Ahead of official visit, 2025 DE Damien Shanklin calls Ohio State his ‘dream school’

Damien Shanklin doesn’t remember watching Notre Dame, Purdue or Indiana growing up. When the 2025 Indianapolis defensive end watched college football, he watched Ohio State, a program that quickly became his dream school.

In Ohio State, Shanklin said he saw what he could become in players like Chase Young and Nick Bosa and through the development through defensive line coach Larry Johnson.

In Ohio State and Johnson, Shanklin sees a program that develops and invests in its players so that they can reach their goals. And once Shanklin got Ohio State’s attention, it was all the affirmation he needed.

“With me catching (Johnson’s) eye or stuff like that, I know I’m doing something right,” Shanklin said.

Ahead of his senior season at Warren Central High School, Shanklin has Ohio State as one of four scheduled official visits along with LSU, Tennessee and Alabama, along with a potential visit to Michigan before what is now a Sept. 21 decision date, which he admits might change.

What Damien Shanklin could bring to Ohio State

Warren Central Damien Shanklin (4) prepares for warm up practice during Fort Wayne Snider vs Warren Central High School IHSAA varsity football, Aug 18, 2023; Indianapolis, IN, at Warren Central High School.

Warren Central coach Mike Kirschner is not surprised by Shanklin’s offer list. Based on his frame alone, Shanklin is just different coming off the edge, Kirschner said.

“You’ve got to game plan against a guy who’s got unbelievably long arms, great takeoff, speed.” Kirschner said. “And now you’ve added the strength component to it. You’ve got to handle all that. … He’s 6-5 and he’s 242 and he can run like a receiver.”

Shanklin, the No. 108 player and the No. 10 defensive end in the country per 247Sports’ composite rankings, has 97 tackles, 22 tackles-for-loss and six sacks in…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/ahead-official-visit-2025-damien-133440346.html

Author : The Columbus Dispatch

Publish date : 2024-05-20 13:34:40

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