By Tom Groeschen
The Cincinnati Enquirer

HAMILTON - Hamilton High School football star Brandon Underwood announced Wednesday night that he will attend Ohio State University, where he will join his brother E.J. as a cornerback in 2004.

Brandon Underwood is rated the top Cincinnati-area prospect among incoming prep seniors, according to several recruiting services. He is rated the No. 15 cornerback in America by TheInsiders.com, and the No. 15 player overall in Ohio by Ohio's Future Stars magazine.

His older brother, E.J., made the All-Big Ten freshman team for the national champion Buckeyes last season. He made a couple of starts and played more minutes than any OSU freshman.

"You can't ask for anything more than your brother coming to join you," E.J. Underwood said in a telephone interview from Columbus.

OSU has had other brother combinations in football, but the Underwood family said their sons were told they would be the first brothers to play the same position on the same Buckeye team.

Brandon Underwood, 6-foot-1 1/2 and 177 pounds, had 50 tackles, three interceptions and 15 pass breakups during his junior season for Hamilton. In track, he was the 400-meter champion in the Greater Miami Conference and district meets.

He chose OSU over Notre Dame, Iowa, Purdue, Maryland and Cincinnati.

"It was a dream of mine to play with E.J.," Brandon said. "He helped me see how the players were treated up there, and I was very pleased with the way they do things. Some schools were about the same, so there's no need to go to a place eight hours away when the same thing is 1 1/2 hours away."

Duane Long, who publishes Ohio's Future Stars recruiting magazine from Columbus, said the Underwood brothers have different styles.

"E.J. is more of a speed player, while Brandon is a little bigger and more of a hitter," Long said. "Brandon is the kind of corner you're seeing more colleges go after now . . . with the bigger receivers, you need bigger corners."

OSU, under NCAA rules, cannot comment until the national letter-of-intent signing day in February.

Email tgroeschen@enquirer.com.