Welcome to The Hurry-Up, which runs Sunday through Thursday, serving as your last stop for recruiting news and notes nightly. We'll recap the day as it happened and preview the days ahead while keeping our ear to the ground on the Ohio State recruiting scene.
Michael Rockstedt was at the DeMatha Catholic vs. La Salle game in Philadelphia on Friday night. The game recap can be found here.
We also sat down with class of 2016 LB Ethan Tucky.
URBAN HITS UP WESTERVILLE
Because of the bye week, Urban Meyer and the coaching staff were hitting the road today, recruiting the best talent across Ohio and other parts of the country. One of those stops was to Westerville South high school in Ohio. Although he was primarily stopping by to check in on 2017 cornerback Marcus Williamson, South also houses division one prospects Rob Dowdy, committed to Pittsburgh, and Abu Daramy, an underrated athlete with a handful of offers.
Unfortunately, that visit was cut short due to extenuating circumstances. Williamson, as you might expect, wasn't thrilled about the idea of missing out on a visit from Urban Meyer.
The one day I don't go to school......
— Marcus Williamson (@WW_Marcus) September 15, 2014
"I was not at school today because of a school shooting threat," Williamson told Eleven Warriors. "Coach (Urban) Meyer came by and to not be there, it kind of stunk. Everybody was safe though, I just really hope he comes back again."
Marcus shouldn't have anything to worry about in that department as I am sure Urban will be back and very soon.
CAGER GETS A VISIT FROM ZACH SMITH
One of the higher-priority targets left on the Ohio State offensive board, Lawrence Cager, saw Buckeyes' wide receivers coach Zach Smith roaming the halls of Calvert Hall today. What was Smith's message to the 6-foot-5, 202-pound wide receiver?
"(Coach Smith) told me that I'm the exact receiver he needs still in their offense," Cager told 11W. "They're looking for a player who has height, speed and can go up and get the ball at its highest point."
Interestingly, Cager followed up that statement by mentioning that it appeared Ohio State filled that need with the commitment of A.J. Alexander. Now, our sources have indicated a few items to us regarding Alexander and Cager. The first is that Cager's offer and place in the recruiting class was not in any way, shape, and/or form hindered by Alexander's commitment. Why? Because Ohio State sees Alexander as an H-Back all the way.
"That's good to hear," Cager said when he asked for clarification. "Real good to hear."
ROBERTSON STILL WAITING
Auston Robertson, the Fort Wayne 2016 standout who visited Ohio State this past weekend, was hoping for some good news about a potential offer today. Ohio State's Kerry Coombs visited Roberston and although no offer was extended, it's still not far away, the 6-foot-5, 230-pounder believes.
"(Coach Coombs) came to our practice today," Robertson said via text to 11W. "Our coach told me to call him tonight. I did, and he was driving and he'd be looking at my transcripts tomorrow when he gets back to Columbus. I'll hopefully have good news tomorrow."
As a Lima native who moved out of the Buckeye state in first grade, Robertson doesn't hide his affinity for the Scarlet and Gray.
"An Ohio State offer would mean a lot to me," he added. "I grew up watching Ohio State. It felt good to be back in Ohio this past weekend."
EAST COAST TARGETS ON THE DOCKET
Ed Warinner was busy today as well, checking out a number of Ohio State targets for 2016 and beyond, according to a source.
"Warinner was going to be busy today," the source told us. "He was scheduled to visit Carey Angeline, Michal Menet, Brad Hawkins, Ron Johnson and Naseir Upshur. All of those guys have offers so it's a big day of visits to make an impression. These kids need to know Ohio State is really interested in them, even if they can't talk to them that much yet."
Warinner stopped by Imhotep in Philadelphia to check in on Upshur. "Coach Warriner came and visited me," Upshur told Eleven Warriors. We talked about how I would fit into their system. He was just stopping by."
