaleb Johnson announced Sunday night he will continue his career at Cal next year. The Big Blue back was on a visit to Berkeley when he made the decision. He visited Michigan, Iowa State and Ohio State (among other places) this month and had a handful of FBS offers, including Iowa, Iowa State, Michigan State, Minnesota and Pitt.

Lakota East tight end Charlie Kenrich picked Purdue earlier in the weekend.

With Alter defensive back Christian Kirenga committing to Illinois State on June 16, three area players have offered pledges in the past week.

2. Springfield quarterback Te’Sean Smoot camped at North Carolina State and Duke over the weekend.

The GWOC’s leading passer in 2020 shared video of throwing a variety of routes for Wolfpack coaches and showed his ability one both sides of the ball at Duke, playing quarterback, cornerback and safety.

Smoot threw for coaches at West Virginia the previous weekend and camped at Ohio State in early June.

3. The Wayne offensive line is blowing up.

Evan Tengesdahl (2023) received an offer from Miami University on Sunday.

Earlier in the month the junior-to-be received offers from Kent State, Toledo and Western Michigan. His other visits have included Kentucky, Michigan State and Youngstown State.

Josh Padilla, a teammate and classmate who played right tackle for the Warriors last season, visited Ohio State early this month and received an offer from Michigan. He saw Penn State and West Virginia last week.

Tengesdahl and Padilla give the Warriors three Division I FBS prospects on the line this fall as they join senior-to-be Aamil Wagner. Wayne’s left tackle has been taking official visits this month, most recently heading to Notre Dame.

4. Versailles offensive lineman Taran Tyo has been discovered by the colleges before the recruiting services.

The senior shared last week he was offered by Ball State and Toledo. He visited BSU on Friday.

He isn’t rated by Rivals or 247Sports yet, but that will probably change.

5. Junior defensive back Josiah Jackson of Fairfield reported getting his first FBS offer over the weekend.

That came from Bowling Green.

Jackson had 41 tackles, an interception and a fumble recovery for the Indians last season.

6. Jackson is not the only 2023 athlete to pick up his first offer recently.

Cincinnati offered Northmont receiver Javien Brownlee last week. He subsequently saw Illinois and has also been to Purdue and Bowling Green.

Brownlee caught 25 passes for 246 yards and three touchdowns for the Thunderbolts last season.

7. Another junior looking to make a mark this summer is Bryce Schondelmyer.

The Arcanum quarterback has hit a few different spots, including Ohio State and Bowling Green last week. He visited Toledo over the weekend and is headed to Purdue on Wednesday.

8. The Glass City was a popular destination for local recruits last week.

Springfield defensive lineman Tywan January, Springboro defensive back Nathan Coy, Piqua running back Jasiah Medley all visited Toledo recently, too.

9. Springfield receiver Anthony Brown (2023) visited Maryland over the weekend and received an offer from the Terps.

Syracuse also joined the long list of schools to offer the speedster, who visited Ohio State early in the month and has since added offers from Penn State and Michigan.

Teammate Shawn Thigpen — another Springfield receiver heading into his junior season — added an offer from Syracuse on Saturday.

He already had offers from Eastern Kentucky, Kentucky and Toledo.

10. Thigpen was part of a big group to camp at Cincinnati last week.

Joining him were defensive lineman Jo’Kell Brown, offensive lineman ZyAaron Woodruff and athletes Aaron Scott Jr. (2024) and Jaivian Norman (2023) among others.

The youngster Scott was a standout for the Wildcats track team (which also included Smoot, January, Thigpen, Delian Bradley, Jo’Kell Brown and Anthony Brown, among others).

Woodruff has an offer from Division III Capital while Jo’Kell Brown has also been to Wisconsin, Akron, West Virginia, EKU recently.

Bradley, a rising senior defensive back who has been on recruiting radars for a long time, has visited Ohio State, Penn, Penn State and Pitt this month, while senior offensive lineman Vasean Washington visited Ball State early in the month and plans to be in Oxford to see Miami this week.

11. Centerville receiver Cameron Smith visited Marshall over the weekend.

He also visited Maryland and Ball State earlier this month while teammate Joseph Jean-Louis (2023) has been to Kentucky and Notre Dame.

12. Mike Smith of Trotwood-Madison is among the first from the class of 2024 to make a splash.

The receiver/defensive back prospect has reported receiving offers from Duke and Akron already.

Antwan Blackshear, a senior teammate of Smith with the Rams, has also been out and about this month.

The interior lineman shared video of reps of workouts at Toledo and has been to Cincinnati, Youngstown State, Duke and Liberty.