Ohio’s Mr. Football sticks with Buffalo, says no to Ohio State
Kentucky and Ohio State forced Lamar Sperling to reconsider his plan, but the Akron Hoban senior running back stuck with his original college choice.
Ohio's Mr. Football, Sperling went wire to wire with the University at Buffalo, verbally committing to the Midamerican Conference program in July and eventually signing in December to play for the Bulls.
“They've been loyal to me since day one,” Sperling said Wednesday after participating in a national signing day ceremony at Hoban.
A day after Hoban fell 28-21 to Toledo Central Catholic on Dec. 1 in the Division II state championship game, Kentucky offered Sperling a scholarship.
“It was surprising, shocking,” Sperling said, “and I did have a thought like, ‘What do I do now?'
“At the end of the day, I felt most comfortable at Buffalo. They knew what I was capable of, even before the playoffs. That's what I valued.”
Neither Ohio State nor Penn State offered Sperling, but he spoke with both schools. The Buckeyes hosted him for a visit.
“[Ohio State] wanted to just keep recruiting me, but at that point, I was like, ‘Buffalo wants me,' ” Sperling said. “[Buffalo] pushed the hardest from the start, so I went with my heart.”
Even after Sperling had signed with Buffalo, he became a bit concerned because Greg Knox left the Bulls last month to take a job Mississippi State. Knox had been Buffalo's running backs coach and recruited Sperling, who last season ran for 3,867 yards and set single-season OHSAA records with 58 rushing touchdowns and 59 total TDS.
“It was a little worry once he left, but after talking to the head coach [Maurice Linguist], he kind of told me the deal and what was going on,” Sperling said. “I talked to my mom. I talked to my coaches. So that kind of calmed me down and helped me understand what the process was.”