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.
ALL ABOUT ALABI
Yesterday, I was chatting it up with a coach in the Detroit area about Ohio State's perception in the area. He echoed the sentiments of others I've spoken to recently: the kids in Michigan really love Ohio State and the Buckeye coaching staff. The good news for many of the kids who loves the Buckeyes is that Ohio State feels similarly. Take Buckeye commitment Josh Alabi, for example.
"I think a lot of Buckeyes fans, and people in the area in general, are not paying enough attention to Alabi," the source told Eleven Warriors. "That kid can really play and when he gets into a college weight program and focuses one position watch out. He's hard-working, he's humble and he's really talented. I think he could be a NFL player on either side of the line."
Alabi committed to Ohio State at Friday Night Lights in July, and is one piece of what could be a steady pipeline from Detroit Cass Tech to Ohio State.
CAGER DEFINITELY STILL THINKING BUCKEYES
After the Sunday commitment of Alex Stump, the Twitter timeline of Maryland wide receiver Lawrence Cager was flooded with conjecture, hypothesis and speculation. The common thread? Now that Stump was a Buckeye, there was no way that Cager would be, or could be, right? Not so fast my friends.
"Everyone thinks I'm not going to consider Ohio State anymore," Cager said with a slight laugh. "I'm not sure why people think they know me more than I do."
Stump told 11W on Saturday, a day before his decision was public, that he had already been reaching out to Cager about the possibility of playing side-by-side at Ohio State. Cager, scheduled to visit Ohio State officially in late November for The Game against Michigan, confirmed.
"Yeah, I talked with Alex a couple times since they offered him," the 6-foot-5 wideout added. "He told me we'd be a great team and that I should join the family at Ohio State soon."
COUNTING FLOWERS ON THE WALL
Last Friday Ohio State offered 2016 wide receiver Justin Layne from Cleveland Benedictine high school. Layne, the state's top-ranked wide receiver in his class, has some stiff competition for that title from Lima Senior's Ruben Flowers. Although Layne's got the big offers presently, there's a number of folks around the state who believe Flowers has as much, if not more, upside. The 6-foot-4, 180 pound Flowers isn't fretting about the disparity in attention — he has only one offer (from Toledo) — he believes it will come in time.
"I think a lot of schools just haven't seen me in person yet," Flowers, Ohio's 14th-ranked player in 2016, told 11W. "I think I'm close to adding some other offers."
When pressed on which schools he's in the most regular contact with, Flowers listed a couple of the regions best football programs.
"I hear the most from Michigan State, Kentucky and Ohio State," he added. "I grew up a Buckeye fan, like most kids in Ohio. The last time I heard from them was about two weeks ago."
Expect the Buckeyes to keep a close eye on Ruben Flowers moving forward.
GEORGIA BROTHERS VISITING FOR RUTGERS
This weekend, a pair of brothers — Daniel Imatorbhebhe and Josh Imatorbhebhe — will make their first trip to Columbus. Daniel, a 2015 tight end, and Josh, a 2016 wide receiver, are almost assuredly going to end up at the same school, so Ohio State's pursuit of them is intriguing. Ohio State offered the younger Imatorbhebhe in May and Tom Herman has consistently stayed in touch with the talented, four-star wide receiver.
As for Daniel, the tight end is in a bit of precarious situation as it pertains to the Buckeyes. With Josh Moore and A.J. Alexander in the fold, it seems unlikely that Ohio State will have the room for the 6-foot-4, 227-pound athlete. Regardless, the pair will visit Columbus and it's an official visit for Daniel, formerly a Missouri commitment. Stay tuned.
