J.T. Barrett and Joe Burrow came to Ohio State with arm strength questions, but that's something Ohio State is OK with scouting quarterbacks. Watch video

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Watch Dwayne Haskins' highlight tape and you'll see the ball pop out of his hand the way you would expect it to.

He's a big-bodied quarterback prospect, considered one of the best in the country at his position, and he can really sling it.

Urban Meyer saw it. He called it some of the best arm strength he's seen from a high school quarterback. That's why Meyer and his staff worked hard to flip Haskins from Maryland to Ohio State late in the 2016 recruiting cycle, and why Haskins has a real shot at winning the No. 2 quarterback job behind J.T. Barrett this summer.

None of that should be surprising either. Of course Meyer, in his quest to get the best athletes to Ohio State, would want a top-flight quarterback with a plus-arm and all the intangibles.

Except that's not always the case.

If Haskins finds himself No. 3 on the depth chart this fall -- which seems likely unless the Buckeyes are comfortable with a true freshman backup -- he'll be behind a pair of guys who don't possess the strongest arms.

Meyer has publicly voiced concerns about the arm strength of Barrett in the past, though it's less of an issue now. As recently as the spring game, Meyer said he was concerned with the arm strength of current No. 2 Joe Burrow. And each time Meyer says something like that, it sounds strange.

Why recruit quarterbacks if you're concerned about their arm strength? Why be willing to concede that seemingly very important piece of the position when all you're trying to do is bring the best football players to Ohio State?

Meyer has his reasons.

"Every great quarterback, and we've had great ones, the No. 1 characteristic is competitive spirit," Meyer said. "No. 2 is toughness. No. 3 is ability to lead. No. 4 is intelligence. No. 5 is ability to extend a play. Notice I never said anything about arm strength or delivery."

Joe Burrow didn't have the greatest arm coming out of high school, but he had the other things Urban Meyer looks for in a quarterback.Marvin Fong, The Plain Dealer 

It was noticed. Maybe arm strength and delivery are Nos. 6 and 7. Even if they are that seems pretty far down the list for a team looking to compete with college football's elite every year.

Those two things are important to Meyer. He wouldn't issue those public concerns about his quarterback's arm strength if they weren't. So when there's an opportunity to get a kid who has all those intangibles plus the strong arm, Meyer will go get him -- see Haskins.

That kind of prospect is rare, though.

There are a limited number of quarterbacks who leave high school with college-ready arms, and even fewer who possess that plus everything else Meyer listed. When it does happen, everybody wants that quarterback and only one team gets him. Sometimes it's Ohio State (Haskins), and sometimes it's not (Deshaun Watson).

While it may be easy for some coaches to get infatuated with the big arm and worry about the other stuff later, Meyer takes a different approach. Ohio State is willing to sacrifice something fixable in exchange for intangibles that are either inherent in a player, or not.

"There are pitchers, and there are throwers," Buckeyes quarterback coach Tim Beck said. "Greg Maddux is one of the best pitchers ever in baseball, and I don't know how hard he threw a fastball.

"There's so much that goes into playing quarterback: Smart, leadership, toughness, accuracy, timing -- all of it. So there's sometimes guys who have exceptional arms and really zing it, but don't have those other characteristics. So you look at it and say what can you develop?"

Turning a quarterback into a leader when he's never been one before is tough. Developing the athletic ability required to run Meyer's offense from that position can be daunting if the player doesn't already possess those traits.

But changing a quarterback's delivery and improving his arm strength? That can be done over time.

Look at Barrett. There aren't the same concerns about his arm strength now that there were two years ago when he was rushed into the starting job. Remember his "weenie-arm" rant last year? Maybe those concerns will resurface when he takes his shot at the NFL and gets picked apart by pro scouts, but that's for later. Right now his arm is plenty strong enough, and he's a Heisman Trophy candidate.

Ohio State quarterback J.T. Barrett overcame arm strength concerns early in his career to become a Heisman Trophy candidate. Marvin Fong, The Plain Dealer 

Barrett's career trajectory is nearly exactly what Ohio State has in mind if it lands a quarterback with arm strength issues. Get him in, hope he doesn't have to play early, and build that arm around everything else the player has.

When Burrow was tossing his three touchdowns in the spring game, he wasn't zipping passes in there. But he was accurate. You start with that and build out.

"I don't have the best arm strength, so I better be good at putting some touch on the ball," Burrow said. "That's what I worked on in high school, putting touch on the ball and getting it over defenders. Now the next step is getting my arm strength up."

Barrett and Burrow are similar, highly ranked and capable but lacking in this one area. Haskins is either an outlier, or the beginning of a new trend in Ohio State's quarterback recruiting. We'll get a better idea of that when the Buckeyes are done chasing quarterbacks in 2017 and 2018.

Right now it seems they'll always be on the lookout for a Haskins, but also willing to take a Burrow.

Meyer has had success with guys like Burrow before, guys who are followed by questions about their throwing ability.

"A lot of people said Tim Tebow couldn't play quarterback, and he's the second leading passer in the history of college football," Meyer said. "A lot of people, believe or not, said Cam Newton couldn't play, but he had the other intangibles. We'll take Joe Burrow, who I think was damn near a state champion in basketball, a runner-up in football, just a competitor. That's what set him apart."

That's what makes the man considered one of the best recruiters in college football OK with passing on a quarterback who can throw the ball a mile.

Some things are more important.

"We've all seen what happens to the really skilled guy without the competitive spirit, it's awful," Meyer said. "Not only that, but it also destroys your team because at that position you have to have a competitor."

StubHub will have their logo on the team's jerseys beginning in 2017, when the NBA will start allowing the ads and rebrand itself "NBANASCAR."

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Philadelphia 76ers became the first NBA team to ink a deal for a jersey ad.  Ticket broker StubHub will have their logo on the team's jerseys beginning in 2017, when the NBA will start allowing the ads and rebrand itself "NBANASCAR."  Will the Cavaliers be the second team with a jersey ad if Dan Gilbert wins his bid to buy Yahoo?

Warren Buffett confirmed Monday that he's offered to be a financing partner for Gilbert's bid through his Berkshire Hathaway investment firm. "I'm an enormous admirer of Dan and what he has accomplished in Quicken Loans.  Yahoo is not the type of thing I'd ever be an equity partner in.  I don't know the business and wouldn't know how to evaluate it, but if Dan needed financing, with proper terms and protection, we would be a possible financing help," Buffett said in statement released to CNBC.

Buffett and Gilbert had previously teamed up in 2014 to award $1 billion to anyone who could correctly pick every NCAA March Madness bracket.

According to Forbes magazine, Gilbert is worth $5 billion.  A fortune he built as the founder of Quicken Loans, the largest online mortgage lender in the nation. He has pumped millions of dollars into his native Detroit, practically buying it's downtown.   Gilbert has long envisioned making Detroit a tech hub as a key foundation block to its revitalization.

While the Cavs battle the Raptors, Gilbert is competing against Verizon and private equity firms for Yahoo.   The struggling tech giant has gone from being worth $255 billion to being valued at $35 billion.   In the past nine years, it's had six CEOs.   At that rate, Yahoo should change their logo colors from purple-violet to Cleveland Browns' orange.

If anyone would seem to be a good bet to turn around the tech giant it would be Gilbert, whose skyrocketing business success is really something to Yahoo about.  

Which do you think is the better idea, Gilbert's play for Yahoo or NBA jersey ads?   Auto racing is well known for uniform ads.  But they're also on soccer jerseys, CFL uniforms and the pants of horse racing jockeys.    Should they now join the  Nike, Adidas and Reebok uniform suppliers marks?

Midview QB Dustin Crum still does not have a Division I offer despite two strong seasons as the Middies' starter.

GRAFTON, Ohio — Midview senior QB Dustin Crum has accomplished a lot in his two seasons as a starter. His teams had undefeated regular seasons both years, and he has thrown for 5,965 yards and rushed for 1,872 as a starter.

Because of those numbers, Midview coach DJ Shaw still doesn't know why the 6-foot-3 dual-threat quarterback still does not have a Division I scholarship offer.

"I think it's crazy that someone doesn't think that he's a Division I player," Shaw said. "I've watched a lot of football and I think he definitely can play at that level. From that standpoint, it's a little frustrating. It's a little confusing. But we've heard from a lot of schools. A lot of schools have seen him throw lately.

"I think those schools are kind of dividing up what they have already in their offers. Hopefully he's at the top of someone's board and he'll get an offer soon."

Despite missing time with a shoulder injury last season, Crum threw for 2,642 yards and 32 touchdowns. He had five games where he threw at least four touchdowns, including his eight touchdowns in Week 4 at Avon.

He is ranked as the No. 63 prospect in Ohio according to 247Sports.com's composite rankings, and is the No. 5 quarterback in the state. Of the four quarterbacks ahead of him, only Stow's Kyle Vantrease has not committed to a Division I school yet.
"The fact that he doesn't have one right now isn't great for him," Shaw said. "Schools look at that. They think, 'Why hasn't anybody else offered him?' From that standpoint, it's frustrating like I said."

Crum said Ohio has expressed the most interest in him, but a couple of Ivy League schools have also shown some interest.

"I think there's still a possibility, but I don't know. I'll have to see how it plays out," Crum said.

As far as what Crum heard from those coaches about what he needs to work on, the main item is his mechanics.

"Just working on release, footwork. You can only get better working on all that stuff," Crum added.

Crum's place in Midview's history books is pretty secure. After his junior season, Crum trails Cody Callaway by 1,007 yards for the school's career passing record. He has four of the five best passing games in school history and the two best passing seasons.

Heading into 2016, Crum and the Middies have some retooling to do on the offense after graduating their top three receivers, including Logan Bolin, who is fourth all-time in Ohio with 53 receiving touchdowns. Last year, he had 84 catches for 1,375 yards and 21 touchdowns.

Also gone are Dimitri Redwood (54 receptions, 902 yards, nine touchdowns) and Daimion Mahone (47 receptions, 660 yards, seven touchdowns).

Crum's veteran presence at quarterback will be key to helping younger receivers such as David Amsden, Sam Butler and Luke Hunt grow into major roles this fall. They have already been working intensely during the spring to grow some chemistry.

"They're doing the best they can, obviously. Some of those guys are just special players. You can't just have a Logan Bolin in every class. It just doesn't happen," Crum said. "But they're doing a great job and I think we'll be in a good situation coming next fall."

This story is part of cleveland.com's spring football series. Here are more details on the Middies for the 2016 season. 

MIDVIEW MIDDIES

Coach: DJ Shaw (3 seasons).

2015 record: 11-1.

2015 postseason: Defeated Olmsted Falls, 56-35 in first round; lost to Glenville, 27-13, in second round.

2016 schedule:

Week 1: vs. Lorain

Week 2: at North Olmsted

Week 3: at Amherst

Week 4: vs. Avon

Week 5: vs. Berea-Midpark

Week 6: at Westlake

Week 7: at Olmsted Falls

Week 8: vs. Lakewood

Week 9: vs. Avon Lake

Week 10: vs. North Ridgeville

For more high school sports news, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. 

Thad Matta hasn't decided the roles for his coaching staff now that Chris Jent has replaced Greg Paulus. Watch video

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Greg Paulus thinks Ohio State basketball will have a better offense next season. He doesn't know if he'll be the assistant coach in charge of it.

After a somewhat tumultuous spring that saw player transfers and a change on the bench, the Buckeyes finally seem settled as they prepare to enter the summer. Those players, 11 scholarship players and one walk-on, will be back on campus in a few weeks for summer classes and workouts.

Those coaches, with Chris Jent back taking over for Jeff Boals, have been in place for nearly a month and are set to get working.

Now Thad Matta just needs to figure out their roles.

It was assumed when Jent returned that he would re-take his role as the assistant that runs the Buckeyes offense. That job has been held by Paulus for the last three seasons while Boals ran the defense and Dave Dickerson coached the big men.

Well, keep assuming, because apparently those roles aren't set yet.

"Coach Matta is in the process. We'll get to that when we all get together," Paulus said Wednesday. "He's going through that process right now. Hiring Chris is something we're excited to have. Whatever Coach asks me to do, I'm gonna do and I'm gonna do it to the best of my ability."

I asked Matta this in April, then Jent a few weeks later, and Paulus on Wednesday. Still nothing set.

That's OK, because it's May and the time for gameplanning offenses and tweaking systems is still a ways off, at least until everyone is back together on campus.

But it's a question fans seem to want answered sooner rather than later. Maybe the Buckeyes recent offensive struggles have something to do with that. Two of the last three seasons have been some of the leanest offensive performances under Matta. 

The Buckeyes were 128th in the country in offensive efficiency, according to KenPom, in 2013-14; and 151st in the country in offensive efficiency in 2015-16. Those are the two worst marks during Matta's tenure in Columbus. The year in between was when Ohio State had D'Angelo Russell and finished 28th in offensive efficiency.

What does Jent's return to Ohio State mean?

Recent struggles might have led you to forget that Ohio State has always had pretty good offense under Matta, at least by this metric. Only two other times has Ohio State finished worse than 50th in offensive efficiency under Matta, and it's been top-10 three times.

"You're always evaluating it, trying to find different ways to in this case score the basketball and use your players to maximize their potential," Paulus said. "Having a new team each year, which is what we've had the last couple years, and having a young team, which is what we had last year -- When you look at it and see the guys who are returning, the experience they got and the production they had last year, I think when you look at those things there's a lot of optimism and a lot of excitement."

So Ohio State doesn't know exactly who will be running it (bet it will be Jent in the end), but the coaches believe the offense will be better. It has to be.

Understand that these dips in Ohio State's offense over the years have coincided with some pretty significant player losses. Ohio State doesn't have that excuse now. It has its top six scorers back, and some recruits that should help in shooting and floor spacing.

If they see significant time as freshmen, C.J. Jackson, Andre Wesson and Micah Potter shoot well enough to create the kind of offenses that are becoming increasingly successful at all levels of basketball. If Marc Loving and Keita Bates-Diop shoot the way they were expected to, and join Kam Williams as older players who consistently knock down 3s, even better.

"Having a couple guys who can hopefully shoot a high percentage this year will allow us to have some more space and some more freedom," Paulus said.

The pieces are there, and the Buckeyes think they'll be back on track offensively.

But if you were looking for answers as to who will be coaching it, you'll have to wait a little longer.

A look at how much resale tickets will cost for Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Cavaliers will try to take a 2-0 series lead in the 2016 Eastern Conference Finals tonight at Quicken Loans Arena against the Toronto Raptors.

Fans trying to get into the game will have to go to StubHub and the Cavaliers' secondary ticket market, Flash Seats, to get into the arena.

Just like we did before Game 1 on Tuesday, here is a look at how much it will cost to get into Game 2. We will also compare the prices of tickets as of 10 p.m., on Wednesday to how much they cost the night before Game 1. All prices on Flash Seats are the sellers' asking prices and some may sell for less than those prices.

Flash Seats

The first thing that jumps out when looking at the price ranges is that the highest asking price is $1 million for a single seat in the upper deck. But as of 10 p.m., on Wednesday, the highest bid for that seat is just $45.

At the cheapest, the asking price to get in starts at $79.98, but that's for a single-seat listing. Getting two tickets will cost a minimum of $87 per seat.

The ranges of ticket prices on Flash Seats for Game 2 of the 2016 Eastern Conference Finals.FlashSeats.com 

For seats in the lower deck, the starting price is $150. But again, that listing is just for one seat. To get more than one seat in the lower bowl, sellers are looking for at least $161 per seat.

Outside of the $1 million listing and another selling two seats in the lower bowl for $130,000 per seat, the most expensive seats are for two separate pairs of floor seats. Each pair of seats is going for $7,500 per ticket.

Compared to Monday

Since Game 1, the minimum asking price has increased by less than $2. But that was the only listing for less than $80 and it was for a single seat compared to 16 listings on Monday for less than $80.

The price to get multiple lower bowl seats went up $2 from Monday. But the most expensive seats in the lower deck went up from $3,000 per ticket on Monday to $5,000 per ticket on Wednesday.

But other than the two high listings, the price for the most expensive floor seats decreased by $1,000 since Monday.

StubHub

Only 369 tickets are still available for Game 2. Including fees, the most expensive seats are for up to four seats in the upper deck going for $115.96 each. But according to StubHub's value chart, the listing is a four out of five in terms of value.

Lower deck tickets are starting at $197.70, with the next least expensive set costing $234.30 a seat.

The most expensive seats available on StubHub are courtside seats that are going for $11,592.50 each.

When it comes to StubHub's value chart, it's best value seats including a set of four club seats in Section C127 for $371.87 a ticket.

Compared to Monday

In the last two days, almost half of the tickets have been sold. The minimum purchase price has only increased by just more than $3.

Getting into the lower bowl is actually cheaper now than it was on Monday. In fact, the two least expensive listings in the lower deck both cost less than it did at Monday's lowest listing.

At the other end, the most expensive seats available will cost nearly four times as much as they did on Monday.

Jordan Spieth is looking to get his season untracked this weekend at the AT&T Byron Nelson in Irving, Texas.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Jordan Spieth will try to get his season back on track on familiar territory as the PGA Tour plays the AT&T Byron Nelson at TPC Four Seasons Resort in Irving, Texas, where Spieth played his first PGA Tour event.

The tournament begins today and Spieth is playing with Cleveland native Jason Dufner and Jimmy Walker. The Golf Channel will televise live from 4-7 p.m. and you can also follow along all day on our live leaderboard (below).

Click here for today's pairings and tee times.

Spieth's last three rounds have been anything but pleasant. Last year's champion had his blowup in the final round of the Masters, then struggled while playing with No. 1 Jason Day last week at The Players Championship, missing the cut while Day went on to win.

Spieth is currently No. 2 in the player rankings, the same spot he was in when the Byron Nelson started last year.

Day is not playing this week.

TODAY'S LIVE LEADERBOARD

PGA TOUR / AT&T BYRON NELSON

Site: Irving, Texas.
Course: TPC Four Seasons Resort. Yards: 7,166. Par: 70.
Purse: $7.3 million (First prize: $1.314 million)
Television: CBS Sports (Saturday-Sunday, 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. EDT). Golf Channel (Thursday-Friday, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.).
Defending champion: Steven Bowditch.
Last week: Jason Day went wire-to-wire in a four-shot victory at The Players Championship.
Notes: The top 60 in the world after this week are exempt into the U.S. Open, and the top 50 get in the British Open. ... Day won his first PGA Tour event at the Byron Nelson in 2010. He is taking the week off. ... Jordan Spieth has been a runner-up at every PGA Tour stroke-play event in Texas except the Byron Nelson. ... Steven Bowditch began the year with a tie for 10th in Kapalua, and his game has gone the other direction since then. He has eight rounds in the 80s, including five in a row at one point, and has played all four rounds only once in a full field (AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am). ... Spieth made his PGA Tour debut in the Byron Nelson six years ago. As a 16-year-old, he had three straight rounds in the 60s and tied for 16th. He hasn't finished in the top 20 as a pro. ... Bryson DeChambeau received a sponsor's exemption. ... Charl Schwartzel, who missed The Players Championship last week, is in the field. ... Spieth's roommate, Alex Moon, makes his PGA Tour debut.
Next week: Dean & Deluca Invitational at Colonial.

(The Associated Press contributed to this report)

Muirfield, one of the golf clubs that hosts the British Open, has voted against admitting women as members. The R&A, which organizes the British Open, reacted by saying Muirfield will no longer be allowed to stage the major championship.

Associated Press

GULLANE, Scotland -- Muirfield will no longer be used as a host venue of the British Open golf tournament after the Scottish club voted against admitting women as members.

The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers, which owns Muirfield, announced its decision to retain the club's male-only policy Thursday following a postal vote of its 750 members. A two-thirds majority was required for a change to take place, but 36 percent of members voted against allowing women.

The Royal and Ancient, which run the British Open, reacted to the decision by saying Muirfield would no longer be considered for hosting the championship.

"Going forward we will not stage the Championship at a venue that does not admit women as members," R&A chief executive Martin Slumbers said in a statement. "If the policy at the club should change we would reconsider Muirfield as a venue for The Open in future."

Muirfield is one of 10 courses on the British Open rotation. Royal Troon, which hosts this year's British Open, is the only other club on the rotation to still exclude women.

Muirfield has hosted the British Open 16 times. On the last occasion in 2013 when Phil Mickelson lifted the claret jug, the R&A was heavily criticized for allowing Muirfield to stage the event given its opposition to having female members.

A consultation exercise with members was opened as a result.

Scottish newspaper The Scotsman reported Wednesday that a group of members at Muirfield -- leading a "No" campaign against women joining the club -- had canvassed fellow members, saying "it is accepted that we may have to change, but we should not do so now on the basis suggested."

"A traditional resistance to change is one of the foundations of our unique position in golf and our reputation," the members wrote in the letter, according to The Scotsman.

Troon has separate men's and women's clubs and is consulting members over whether to alter that arrangement.

The Royal and Ancient Golf Club at St. Andrews, the spiritual "Home of Golf," opened its membership to women in 2014 for the first time in 260 years. Royal St. George's, another British Open host, ended its male-only membership last year.

Augusta National, home of the Masters, decided in 2012 to invite women to join.

The Indians beat the Reds for a third consecutive night to capture the Ohio Cup for the second straight season. The Tribe won it on Francisco Lindor's 12th-inning homer. Watch video

CINCINNATI -- Somewhere in Wednesday night's game, Mike Clevinger made his big league debut. He pitched well, too, but that seems like a long time ago.

That was before the Reds scored five times in the sixth inning to erase a 4-1 lead by the Indians. It was before Jay Bruce extended the lead to 7-5 in the eighth with his second homer of the night. And it was long before Rajai Davis pulled the Indians into a 7-7 tie in the ninth inning with his second homer of the game following a 10-pitch walk by Lonnie Chisenhall.

As for when Francisco Lindor put the Indians ahead for good with a leadoff homer in the 12th for a 8-7 victory, well, all you could say to Clevinger was thanks for coming.

Lindor hit a 3-2 pitch by Keyvius Sampson over the wall in center to give the Indians their first extra inning win of the season after three straight losses. The victory secured the Ohio Cup for the Tribe for the second straight year in the Battle of Ohio. 

"Giving up a five-spot was disheartening at the time," said manager Terry Francona. "They they get another run (Bruce's second homer) which hurt. But then Rajai, with a beautiful swing after he was trying to get a bunt down, (ties it up).

"Then we just hung in there."

Clevinger was living the dream all pitchers dream. He had a three-run lead entering the sixth inning of his first big-league game, but the Reds scored five times to flush that dream.

After the Indians outscored Cincinnati, 28-7, in the first two games of the Battle of Ohio at Progressive Field, the energy changed when the series moved to the banks of the Ohio River. There's a reason the Reds are 12-11 at home and 3-14 on the road.

Clevinger allowed four runs on five hits in 5 1/3 innings. He struck out five and walked one. He made a bad pitch to Joey Votto, but he still had a chance to come away with a victory if the bullpen had done its job.

The Reds, trailing 4-1, rallied for a 6-4 lead in the sixth. Votto hit a two-run double off Clevinger. Eugenio Suarez added a three-run homer off Zack McAllister.

Francona went to the bullpen to play matchup after Clevinger struck out Brandon Phillips for the first out with the Tribe still leading, 4-3. Lefty Kyle Crockett came on to face Bruce. For the second time in the series, Bruce flared a single into left field as Votto went to third.

McAllister relieved to face Suarez and fell behind 2-0. Suarez hammered the next pitch, a 95 mph fastball, over the right field fence for his ninth homer of the season.

The Tribe came back to make it 6-5 as Lindor scored Davis from third on a ground out to second. Davis walked, stole second and took third on a wild pitch by Jumbo Diaz. Mike Napoli ended the inning on a fly ball to center with the tying run on third base.

Bruce, however, extended the lead to 7-5 with a leadoff homer off Jeff Manship in the eighth. It was Bruce's eighth homer of the season.

After the sixth, the pen gathered itself. Joba Chamberlain, Jeff Manship, Bryan Shaw, Cody Allen and Dan Otero combined to allow one run in six innings.

The Indians built a 4-1 lead through six innings behind Clevinger's strong appearance. The Indians activated him before the game and he showed why he was 5-0 at Class AAA Columbus.

"I thought Clevinger was good," said Francona. "It was a tight plate for both pitchers and I don't mean it was a bad plate. I thought he followed the glove and kept his composure real well."

Jose Ramirez opened the second against left-hander Brandon Finnegan with a single to right. He went to third on a Yan Gomes double and scored on Marlon Byrd's sacrifice fly for a 1-0 lead.

Davis, 5-for-7 in the first two games of the Battle of Ohio, put the Tribe ahead, 2-0, with a leadoff homer in the third. It was his third homer of the season and first since April 21 against Seattle.

Bruce put the Reds on the board in the fourth with a two-out homer of Clevinger's first pitch to make it 2-1. It gave him 127 homers at Great American Ball Park, the most by a Reds player.

The Indians stretched the lead to 4-1 with two more runs in the sixth. Jason Kipnis opened the inning with a double to the fence in left center that Billy Hamilton just missed running down. He moved to third on a ground out by  Lindor and scored when Suarez couldn't handle Napoli's grounder to third for an error.

Napoli moved to second on Ramirez's second hit of the game, a single to left. Byrd scored him with a two-out single for his second RBI against his former team.

What it means

Allen earned his first win of the season with two scoreless innings. Otero, the eighth Indians' pitcher to appear in the game, retired the Reds in the 12th for his first save since June 19, 2014 when he pitched with the A's.

Otero retired Phillips on a fly ball to right with runners on first and second. Phillips, who has hit the Indians well throughout his career, took an 0-for-6 in the game.

The pitches

Clevinger threw 96 pitches, 60 for strikes. Finnegan threw 96 pitches, 60 for strikes.

Do the swim

Lindor tried to use his swim move to reach second base in the third inning. He singled into center field and tried to stretch it into a double as Hamilton made a strong throw to Phillips at second.

Lindor went into the bag head first and at the last moment flipped on his side and reached the bag with his left arm. Umpire Paul Emmel called him out, but it looked like he avoided Phillips' initial tag.

The Indians challenged the call, but a review of 1:17 upheld Emmel's call. While Lindor might have avoided Phillips' original tag, it looked like the momentum of his slide momentarily took him off the tag.

The single gave Lindor his 15^th multihit games of the season.

Thanks for coming

The Indians and Reds drew 22,815 fans Wednesday night to Great American Ball Park.

The first pitch was at 7:11 p.m. with a temperature of 66 degrees.

What's next?

The four-game series ends Thursday night when Josh Tomlin (5-0, 3.82) faces Cincinnati rookie right-hander Tim Adleman (1-1, 3.38) at 7:10 p.m. SportsTime Ohio and WMMS/FM 100.7 will carry the game.

Tomlin, making his seventh start, is coming off a 6 1/3-inning no decision against the Twins. He's 1-2 with a 5.32 ERA lifetime against the Reds. Zack Cozart is hitting .625 (5-for-8) against him.

Adleman, making his fourth big-league start, is coming off a five-inning loss to the Phillies. The rookie right-hander has never faced the Indians.

Stow football has eyes set on state title after reaching final four a year ago. Watch video

STOW, Ohio -- Stow football coach Mark Nori was pleasantly surprised last season to see his team develop as quick as they did. The work paid off finishing the regular season undefeated.

"We knew that we had talent on the roster throughout 9-12, we just weren't sure how quick it would manifest itself," said Nori. "It's a credit to the kids, they took each week as a challenge and when they took the field they believed in themselves."

Stow finished the 2015 season reaching the Division I state final four before falling to top seed and eventual state champion St. Edward, 45-7. Nori and couple of his players chatted about adjusting to the Division I playoff changes, finding a replacement for 2,000-yard rusher Jayson Gobble and building off the team's success from last season.

Continue building the family

Quarterback Kyle Vantrease and offensive lineman Mike Miranda return for one more season as two cornerstones for the team. Vantrease, who completed 130 of his 244 passes for 1,919 yards, 12 TDs and nine interceptions last season, said unity was and is the key for the team's success.

"The key was the family mentality," Vantrease said. "You can have one player that's really good, but if you have a whole team that is working together you can accomplish a lot more."

The 6-foot-3 junior quarterback, rated 3-stars by 247Sports.com, is throwing the discus during the spring and has increased his weight by about 12 pounds up to 227-pounds. Vantrease has eight offers including those from nearly every Mid-American Conference school.

He's protected by a four returning offensive linemen led by Penn State commit Miranda. The rising senior like his teammates have their eyes set on a goal of winning a state title.

"It [the goal] wasn't something that we've had in previous years, and honestly we just wanted to compete and do what we did this past season," Miranda said. "We want to take it one step farther and win a that state championship this year."

Miranda adds size and quickness at 6-foot-3, 300-pounds as an offensive guard. He received over 20 offers including those from the Big 10, MAC, SEC and ACC schools.

Miranda is also rated three-stars by 247Sports.com and are among the Top 50 players in the state. Nori said he also expects Miranda to finish school early graduating in December and enrolling to Penn State.

Gobble among pieces to be replaced

Stow didn't lose much in terms of starters, but will be without one of their biggest offensive producers in Gobble. The graduating senior rushed for 2,086 yards and 30 TDs on 293 carries.

"He was as shifty as a guy I had ever seen," Nori said. "He's a big loss for us, but I think with the combination of classes we have guys that are going to be able to come and fill that role."

Nori said there about four guys that the coaching staff that could fill the vacancy left behind by Gobble. Stow will also be looking to replace right guard Noah Fisher and receiver Monte Board due to graduation.

Jayson Gobble play of the week highlights

Impact of Division I playoff changes

If everything works in favor of the Bulldogs reaching the playoffs, it could mean that the team may see St. Edward again in the playoffs. This comes after the OSHAA adopted in April to reformat the number of Division I football regions from two to four.

"I don't think any region you get involved there's not going to be a bad one," Nori said. "They are all solid teams."

Stow would be in the same region with other notable programs as Berea-Midpark, Euclid, Mentor, St. Ignatius and St. Edward.

"When you look at Northeast Ohio football, there's a reason why the recruiters and scouts are flooding this area because there's a wealth of talent across the board," Nori added. "You would expect the teams to be excellent when you get to that level. We're just happy to have the talent to potentially be there and if we do make it, we'll see what happens."

This story is part of cleveland.com's spring football series (see below for previous stories). Here are more details on the Bulldogs for the 2016 season.

STOW BULLDOGS

Coach: Mark Nori (7 seasons)

2015 record: 13-1

2015 postseason: Defeated Berea-Midpark, 57-34; Defeated Solon, 24-15; Defeated Olentangy, 38-16; Lost to St. Edward, 45-7, in the Division I State Semifinals.

Starters returning: 8

2016 schedule:

Week 1: at Green

Week 2: vs. Kent

Week 3: at Solon

Week 4: vs. Wadsworth

Week 5: vs. Nordonia

Week 6: at Twinsburg

Week 7: at Hudson

Week 8: vs. Cuyahoga Falls

Week 9:  vs. Brecksville

Week 10: at North Royalton

Midview QB Dustin Crum still chasing his first Division I college scholarship offer

Tyreke Smith, new to football at Cleveland Heights, already has six Division I offers

Cleveland Heights' Jaylen Harris keeps basketball balanced with football pull

Tadas Tatarunas doing all he can to be Mentor's next great QB, and a big-time college recruit

Glenville football coach Ted Ginn Sr. sets player development as priority for 2016

St. Edward football coach Tom Lombardo speaks after first year with Eagles

For more high school sports news, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

A look at some of the highlights of ESPN's broadcast of Game 2 of the 2016 Eastern Conference Finals.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The ESPN crew of Mike Breen, Mark Jackson, Jeff Van Gundy and Doris Burke again had the call for Thursday's Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals in Cleveland.

This blog features highlights from the ESPN broadcast including key quotes and reaction from the broadcast.

Kyrie moves just like Steph

Multiple times throughout the first quarter, ESPN made a comparison between Kyrie Irving's dribble ability and that of Warriors MVP guard Stephen Curry.

Van Gundy added that Irving has as good a double move with the dribble as Curry. Breen noted as well that Irving's ballhanding is just as good as Curry's.

Jackson also dropped an "Uncle Drew" when Irving hit the final shot of the first quarter.

"Now everything has to have a uniform and get a participation trophy."

Following a sliding attempt by Cory Joseph to retrieve a loose ball in the second quarter, Jackson made a comment about how a potential call would have led to an argument on the playground.

That began a brief tangent from Jackson and Van Gundy about how there aren't a lot of kids who play on playgrounds including the above quote from Van Gundy, eventually leading to short memories from his childhood.

"We would have revolted if our water fountain didn't work," Van Gundy added.

"Leadership does not run off the floor."

Burke reported that Kyle Lowry came off the floor late in the first half because of how frustrated he was at this poor play.

Jackson criticized the decision with the above quote, saying that Lowry needed to stay on the bench for his teammates.

Life lessons from Jeff Van Gundy

"When you're pure of heart, good things happen." - On Tristan Thompson's hustle and energy.

Did Jeff Van Gundy just say, "when you're pure of heart, good things happen?"

-- Chris Towers (@CTowersCBS) May 20, 2016

What you said

Here is some of the social media reaction from ESPN's broadcast.

Glad to see Mark Jackson agrees that Kyrie is the best finishing PG in the game

-- Doug Gottlieb (@GottliebShow) May 20, 2016

Van Gundy also had an interesting thought on how some players don't want to just win.

Jeff Van Gundy sharing the truth! @ESPNNBA pic.twitter.com/ZjAX60bIUs

-- Pure Sweat (@PureSweat) May 20, 2016

And for the second game in a row, Van Gundy made reference to a rap star. This time, it's about Toronto-native Drake.

LOL JEFF VAN GUNDY IS GOING AFTER DRAKE: "What? He doesn't do back-to-backs? Are we really at the point where we're letting fans rest?"

-- Alysha Tsuji (@AlyshaTsuji) May 20, 2016

Jeff Van Gundy on Drake: "What, he doesn't do back-to-backs?" Not sure if that was intentional or not.

-- Vaughn Johnson (@VaughnMJohnson) May 20, 2016

The Indians open a three-game series at Fenway Park on Friday night against the surging Red Sox with Corey Kluber trying to snap a personal two-game losing streak.

CINCINNATI - Preview and pitching matchups for the Indians-Red Sox series in Boston

Where: Fenway Park, Friday through Sunday.

TV/radio: SportsTime Ohio will carry the series. WTAM/1100 and WMMS/FM 100.7 will carry the Friday and Sunday's games. WMMS/FM 100.7 will carry Saturday's game.

Pitching probables: RHP Corey Kluber (2-5, 4.30) vs. RHP Clay Buchholz (2-3, 6.11) Friday at 7:10 p.m.; RHP Trevor Bauer (3-1, 3.89) vs. RHP Joe Kelly (1-0, 2.77) Saturday at 4:05 p.m. and RHP Danny Salazar (4-2, 1.80) vs. RHP Rick Porcello (6-2, 3.51) Sunday at 1:35 p.m.

Series: The Indians and Boston have split two games this season. The Indians lead, 1,035-974, overall.

Friday: Kluber has lost his last two starts, allowing nine earned runs and 12 hits in 9 1/3 innings. He's 0-1 against Boston this year, having lost the season opener on April 5, and is 1-3 in his career. Travis Shaw is hitting .500 (4-for-8) with one homer against Kluber.

Buchholz has won two of his last three starts. He's 2-1 with a 4.91 ERA in six starts against the Indians. Jason Kipnis is hitting 3-for-5 (.600) against him.

Saturday: Bauer lost his last start against the Twins, but pitched well. He's 0-1 with a 23.63 ERA in two starts against Boston. David Ortiz is 2-for-2 against him with a double and a homer.

Kelly is expected to come off the disabled list and face the Indians. He hasn't pitched in the big leagues since April 19 because of a right shoulder problem. He's 1-0 with a 0.82 ERA against the Tribe. Juan Uribe is hitting .364 (4-for-11) against him.

Sunday: Salazar is 2-0 in his last three starts, allowing two earned runs in 20 innings He's 2-0 with 1.46 ERA against Boston, Jackie Bradley Jr. is 2-for-3 (.667) against him.

Porcello, after winning his first five starts, has lost two of his last three. He's 9-4 with a 3.36 ERA against the Indians. Carlos Santana is hitting .308 (12-for-39) with three homers against him.

Team updates: The Indians took a three-game winning streak into Thursday night's game against the Reds. At 20-17, they're three games above .500 for the first time since the end of the 2014 season. The Red Sox just lost two out of three to the Royals, but they've won eight of their last 11 games.

Players to watch: Rajai Davis, entering Thursday night's game, is hitting .583 (7-for-12) with nine runs, two homers, seven RBI and five walks in the last three games for the Indians. Bradley Jr. has hit in 24 straight games for the Red Sox.

Injuries: Indians - RHP Carlos Carrasco (left hamstring), C Roberto Perez (right thumb) and Michael Brantley (right shoulder) are on the disabled list. Red Sox - RHP Kelly (right shoulder), LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (right knee), 3B Pablo Sandoval (left shoulder) and RHP Brandon Workman (right elbow) are on the disabled list.

Next: The Indians travel to U.S. Cellular Field to play the White Sox in a four-game series, starting Monday with a doubleheader.

Cleveland Browns head coach Hue Jackson has the question to your answer: Crowquill

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- As is typical for any NFL head coach in his first year with a new team, Hue Jackson doesn't have a lot of definitive answers when it comes to specifics about the 2016 edition of the Cleveland Browns.

All he'll really say, in between Organized Team Activities, is that he promises the Browns will be well prepared and play hard this fall.

Of course it would never happen, but here's a fun idea to alter the format at press conferences to try and get some answers that are different from the usual coach speak. Change to a 'Jeopardy' format where the reporter supplies the coach an answer and the coach responds with a question. See above.

Crowquill, by Plain Dealer artist Ted Crow, appears three times a week on cleveland.com.

LeBron James' scoring is down from the 2015 postseason, but he may be harder to guard because of Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love. Watch video

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Even in a game where LeBron James looked, beyond a shadow of a doubt, like the best player on the court, Kyrie Irving still led the Cavs in scoring.

James posted his 15^th career triple-double in the postseason with 23 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists in the Cavs' 108-98 dismantling of the Toronto Raptors in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals.

Much of the attention afterwards went to James, who not only enjoyed a huge night but also passed Shaquille O'Neal on the NBA's postseason scoring list and met Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in the hallway.

Lost in the shuffle, if you will, were Irving's game-high 26 points. Buried somewhere underneath the rubble that was the Raptors were Kevin Love's 19 points on 5-of-8 shooting.

Much has been made during this perfect Cavs postseason of the emergence of Irving and Love, who are firmly upholding their corners of Cleveland's Big 3. They're taking some of the burden off of James and proving worthy wingmen for a captain who's trying to steer this ship to another Finals.

Irving and Love are taking points and shots from James one year after he single-handily shot the Cavs into the Finals. But they're also making him better, or at least more difficult to defend.

 

"It's always difficult to deal with me," James said. "I think it adds even more when you have two All-Stars with you, two guys that command multiple eyes any possession. They're so in such a great rhythm right now, I've been able to just pick my spots and do other things to help us try to win ballgames while those guys take the load."

To illustrate this, consider the Raptors' defensive scheme against James thus far in the series. In short, they don't feel they can double-team him.

In Game 1 - where James scored 24 points on 11-of-13 shooting, Irving led all scorers with 27, and Love added 14 - James wasn't forced to shoot or make an assist out of a double-team one time. DeMarre Carroll was left virtually alone to guard James straight up, and the results were disastrous for the Raptors.

In Game 2, Toronto at least allowed Bismack Biyombo to slide over to help Carroll when James drove past him. And on at least two of James' assists, Biyombo ran at James while Carroll was still in front of him.

Of course, on those plays James found Tristan Thompson for a dunk and Love for a 3-pointer.

"I don't know how many more adjectives I can give him," Raptors coach Dwane Casey said. "He's a great player, he's playing great. He's assisting. I'm more concerned about the Toronto Raptors. They're a great team and we respect them, but, again, we're here to win.

"We're not here to increase his legacy or anything like that. We're trying to take his legacy."

The Raptors probably won't be taking much of anything in this series. Outscored by 50 points in the two games, the Raptors now host a Cavs team led by James, who has won at least one road game in 24 consecutive series.

Toronto has been handicapped by the ankle injury of 7-footer Jonas Valanciunas, who has yet to play. Without him in the middle, the Raptors have virtually no one to whom Carroll can funnel James to make it tougher for him to get to the room - a must when trying to defend James.

Teams sometimes try to send two defenders at James any time he catches the ball below the foul-line extended, but he almost always finds the open man.

In the Finals last June, the Warriors gave James some room to shoot, as long as it was outside the lane. And they suffocated his teammates, especially along the perimeter, while Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving watched with injuries.

Through 10 games this postseason, James has taken nearly 54 percent of his shots from inside of 5 feet - easily the highest percentage of close-range shots during the playoffs in his career. He's shooting 52.5 percent, the second-highest in 11 playoff runs.

James entered the playoffs having shot about 31 percent from 3-point range - second-lowest of his career. Teams planned on forcing him to take jumpers during the playoffs. But they can't do it without extra bodies, and those bodies aren't available because of the attention Irving and Love demand.

James also shooting just 18.4 shots per game - third-lowest of his career and nearly 10 fewer shots than he averaged during the 2015 playoffs.

Irving is taking the most shots and leading the Cavs in scoring (24.8 points to James' 23.5), and Love is adding 18.4 points per night. James' scoring average has dropped nearly seven points from the previous postseason, and he's now gone a career-long 10 games without scoring 30 points.

Also, James' 37.7 minutes per game are the lowest of his career in the playoffs.

"When Kyrie and Kevin are playing at a high level, it opens the floor for LeBron," Cleveland coach Tyronn Lue said. "We know LeBron is the best player in the world, and I believe that, and at times there are going to be times when he has to take the game over.

"But now he understands the bigger picture and understands that the more the team plays, the more the team performs, the easier it is for him, and the easier it is for us." 

LeBron James passed Shaquille O'Neal on the NBA all-time postseason scoring list and met with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar afterwards on Thursday night. Watch video

CLEVELAND, Ohio - It was a night of legends for LeBron James - the one he passed on the NBA's all-time scoring list and the one he met afterwards.

James passed Shaquille O'Neal for fourth in league history for postseason points in the Cavs' 108-89 hammering of the Raptors in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

At The Q to watch it all was Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who is two spots ahead of James on that postseason scoring list. Abdul-Jabbar waited outside the locker room for James after watching the Cavs' superstar post a triple-double (23 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists) from a suite.

"I was actually ... jogging into the locker room like we usually do off the floor, and obviously I saw a legend outside of our locker room, and I slowed my pace up drastically just to embrace a legend being in our building, watching us play," James said. "What he did for the game, the championship runs that he had with the 'Showtime' Lakers and him being the all-time leading scorer in NBA history and so on and so on and so on, it's just respect.

"When you see a guy like that, when you put him in a class with like Jim Brown and Muhammad Ali and Oscar Robertson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, those guys all laying that same thing, Bill Russell. It was a pretty cool moment."

Abdul-Jabbar thought so much of the meeting that he Tweeted the video of it.

A little video from back at the @cavs pic.twitter.com/ETVz8LUUxz

-- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (@kaj33) May 20, 2016

The numbers break down this way: James now has 5,255 points, ahead of O'Neal's 5,250. Kobe Bryant is next 5,640 playoff points, then Abdul-Jabbar (5,762), and finally Michael Jordan (5,987).

Abdul-Jabbar is the NBA's all-time scoring leader (regular season), with 38,387. James is currently 11^th (26,833), and at 31-years of age has an outside chance (at best) of catching him.

As for the legends: Before Cleveland's win in Game 3 of the Finals last season, James spotted Jim Brown in the crowd and bowed to him. Russell was on hand for Game 6, when the Warriors clinched, but James didn't speak with him.

James said earlier Thursday that O'Neal was the "most dominant" player he had ever seen. 

After passing O'Neal, James said: "It just always takes me back to my childhood and watching so many of the greats playing basketball and saying I wish I could be a part of that or at times saying there's no way I could be a part of such a great league, there's no way.

"Just the statistics don't look right for me as an African-American kid growing up in the inner city," James said. "I played both sides of the fence as a kid growing up.

"To be in this position today where I see my name linked to a lot of the greats that have played this game and paved the way for myself and Kyrie (Irving) and Kev (Love), it means a lot. It's very humbling. It's an opportunity for my family to be proud, for my fans to be proud, so that's just a lot of respect with that." 

LeBron James scored 23 points with 11 rebonds and 11 assists. Three of his points came on a play before halftime that capped the Cavaliers' 108-89 win during Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals.

The Raptors All-Star has shot 33 percent from the floor through two games of the Eastern Conference Finals.

CLEVELAND, Ohio - As far as Kyle Lowry is concerned, he's done missing shots.

That's good news for the Raptors, who have watched their All-Star guard struggle through the first two games of the Eastern Conference Finals. On Thursday, he finished with 10 points on 4-of-14 shooting.  He scored just two points in the first half as the Cavaliers again used the second quarter to pull away, this time for a 108-89 win.

For the series, Lowry is 8-of-24 shooting for 18 points. He missed his first 11 3-point attempts of the series before hitting one in the third quarter Thursday. He also had a game-high five turnovers and was 1 of 2 at the line, his first free throws of the series.

"I'm super confident," Lowry said. "I missed some 3s that I thought were good that I made last series. I'm not down on myself. I'm like, listen, we have a game on Saturday and I'm going to be a lot more effective on Saturday. Simple as that."

Lowry fueled the Raptors' offense in the Eastern semifinals against Miami, averaging 23.4 points, including 30-point outbursts in three games. He shot 65 percent on 3-pointers in those three games.

He's 1-of-15 on 3-pointers in two games vs. the Cavaliers.

Kyle Lowry shot chart, Eastern Conference Finals Game 2.NBA.com 

 "I've gotten some good looks that I've been missing and I don't think I'll be missing any more of those," said Lowry.

The Raptors were without center and third-leading scorer Jonas Valanciunas for the sixth straight game due to an ankle injury. Raptors coach Dwane Casey called for more bench scoring after Game 1, and on Thursday he got that.

The Raptors scored 22 points off the bench in the first half (including 10 from Terrence Ross) compared to 19 through three quarters in Game 1. But it wasn't enough. The Cavaliers still pulled away in the second quarter and led by double digits at halftime.

Lowry couldn't wait until half time to try and regroup. He headed to the locker room with about two minutes left in the half.

"(I just had to) decompress. Relax my body and relax my mind," said Lowry. "I wanted to get myself going, get my teammates going. Breathe and get back out. I've done it plenty of times. The magnitude of the situation, it shows a bit more."

The situation just got a lot more dire for the Raptors, who have to wonder if they can climb back into the series with Lowry stuck in a rut.

"I think we have to," said Casey. "And again, he's missed some shots. To us, he's still our motor, he's still our engine, he's still our leader. So yes, we can, because he can do other things to help us win."

A look at the key numbers from Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

See what the Cleveland Cavaliers' Big Three said after routing the Toronto Raptors again in the NBA Eastern Conference Finals. Watch video

CLEVELAND, Ohio - The Big Three of LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love talked after the Cleveland Cavaliers routed the Toronto Raptors for the second straight game in the NBA Eastern Conference Finals at Quicken Loans Arena Thursday night.

James scored a triple-double in the 108-89 victory and surpassed Shaquille O'Neal on the all-time NBA playoff scoring leaders list leaving only Michael Jordan, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Kobe Bryant ahead.

The series now shifts to Toronto for two games with the Cavs leading 2-0.

Follow on Twitter: @CLEvideos

Room in tight in Ohio State's 2017 recruiting class, but the Buckeyes would make room for both unofficial visitors this weekend.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- It has been well documented how Ohio State is limited with how many more commitments it can take in the 2017 recruiting class, but the Buckeyes would find room for two prospects who are visiting this weekend. 

Those prospects are both five-star recruits from The Lone Star State: Safety Jeffery Okudah from Grand Prairie (Texas) South and linebacker Baron Browning of Kennedale, Texas. 

Needless to say, it's a big weekend for Urban Meyer. 

Let's start with Okudah, the No. 1 safety in the country in the 247Sports composite rankings. The 6-foot-2, 190-pound defensive back has consistently considered Ohio State his leader, but this weekend's visit could be pivotal in how everything plays out. 

It's the first time Okudah has been in Columbus since last summer, a time during which he was being recruited by former defensive coordinator Chris Ash, now the head coach at Rutgers. 

New defensive coordinator and former Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano has picked up from where Ash left off in the charge for Okudah, but the personal time in Columbus could be huge for the Buckeyes. 

Okudah has more than 30 scholarship offers, but he's most closely considering Ohio State, Alabama, Stanford, Texas and Texas A&M. 

Now to Browning, who is rated the No. 2 outside linebacker in the country in the 247Sports composite rankings. 

With roughly 40 scholarship offers, the 6-foot-3, 230-pound prospect is closely considering Alabama, Michigan, Ohio State, Notre Dame and LSU. That he's coming to Ohio State with Okudah on his own dime is a big step for the Buckeyes. 

Browning released a top 10 in early April and Ohio State was listed along with Alabama, LSU, Michigan, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, TCU, Texas, UCLA and USC.

Ohio State quarterbacks coach Tim Beck is the leading the way in his recruitment. Beck dropped in on Browning in early May alongside co-defensive coordinator Luke Fickell, so the Buckeyes are looking to gain momentum on their own turf. 

Jurkovec is off the board, but the Buckeyes have two more other top quarterback prospects on their 2018 big board.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio State's efforts to land a standout quarterback in the 2018 recruiting class took a big hit this week when Phil Jurkovec of Gibsonia (Pa.) Pine-Richland committed to Notre Dame. 

Urban Meyer has reacted quickly. 

The Buckeyes sent out two more offers to 2018 quarterbacks in the time since: Casey Thompson of Moore (Okla.) Southmoore and Artur Sitkowski of Matawan (N.J.) Old Bridge. 

Thompson, who got his Ohio State scholarship on Tuesday, is a 6-foot-1, 184-pound dual-threat quarterback who also has offers from Arizona State, Oklahoma, Miami (Fla.), Houston, Louisville, North Carolina, Penn State, West Virginia and others. The Sooners, the in-state school for Thompson, offered him the day after the Buckeyes extended their offer. 

Ohio State has an up-hill battle to fight for Thompson, though. His father, Charles, and his older brother, Kendal, both played for the Sooners. The battle to get a top-rated quarterback out of Oklahoma would have been tough enough for Meyer, but add in that factor, and the Buckeyes have to be considered an underdog, especially because Oklahoma has now offered. 

Check out this graphic Oklahoma made for Thompson: 

#SoonerNation let @LilThurm know we want him to fulfill HIS LEGACY at #OU! @LincolnRiley & @BreyWalker waitin #OUDNA pic.twitter.com/yPlQCYWnvO

-- Boomer17 (@Boomer145) May 20, 2016

Sitkowski, a 6-foot-4, 215-pound prospect who is considered one of the best pro-style quarterbacks in the country, earned his Ohio State offer Thursday. He has 11 offers, but he's most closely considering Maryland, Michigan, Rutgers, Ohio State and South Carolina. 

Though Sitkowski is from New Jersey, he was in Columbus twice this spring, once for a Rivals camp and another time a few weeks later to take an unofficial visit to Ohio State. 

Beyond Blessed to receive an offer from The Ohio State University #Buckeyes pic.twitter.com/P5e3BFGBOo

-- Artur Sitkowski (@artursitkowski4) May 19, 2016