Ohio State’s 2007 football recruiting class doubled in size this morning when highly touted running back Brandon Saine of Piqua, Ohio, issued a verbal commitment to the Buckeyes.
“He verbally committed to them this morning,” confirmed Piqua athletic director David Palmer.
Neither Saine nor Piqua coach Bill Nees were immediately available for comment.
Saine (6-1, 205, 4.4) is ranked as Ohio’s No. 4 overall prospect in the May edition of Ohio High magazine.
As a junior, Saine rushed for over 1,300 yards and scored 21 touchdowns. He also had 300 receiving yards in 2005. He earned All-Ohio, All-Conference, and Conference Player of the Year honors.
"I would say that my speed is my strongest asset, but I am not scared to deliver a big hit,” Saine said in a previous interview. “I love contact. I have a fast burst, but I want to also be known for my tackle breaking abilities."
Saine joins Lakewood St. Edward safety Nate Oliver, ranked sixth overall in the state by Ohio High, as verbal commitments for OSU’s 2007 class.
Saine previously listed offers from a wide range of schools, including Ohio State. Northwestern, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Pittsburgh, Boston College, Nebraska, Maryland, Oregon and Stanford.
Here is what Bucknuts.com and Ohio High recruiting editor Duane Long had to say about Saine in the May edition of Ohio High:
“After seeing Brandon Saine, on film I am having a hard time believing I had only heard about him as a sprinter until last fall. I did not even know that he played football. Last year Akron Garfield’s Chris Wells was soaking up the entire spotlight but he was not the only superstar running back in Ohio last year. Saine is the real deal.
“Several opposing coaches told me about Saine but I assumed he was just a very fast kid that Piqua coach Bill Nees was putting in positions to use his speed in the open field. I was wrong.
“This kid is legit 6-1, 200 pounds, is well put together and he has excellent vision. Saine is fast but make no mistake - this is no speed back. He is an I-formation tailback that runs between the tackles as well as he runs wide. He makes tacklers miss by running over them and running away from them. Saine is explosive and by the time he gets to the line of scrimmage he is at top speed.
“There are a couple of runs on the tape that demonstrate he has another level of speed. On a couple of runs he is shutting it down but is still pulling away from potential tacklers. On one play in particular he is covering a kickoff and the runner breaks away. Saine makes up so much ground to make the tackle that it looks like something from a Hollywood movie and he did it with no angle. He simply just runs him down.
“Saine will be defending his Division I 100-meter and 400-meter state titles this spring.”
Saine won the 100-meter title with a time of 10.86 seconds after running a 10.78 time in the semis. He won the 400-meter crown with a time of 47.85 seconds.
Stay tuned as we attempt to get reaction from Saine on his verbal to the Buckeyes.