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.
CHRISTIAN KIRK DISCUSSION
While there's no doubt that the most likely pair of receivers to join Ohio State's 2015 class are currently Lawrence Cager and Alex Stump, the Buckeyes continue to pursue all options. As everyone here knows, my favorite option, Arizona's Christian Kirk, has sort of fallen out of the "good shot" region of the recruiting board into the "long shot" region in recent months. That said, don't expect Ohio State to fall completely out of it without making one last push to get the five-star wide receiver back on campus for an official visit.
"There's no one like Kirk out there, at all," one source told Eleven Warriors. "I know people want to talk about how 'this guy is the next Percy Harvin,' but those guys who've been put in that role have all been running backs. Kirk is a wide receiver, and a real good one. I don't care if he's 5-foot-11, he's not small. He's tough as bricks and he's quicker than anyone out there. No one covers him, period. Not only that, he's the hardest worker on his team. He's not some 'diva,' or a guy afraid to get his hands dirty. He's a grinder and a great teammate. It's no wonder he and (Ohio State freshman Johnnie) Dixon hit it off so well last year at The Opening, they're two of a kind."
This weekend, Kirk makes his second official visit, to Auburn, after previously going to Texas A&M. The Buckeyes were in his early plans for an official, but somewhere along the line he became unsure if it was necessary. Sources close to his recruitment had the Buckeyes running neck-and-neck with the Aggies at one point as the favorite, but now there's work to be done. What happened?
"I don't know what happened," the source continued. "I know that Kirk getting the chance to work with Josh Rosen, Kyler Murray and Ricky Town in Oregon helped each of those schools chances a lot. I don't know if he's made a great connection with any of Ohio State's current commitments even if he likes the guys he knows. That quarterback/wide receiver bond is important. Hopefully he's seen the way the Buckeyes are slinging the ball around and realizes that Barrett is gonna be there a few more years and is a damn good quarterback. Kirk could be a difference maker in Ohio State's offense. There's no one who can do what he does on their roster. No one."
YES, MICHIGAN
You may have heard that there's some issues up Ann Arbor way these days. If you've not heard that, I recommend reviewing the news and then continuing to read on. I'll wait...
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Ok, welcome back. In the past 48 hours, I've talked to four different Michigan commitments and each one of them has shared a few thoughts with me about the situation there. The common theme? This isn't going to be easy.
"It's a very difficult situation, for sure," one commit shared. "I know that each guy will have to take a long look at the circumstances there and decide what's best for them."
Earlier this week, Michigan had a decommitment from North Carolina four-star Darian Roseboro, who had committed to Michigan just over a month ago. They've already had five-stars Damien Harris and George Campbell in, and out, of their class and things are likely going to get worse, quickly. Each commitment I spoke to indicated they were beginning the process of looking around at other options, three of the four mentioned Ohio State as a school that's continued to recruit them and a school they're interested in visiting soon.
Stay tuned.
BIG HONOR FOR CAGER
As mentioned above, Ohio State's wide receiver targets are wide and varied, but Lawrence Cager is right at the top of the list. Today, the 6-foot-5, 202 pound Cager was honored with a selection to the Army All-American Bowl in San Antonio, Texas.
BLESSED to say i have recieved an invite and fully comitted to play in the US Army All American Bowl!! pic.twitter.com/AJCU6WsjuS
— Lawrence Cager (@LC1era_) October 1, 2014
For Cager, it's an opportunity to showcase his talents on a national scene and something he's looking forward to.
"(This chance) means a lot to me," Cager shared with Eleven Warriors. "It's another chance for me to show people that I'm a bit 'underrated' and it's a great opportunity to play with potential teammates friends from all around the country."
He also says that there's a chance this opportunity will provide him a platform to make his college choice.
"I'm thinking about it," he added when asked if he'll now make his decision during the All-American game. "It'd be cool to have that chance."
Cager will visit Rutgers this weekend and has plans to make an official visit to Ohio State the weekend of November 29th.
NICK CONNER VISITING KENTUCKY?
Let's address the elephant in the room: it appears Ohio State linebacker commitment Nick Conner will be officially visiting the University of Kentucky. That visit, it appears, will happen soon, for their home game against South Carolina this Saturday.
Up to this point, Nick has avoided discussing the visit and as of now, it's not confirmed. That said, I'm pretty confident in stating a few things about the supposed visit. I don't want to speak out of turn or for Conner, but here's what I've been told from other sources and people close to Ohio State.
First, Ohio State does not want this visit to take place, and they've been working to convince Conner, the country's 6th-ranked inside linebacker, to cancel it. He's a player they took their time evaluating and got to know very well, and absolutely want in their recruiting class. There is no tightening of numbers or any Buckeye "squeeze" in play, they're not in anyway pushing him towards any other situation. They want Conner. They want Jerome Baker. They want Justin Hilliard. Those are facts.
Now for some conjecture.
If Conner decides to make the visit this weekend, it certainly puts him in a precarious position with the Buckeyes. With official visits looming from Malik Jefferson, Porter Gustin and others, Ohio State could easily justify a "if you're looking, we're looking" attitude.
I have no real understanding of what could prompt a lifelong Ohioan, a kid who dreamt of an Ohio State offer for basically ever to risk his standing in his own dream. Recruiting is an interesting business, and whatever Conner is being told/sold by Kentucky is obviously working.
Every recruit should do what's best for themselves, certainly, but understand the risk you're taking. When you were offered by your "dream school" doesn't matter, it's if you were offered that matters. You can only sign in February, you can only choose one school and the chance to fulfill dreams you've always dreamt don't come easy.
