Article published December 29, 2007
St. John's junior Mewhort commits to play at OSU
By STEVE JUNGA
BLADE SPORTS WRITER
St. John's Jesuit junior Jack Mewhort, a second-team All-Ohio offensive lineman, verbally committed yesterday to a football scholarship offer from Ohio State.
Mewhort, a 6-6, 291-pound center and defensive tackle, informed Titans coach Doug Pearson that he had called Buckeyes coach Jim Tressel to confirm his commitment. Tressel and the top-ranked Buckeyes (11-1) are preparing for a showdown with Louisiana State University in the national championship game in New Orleans on Jan. 7.
Mewhort, who also had scholarship offers from Toledo, Bowling Green, Northwestern and Michigan State, the latter coming on Christmas Eve, chose OSU,
because of the strength of the program and its reasonable proximity.
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Jan. 7
• BCS National Championship at New Orleans, Ohio State (11-1) vs. LSU (11-2), 8 p.m. (FOX, Ch. 36, 2; 1470 AM)
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2007 OHIO STATE RESULTS
SEPTEMBER
• 1 - YOUNGSTOWN ST., W 38-6
• 8 - AKRON, W 20-2
• 15 - at Washington, W 33-14
• 22 - NORTHWESTERN, W 58-7
• 29 - at Minnesota, W 30-7
OCTOBER
• 6 - at Purdue, W 23-7
• 13 - KENT ST., W 48-3
• 20 - MICHIGAN ST., W 24-17
• 27 - at Penn St., W 37-17
NOVEMBER
• 3 - WISCONSIN, W 38-17
• 10 - ILLINOIS, L 28-21
• 17 - at Michigan, W 14-3
2007 LSU RESULTS
AUGUST
• 30 - at Mississippi St., W 45-0
SEPTEMBER
• 8 - V. TECH, W 48-7
• 15 - M. TENNESSEE, W 44-0
• 22 - S. CAROLINA, W 28-16
• 29 - at Tulane, W 34-9,
OCTOBER
• 6 - FLORIDA, W 28-24,
• 13 - at Kentucky, L 37-43
• 20 - AUBURN, W 30-24
NOVEMBER
• 3 - at Alabama, W 41-34
• 10 - LOUISIANA T., W 58-10
• 17 - at Mississippi, W 41-24
• 23 - ARKANSAS, L 48-50
DECEMBER
• 1 - TENNESSEE, W 21-14
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"They're the No. 1 team in the country and it's close to home," Mewhort said. "That about did it for me.
"I have one sister in college at Wittenberg [Sara, a freshman] about 45 minutes away from Columbus, and a 13-year-old sister [Jane] at home with my parents [Don and Gail] about two and a half hours away.
"The facilities at Ohio State are second to none, the staff has always been real personable with me during the recruiting process, and they showed a lot of interest."
Mewhort, who carries a 3.4 grade-point average at St. John's, was a first-team selection on both the All-City league and Division I all-district teams at offensive lineman.
Although he will likely shift from center to offensive tackle for the Titans next season, his third on the varsity, he is projected to play guard for Ohio State.
"I'm real happy for Jack," Pearson said. "He's an extremely hard worker and right now he's reaping the benefits of that hard work. I'm proud of him. He'll be the first Ohio State kid from St. John's since Mark Krerowicz [Pearson's former Titan teammate] in 1981. He's a smart kid, he's got good feet, and he's extremely powerful."
Mewhort is the third Titan lineman to land a Division I scholarship in recent years.
Ben Burkett, a 2007 graduate, was redshirted by Northwestern this past season, and Andrew Decker, who originally came to Toledo on scholarship, transferred to LSU, where he is a backup at guard and plays on special teams for the Tigers.
RATTAY COMMITS:
St. John's senior Rick Rattay — an All-Ohio first-teamer as a junior in 2006, when he intercepted 10 passes for the Titans — has accepted a scholarship offer from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., according to Pearson.
Georgetown, best known for its highly regarded Big East basketball team, is an NCAA Division I-AA program in football. Rattay is expected to play either defensive back or at wideout for the Hoyas.
Contact Steve Junga at: sjunga@theblade.com or 419-724-6461.
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