Four-star athlete Dasan McCullough joins Ohio State

Blue Valley North (Kan.) High School four-star athlete Dasan McCullough has committed himself to Ohio State, giving the Buckeyes their fifth promise of the cycle.

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– Dasan Mccullough (@ Dasan2022) August 18, 2020

McCullough is the no. 70 general player, No. 7 athlete and No. 1 player in Kansas. He is the son of Kansas City Chiefs running back coach Deland McCullough, a former star who runs back at Miami (Ohio).

The younger McCullough is very familiar with the state of Ohio. He was born in Cincinnati and lived there until he was about nine or 10 years old. Dasan’s older brother, Deland McCullough II, is currently playing for the RedHawks as a defensive back, and her grandfather also played for the program.

That Ohio connection is at the heart of McCullough’s recruitment, and so are his connections to Al Washington, Kevin Wilson and the Buckeyes’ third inning in the class, CJ Hicks.

When asked why he ended this trust early and joined the Buckeyes, that connection to the state was McCullough’s first reaction. He mentioned how excited he is that he will now be playing his college games for essentially his entire family. “98 percent of my family lives in Ohio,” he said, with his father’s side from Youngstown and his mother’s side from Cincinnati.

“If Ohio State had never offered me, I could not see myself starting this early in the recruitment process because I do not have a large enough connection with another school and state,” McCullough said. Alve Warriors. “I have a great connection with Ohio, and everyone knows that when you grew up in Ohio, everyone loved Ohio State. That’s how it is.

“In that case, the Ohio bans go back forever, and you play for the biggest team in your home state. Of course, you see what they do with linebackers and they produce. But it’s just all about the reasons not making football an even bigger impact. It’s definitely a home away from home. Once things are open for business, that will definitely be the first place I go. ”

100% BUCKEYE FOR LIFE pic.twitter.com/9d06WvZDwT

– Dasan Mccullough (@ Dasan2022) August 18, 2020

McCullough’s recruitment to Ohio State actually began a long time ago – way back in 1992. Kevin Wilson was Deland’s offensive coordinator at Miami (Ohio) because he cited a misdemeanor that helped Deland break school records and three to earn all-MAC selections from 1992 -1995.

This eventually led to Deland’s first non-graduate assistant coaching job. Wilson hired Deland as his running back coach when he was appointed head coach at Indiana, where Deland remained for most of Wilson’s tenure at Bloomington from 2011-2016.

“Coach Kevin Wilson, actually, I knew for as long as I can remember, because he was the head coach at Indiana, and he’s the one who hired my dad,” McCullough said. ‘That’s why I’m moving from Cincinnati. We first connected with Coach Wilson, and Coach Wilson brought my film right to the defense staff. And Coach Washington really liked it. They could offer me a month before they actually offered me, but Coach Washington wanted to build a relationship with me, which is respectable. ”

Washington has been in a relationship with McCullough since mid-March, and after McCullough was officially offered up on April 21, it felt inexcusable that he would end up with the Buckeyes. It became a matter of “when” not “if”, and it came down to the question of whether Ohio State would accept his promise without a personal visit from McCullough, who is listed as an athlete but is recruited by the Buckeyes to be a strengths linebacker.

Since he had not yet been to Ohio State, the Buckeyes were a little hesitant to accept a promise from him, as they only take on such obligations in rare cases. Ultimately, however, McCullough’s pure talent and valuable versatility helped the deal for Washington, Ryan Day and Co.

McCullough joins Hicks and Powers as the third recruiter to recruit in a class the Buckeyes are likely to take on as four linebackers. McCullough also joins cornerback Jyaire Brown and attacking tackle Tegra Tshabola in the class.

All five players have an Ohio taste. Brown and McCullough are both Cincinnati residents who moved at a young age (Brown has since moved back to Cincinnati from New Orleans and now plays for Lakota West), while Hicks (Dayton), Powers (Marysville) and Tshabola (Lakota West) are high school stars in the area.

Credit Photo Credit: Collin Kennedy, 247Sports