Earlier in the week, linebacker James Laurinaitis of Plymouth, Minnesota was thinking about taking his originally scheduled visit to the University of Minnesota even after committing to OSU. But late in the week, a report surfaced that Laurinaitis cancelled his trip. We caught up with him a short time ago to confirm he is staying with the Buckeyes.

"No, I did not go (to Minnesota)," he said. "I'm done."

Laurinaitis has struck up a friendship with fellow Buckeye commitments Austin Spitler, Rob Schoenhoft and Todd Denlinger.

"Yeah, we got to know each other well," he said. "As soon as I committed, I called Austin and Rob and Todd. And I called Chad Hoobler too."

Right now, Laurinaitis is focused on his hockey season.

"We're 8-0 right now," he said. "We have three tough games in a row. It'll tell us a lot about ourselves."

As for football, he said that there is one more all-star game left up in Minnesota. While on the subject, he also said he knew about the Big 33 game between Ohio and Pennsylvania.

"Yeah, we do have an all-star game up here in the spring," he said. "Yeah, Austin Spitler, Rob Schoenhoft, Todd Denlinger and I were talking about (the Big 33)."

Of course, as many fans know by now, Laurinaitis' father is a celebrity as he was part of the tag team Legion of Doom/The Road Warriors in the pro wrestling ranks.

"Yeah, Animal is my dad," Laurinaitis said. "He was in pro wrestling. My uncle is Johnny Ace. He's still with the WWE. He is not a wrestler; he works behind the scenes. Storylines and such."

Laurinaitis stands as the 14th commitment to this year's Ohio State recruiting class. He is rated as one of the top ten overall prospects in the state of Minnesota.

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