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Northmont High School junior, C.J. Barnett, plans to go to Ohio State University on a scholarship. Jim Noelker/Dayton Daily NewsClick to enlarge

COLUMBUS — Northmont High School's Zebrie Sanders had a stack of scholarship offers as a senior offensive lineman last season and decided to take his time to make sure he picked the right school for him.

After making official visits and sifting through recruiting pitches, he narrowed his choices to Florida and Georgia, calling his other suitors to tell them they had been pared from his list.

But there was just one problem.

While Sanders was mulling over his decision, Florida reached its quota of offensive linemen and told him it no longer had a scholarship available. Georgia did the same thing. And an embarrassed Sanders had to reopen the recruiting process with the schools he dismissed, ultimately picking Florida State.

"As highly recruited as Zebrie was — everybody wanted him. And we thought he had a spot locked up at Florida," said Northmont senior-to-be C.J. Barnett, a prized recruit himself. "He was Ping-Ponging back and forth and then made a decision, and that came back and bit him in the end.

"It's good to get all that attention, but it comes at a price when that happens."

OSU's wake-up call

Sanders' treatment served as a cautionary tale for Barnett, who didn't dawdle in making his decision. The cornerback gave Ohio State a verbal commitment as a junior in February — a full year before he can sign a binding national letter-of-intent.

Although the Buckeyes probably would have given him more time, Barnett didn't want to take that chance. And judging by the surge in early commitments across the nation, others have been quick to pounce on their most attractive offer.

The unofficial start of the recruiting season for years had been the summer before a prospect's senior season, but the rise of recruiting Web sites and other forces have accelerated the process. And the top programs are picking up commitments at an astonishing rate from players who have just finished their junior years.

The Buckeyes already have 18 in the fold, filling roughly three-fourths of their 2009 recruiting class. They had nine verbals at this point last year and just three in 2006.

Other national powers also are getting a huge jump on next year's classes. Texas has 19 pledges, and a dozen colleges have at least 10.

"It used to be that you could only point to a couple of schools that would have that kind of early leap," said Allen Wallace of SuperPrep Magazine. "Now, in reality, if you don't have a lot of commitments before the season starts, at least from a fan standpoint, they get antsy."

In the old days (that is, three or four years ago), Notre Dame and a few other marquee programs could be last on the scene and still offset an early advantage by another school simply because of their elite status. But even college football's royalty have been forced to take a more aggressive approach to keep up, and Wallace doesn't foresee the past recruiting model ever working again.

"Once you let that genie out of the bottle, it's really impossible to put it back in," he said. "There's really no reason why the process would slow down. It really has momentum.

"There's so much information that people know now, and it's really become a horse race. Let's face it, we deal in a competitive society. If you're Ohio State and you're losing some hotshot prospect to a rival school, you have to answer for it now."

The Buckeyes found that out when Illinois swooped into Ohio earlier this year and coaxed a commitment from Garfield Heights defensive end Melvin Fellows, the No. 1 junior prospect in the state.

The OSU coaches were still deciding whether to offer a scholarship to the 6-foot-5, 245-pound Fellows, but that changed once he announced he was Illinois-bound. He then reneged on his commitment and pounced on a full ride from the Buckeyes.

"Getting him to commit to Illinois and doing it early, that was a wake-up call," said Duane Long, a recruiting analyst for Bucknuts.com. "You don't see bodies like his in this part of the country. You see bodies like his in the South ... these big kids who are still pretty lean and can run.

"Ohio State was determined they weren't going to lose him, and that meant getting out there and competing very early with Illinois. You can't lose those kind of players from the region, let alone the state."

No turning back

Penn State is believed to be the first school to try to stockpile early commitments, doling out scholarships to prospects in the summer before their senior years more than a decade ago. The risk is that some players may not pan out, and it often backfired on the Nittany Lions, but now that strategy has become the norm.

Jordan Whiting, a linebacker from Louisville, became the Buckeyes' first 2009 commitment when he came on board last Sept. 1 — more than 17 months before he can sign a letter-of-intent.

"We saw summertime verbals (from Penn State), and it just shocked us," Long said. "Now, you've got players committing as juniors. You've got players getting offers as sophomores. It's not going to end any time soon.

"The only thing that will come of this that could be a real positive is an early signing period. The kids are committing early, so why not? I've never understood why there's one in basketball but not in football. It makes no sense at all."

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2125 or at dharris@DaytonDailyNews.com.