Palatine (Ill.) two-time All-State senior quarterback recruit Zach Oles (5-foot-11, 200 pounds) decided to end his recruiting process and gave Butler his verbal commitment.
"Butler is just a great fit for me," according to Oles. "I have family who I'm very close to down in Indianapolis. I also love the campus and Butler also offers a great education. I just feel like Butler is the best overall fit for me and it feels great to make my decision. From the football side I know they graduated one senior quarterback so I'm ready to go in and compete for a spot."
Montini Catholic senior two-star ranked wide receiver/defensive back recruit Mitch West (5-foot-10, 175 pounds) is planning on taking at least two official visits in January. West, who was verbally committed to Purdue since mid June decided to decommit after the Boilermakers fired former head coach Darryl Hazel and staff.
"I've set two official visits so far: both Navy and Yale," West said. "I'm set to visit Yale on Jan. 13th and the Navy official visit I believe on Jan. 20th."
West has also remained in steady contact with both North Dakota State and Illinois State.
Loyola Academy junior offensive tackle recruit Charlie Gross added his first offer recently from Ball State.
"It's pretty exciting to get my first offer from Ball State," per Gross. "I actually have family that went to Ball State including my grandma and my aunt. My grandparents live pretty close to Ball State so I've been in that part of Indiana for a long time now. I haven't been able to visit Ball State just yet but the coaches want me to make a trip down to see them soon."
Gross, the lone underclassmen starter on the Ramblers Class 8A state runner up offensive line in 2016 has also drawn recruiting interest this winter from Syracuse, Illinois, Indiana and Penn State.
Marist and head coach Pat Dunne once again look to have multiple BCS level underclassmen talent. The Redhawks already have a handful of Class of 2018 names drawing strong recruiting interest and offers and keep an eye on junior three star ranked defensive tackle Elijah Teague (6-foot-3, 292 pounds) along with junior three-star ranked tight end TJ Ivy (6-foot-5, 217 pounds) and junior defensive tackle Gavin McCabe (6-foot-4, 255 pounds).
Teague already holds verbal scholarship offers so far from Bowling Green, Central Michigan, Iowa State, Kansas, Minnesota, New Mexico and Wisconsin. Ivy added his fourth overall offer late last week from Ball State, joining NIU, Bowling Green and Iowa State while McCabe also holds offers now from Ball State, Central Michigan, Illinois State, Iowa State and NIU.
Peoria senior three-star ranked offensive/defensive linemen Kendrick Green (6-foot-3, 270 pounds) told me that he's expecting to make his final college choice "very soon." Green has made official visits already to Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota and Central Florida. Green also added a late offer from Missouri yet Green hasn't indicated whether he will make a fifth and final official visit. Illinois, Iowa and Minnesota was Green's last Top 3 favorite schools listing.