Canton McKinley is looking for a new head football coach.

The Canton City Schools Board of Education voted 3-2 Monday to not renew coach Ron Johnson’s contract. The vote was taken after the board spent over an hour in executive session.

Johnson posted a 31-16 record in four seasons at McKinley. He is the only Bulldogs head coach to reach the OHSAA state playoffs in each of his first four seasons and he went 3-2 against rival Massillon Washington.

We had this note a couple of days in the Akron Beacon Journal and here it is for the blog:

Canton McKinley senior defensive end Se’Von Pittman is headed to Ohio State University to play football and continue his academic career.

Pittman changed his oral commitment from Michigan State and told new OSU coach Urban Meyer he will be part of the Buckeyes’ 2012 recruiting class, McKinley coach Ron Johnson said.

“I think when you live in this state and are an Ohio guy it is always intriguing to go to Ohio State,” Johnson said. “He has been an Ohio State fan his whole life. When he began to see clarity in the situation down there, it peaked his interest to look back into it.”

“I think he felt this was the best situation for him and his family.”

Miller will reunite with Steve Miller, a former McKinley defensive standout who is on the OSU roster.

Pittman, 6-foot-5 and 250 pounds, was a Division I All-Ohio player in 2011.

Published reports also say that Meyer and his staff are continuing to recruit GlenOak senior running back Bri’onte Dunn, who is considering his options while still being committed to OSU after originally pledging to former Buckeyes coach Jim Tressel in 2010.

Firm commitments

Johnson said McKinley senior defensive back Jermaine Edmondson remains firm with his oral commitment to Michigan State and senior wide receiver Malcolm Robinson is solid with his oral commitment to Buffalo.

Edmondson moved to Canton with family prior to his junior year after attending Cesar Chavez High School in Stockton, Calif.

Drawing interest

McKinley seniors Tyler Foster (quarterback), Kevin Mills (offensive tackle), Skyler Parks (offensive guard) and Zach Sweat (wide receiver) continue to make visits and weight their college options, according to Johnson.

The following list includes area football teams that are currently ranked high enough to make the post season and may include those just on the outside looking in.  The top eight teams will make the state playoffs.  Here are this week’s computer rankings as provided by the Ohio High School Athletic Association:

Division I, Region 2
No. 1:  Canton GlenOak
No. 5:  Canton McKinley
No. 6:  Massillon Jackson

Just outside:  Wadsworth

Division II, Region 5
No. 4:  Kent Roosevelt
No. 5: Walsh Jesuit
No. 6 (tied):  Copley with Aurora

Division III, Region 9
No. 3:  Ravenna
No. 5:  St. Vincent-St. Mary

Just outside:  Southeast (No. 8); CVCA (No. 9)

Division III, Region 11
No. 4:  Northwest
No. 5:  Marlington

Division IV, Region 13
No. 3:  Canton Central Catholic

Just outside:  Manchester (No. 7)

For a look at example of how rankings are calculated per OHSAA visit: http://www.ohsaa.org/sports/ft/boys/rankcalc.htm

- Cincinnati Princeton senior outside linebacker Daryan Martin has verbally committed to the University of Akron, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer.

Martin, who is 6 feet 3 and 213 pounds, was offered by the Zips in June.

- Medina senior quarterback Mason Schreck has reportedly added an offer from Buffalo, according to ScoutingOhio.com.

Schreck, who is 6 feet 5 and 212 pounds, also has an offer from Toledo.

- Manchester senior center Tony Matteo has reportedly made a verbal commitment to play football at West Virginia, according to ScoutingOhio.com,

Matteo, who is 6 feet 5 and 283 pounds, also had offers from Bowling Green, Toledo, Akron, Cincinnati, Kent State, Miami (Ohio), Pittsburgh, Iowa State and Connecticut.

- Canton McKinley senior defensive back Jermaine Edmondson has reportedly given a verbal commitment to Michigan State, according to ScoutingOhio.com.

Edmondson, who is 6 feet and 170 pounds, also had offers from Toledo, Louisville, Buffalo, Illinois, Bowling Green, Purdue, Nebraska and Northern Illinois.

The NFL lockout is over and Joe Morgan is ready to play some football.

Morgan, 23, signed a contract Tuesday with the New Orleans Saints as an undrafted free agent and is overjoyed at the opportunity that awaits him.

“It is like surreal,” Morgan said by telephone. “I don’t really think it has hit me for real. Everyone is telling me congratulations. I was kind of shocked. I was hoping this day would come, but I never really thought it would.”

Morgan, a 6-foot-1 and 189 pound wide receiver played the past two seasons at Walsh University after starting his collegiate career at Illinois. He was a Division I All-Ohio performer in high school at Canton McKinley.

Morgan caught a team-high 41 passes last season for 653 yards and five touchdowns despite battling a high ankle sprain from the third game on. He closed the year healthy and tied a team mark with ten receptions in the season finale at Marian.

“I am a fan of the game first,” Morgan said. “It was exciting to meet a lot of guys at the Scouting Combine, and I look forward to meeting Saints players such as Drew Brees, Reggie Bush and Mark Ingram. I admire and respect them and it will be exciting to be on the field with them, but at the same time I feel like I belong. I have the confidence to know that I belong.”

Canton McKinley reportedly could name Central Michigan assistant Keith Noftz as its next head basketball coach on Thursday, according to the Canton Repository.

The publication reports Noftz would have to be approved the Board of Education at its meeting at 6 p.m. Thursday at Timken High School.

- Canton McKinely wide receiver Malcolm Robinson has reportedly added offers from Buffalo, Bowling Green and Toledo, according to ScoutingOhio.com.

Robinson, 6 feet 1 and 182 pounds, also has an offer from Ball State, according to the website.

- Orrville defensive back Stewart Turner has reportedly been offered by Ball State, according to ScoutingOhio.com. It is the first offer for Turner, who is 6 feet and 170 pounds.

- Hudson guard Quaison Osborne has reportedly added an offer from Ball State, according to ScoutingOhio.com. Osborne, who is 6 feet 4 and 315 pounds, also has offers from Akron and Youngstown State.

- The University of Akron football program has offered a scholarship to Fairfield senior-to-be linebacker/safety James Turner, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer.

It is the first offer for Turner, who is 5 feet 11 and 205 pounds.

Fairfield coach Jason Krause said the Zips coaching staff likes how well Turner moves for a player his size.

Akron held a one-day camp at Lakota West High School in suburban Cincinnati on Monday.

- The University of Akron football program has offered a scholarship to Moeller junior-to-be quarterback Ricky Davis, according to ScoutingOhio.com.

Davis, who is 6 feet 2 and 175 pounds, was offered by Bowling Green on June 18.

- Marlington junior-to-be running back Dymonte Thomas reportedly added offers from Iowa and Notre Dame, according to ScoutingOhio.com.

Thomas, who is 6 feet 2 and 180 pounds, also has offers from Michigan State, Michigan, UCLA, Tennessee, West Virginia and Illinois.

- Canton McKinley senior-to-be cornerback Jermaine Edmondson has reportedly added an offer from Northern Illinois, according to ScoutingOhio.com.

Edmondson, who is 6 feet and 170 pounds, also has offers from Toledo, Louisville, Buffalo, Illinois, Bowling Green, Purdue and Nebraska.

Canton McKinley defensive end Se’Von Pittman reportedly has made a verbal commitment to play football at Michigan State, according to ScoutingOhio.com.

Pittman, who is 6-foot-5 and 235 pounds, also had offers from West Virginia, Alabama, Ohio State and Louisville, according to the website.

The expected favorite for Pittman was reportedly Ohio State because his family got close with former coach Jim Tressel. After Tressel resigned, Pittman’s decision was based on the bond he’s formed with Michigan State defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi and head coach Mike Dantonio, the Canton Repository reportsM.

“I had a greater bond with coach Tressel. My mom loved him a lot,” Pittman told the Repository. “The whole family was all for going to Ohio State, but the situation made things harder. I had to make a move that was right for me.”

Rivals.com reported that Pittman verbally committed to the Spartans on Sunday. Pittman is ranked the nation’s No. 61 player overall in the 2012 class. He is ranked the No. 8 weakside defensive end in the nation, according to the website.

Virginia, Alabama, Ohio State and Louisville, according to the website.

- Streetsboro lineman Alex Todd verbally committed to Indiana, according to the Louisville Courier-Journal. Todd, who is 6 feet 4 and 290 pounds, is the first Indiana commitment in the 2012 class, according to the publication. He also reportedly had offers from Miami (Ohio), Bowling Green and Kent State.

- Massillon quarterback Kyle Kempt has reportedly been offered by Toledo, according to ScoutingOhio.com. It is the first offer for Kempt, who will be a junior this upcoming season. Kempt is listed at 6-foot-5 and 195 pounds on ScoutingOhio.com.

- Canton McKinley defensive back Jermaine Edmondson has reportedly added offers from Nebraska and Purdue, according to ScoutingOhio.com. Edmondson, 6 feet 2 and 173 pounds, also has offers from Toledo, Louisville, Buffalo, Illinois and Bowling Green, according to the website.

- Orrville middle linebacker Mason Monheim has reportedly added an offer from Ohio University, according to ScoutingOhio.com. Monheim, 6 feet 1 and 215 pounds, also has offers that include Illinois, Miami (Ohio), Kent State, Akron, Toledo, Western Michigan, Bowling Green, Ball State, Eastern Michigan and Buffalo.

- Walsh Jesuit quarterback Nick Wargo has reportedly been offered by Cincinnati, according to Scout.com. It is the first offer for Wargo, who is listed at 6 feet 3 and 215 pounds on ScoutingOhio.com. He will be a senior this upcoming season.

Manchester junior center Tony Matteo has reportedly added an offer from Connecticut, according to ScoutingOhio.com. Matteo, who is 6-foot-5 and 275 pounds, also has offers from Toledo, Bowling Green and Akron.

Canton McKinley junior defensive back Jermaine Edmondson has reportedly added an offer from Buffalo, according to ScoutingOhio.com. Edmondson, who is 6-foot-2 and 173 pounds, also has offers from Louisville and Toledo.