Good evening 11-Dubbers and welcome to The Hurry-Up. This column, which will run every night Sunday through Thursday, will serve as your last stop for recruiting news and notes nightly, and generally around 9:00 p.m. or 9:30 p.m. Though the exact time may vary depending on the substantiality of the news and/or notes to be discussed, the idea won't change.
In this space we'll take some time to recap the day that has happened — in a vein similar to Gene's loved "Quick Bits" — to preview the days that are coming up and to share any other noteworthy happenings, rumors, etc. Whether it's four item, five items or more items, we'll try and recap the important parts of the day in Ohio State and all of college football, and occasionally basketball, recruiting.
DAILY STORIES
- We took a look at a few stories earlier today, including the news that both Torrance Gibson and Lawrence Cager have had to reschedule their Buckeye visits, each of which was scheduled for this weekend.
- Mike spoke with 2017 Akron Firestone athlete Zuriel Sanders.
NOTHING TO BRAGG ABOUT
Although most of you are here for football — and I don't blame you — it's always worth discussing when one of the country's best basketball players resides in Ohio and drops the Buckeyes from his list of potential schools. That's the scenario with Carlton Bragg, the 14th-ranked player from Cleveland, and unfortunately now an ex-Buckeye target for the class of 2015. Bragg cut his list to five schools: Illinois, Kentucky, Kansas, Arizona and UCLA.
While the Buckeyes lost out on Bragg, they're still working hard to land Shaker Heights forward Esa Ahmad, one of the fastest-rising prospects in the country in the last year. As you recall, the Buckeyes' 2015 class took a small hit two weeks ago when Mickey Mitchell decided to reopen his recruitment.
SCHMIDT INJURY UPDATE
On Sunday I talked briefly about a leg injury suffered by Buckeye offensive line commitment Grant Schmidt. After talking today with Schmidt, the news, as he'd hoped is good.
"It's all soft tissue damage," Schmidt said. "It will hurt, but I can play this Friday and I probably will."
Crisis: averted.
SMOTHERING THE MARKET
Ohio State 2016 wide receiver target Steven Smothers has the Buckeyes at number four on list, according to the Reisterstown, Maryland standout.
"Ohio State is very high on my list still," Smothers told 11W. "They're number four behind West Virginia, Alabama, and Florida State."
Smothers, who holds an offer from each of his top four schools, plans on visiting the Buckeyes this fall and his plans indicate a savvy beyond his years. He's aware who his audience is.
"I'm definitely going to get up there for a game this fall," Smothers said. "I'll be there for the game against 'The Team Up North.'"
INTRO: JONAH MORRIS
Another rising prospect visiting Ohio State this coming weekend is 2016 WR/DB Jonah Morris, a 6-foot-4 athlete from Akron Hoban. Morris visited Ohio State and camped with the Buckeyes on June 8th, impressing many in attendance with his size and speed combination (he ran a 4.5-40 at 190-pounds).
Since then, Morris has been waiting for his time to come and it appears that time is now. Tonight, he picked up his first scholarship offer (Kentucky) and this weekend he'll make a visit to Ohio State following his game against Akron Buchtel. He says he grew up a Buckeye fan, and it's clear that if Ohio State's interest is legitimate, he's a prospect worth paying attention to in a loaded class within the Buckeye state in 2016.
STUMPING FOR ATTENTION
Don't be surprised if Ohio State is watching Lakewood St. Ed's wide receiver Alex Stump very closely over the next few weeks. The Kentucky commitment is still on their radar and the Buckeyes are eager to see him a bit more up-close-and-personal.
Stump had six catches for 79 yards and a touchdown on Sunday in a nationally-televised game on ESPNU.
BRUUUCE
While only the most ardent Buckeye recruitniks are intimately aware of who Bruce Judson is, those that know his name have been expecting a Buckeye commitment from the 2017 Florida star. Why? Because he's said a commitment was coming before his sophomore season would begin, but it appears that has changed.
"I'm going to take it easy a bit with recruiting," Judson told 11W. "I don't need to hurry and make a commitment. I'm not sure when I'll decide at this point."
Judson went on to say he spoke with Ohio State last night, so the contact between the two parties isn't slowing down, even if his decision-making process is.
