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As news about Jim Christian's ongoing discussions with Boston College over their vacant head coaching job continues to swirl, an unexpected bit of news broke late Tuesday afternoon. Prized Ohio 2014 recruit Tariq Owens is asking for a release from his Letter of Intent to Ohio, which he signed back in November.
Evan Daniels of Scout.com first reported the news on Twitter, citing Owen's AAU coach.
Tariq Owens, a 6-9 four-star prospect, is planning to ask Ohio for a release from his Letter of Intent, according to his AAU coach.
— Evan Daniels (@EvanDaniels) April 2, 2014
A 6-9 forward out of Laurel, MD., Owens was the first player to commit to Ohio's 2014 class way back in June. He signed his binding LOI with the school in November during the basketball early signing period. A 4-star recruit according to Scout.com, Owens is regarded as one of the top 100 prep players in the class of 2014. A lengthy shot-blocking forward he was a great cornerstone to Christian's then 4-person class.
Now that he has reopened his recruiting process, if the school does grant him a release, he's likely to head elsewhere. He carries offers from an impressive list of schools including Georgetown, VCU and Miami (Fla,) to name a few. His loss would also mean the 'Cats now have three scholarships to fill in a short period of time. Another scholarship was opened up when prized 2014 recruit D.J. Wingfield, who redshirted this past season due to a knee operation, was medically disqualified and will never compete for Ohio.
Ohio still has three players signed to National Letters of Intent, guard Kendall Crute, and JUCO transfer wings Rodell Wigginton and Nehemias Morillo.