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.
WHY WON'T ANYONE BELIEVE ME?
Carlton Davis has tried to tell people for months that he wants to be a Buckeye. When he committed to Ohio State over the summer, no one believed it was going to stick. "He's just holding a spot" was the common refrain, making sure that he had a place in Columbus if the other schools he visited didn't work out.
The problem with those assertions, of course, is that they never came from Davis himself. For prospects that are not really interested in having their every recruiting move or thought chronicled by ogling media, far too often the stories written about said athletes are nothing but conjecture and educated guesses. Conclusions drawn from poorly cobbled together concepts, innuendo from sources and coaches and rarely the player himself. That's been the case surrounding Davis, who rarely speaks to anyone in the media unless it's in person.
Last weekend, he visited Florida — about a month after visiting Miami — and his answer post-visit has been the same. "I know where I am going to school." That school, according to Davis, is Ohio State, and the Buckeyes are thrilled to keep him in the mix.
"We really like Davis, a lot," one source at Ohio State shared. "He's so underrated and we have done a great job identifying him early and that relationship has helped. He knows what we do on defense and I think that makes him a great fit up here."
Davis could play cornerback or safety at Ohio State, and no matter where he plays, he's going to be a welcomed addition to a secondary that thrives on competition, aggressiveness and confidence. He doesn't lack for any of those qualities and that's something the Buckeyes love about him.
"One thing about Carlton is that he's just not going to be intimidated by anything," the source continued. "He'll get up here and compete as hard as anyone. That is the type of guy who makes everyone better."
QUARTERBACK SITUATION FOR 2015 HAS UNANSWERED QUESTIONS
Today, Ohio State officially announced the hiring of former Nebraska quarterback's coach Tim Beck. The Youngstown native will take over for Tom Herman and also assist in some play-calling duties for the Buckeyes, although that responsibility will mostly fall to Ed Warinner and Urban Meyer. Beyond his on-field duties, Beck's greater charge will be to take over the ridiculous stockpile of talent in Ohio State's quarterback room, which is (at least as of now) slated to include Braxton Miller, JT Barrett, Cardale Jones, Stephen Collier, Joe Burrow and Torrance Gibson. The rumblings and rumors abound that Miller, Barrett, Jones and Collier won't all be in Columbus next year, but we cover recruiting and it's time to take seriously the thought that maybe Burrow or Gibson won't be, either.
What?!?
I don't care to address rumors often, but in this case, it's pertinent. The rumblings from the folks in Cornhusker land have persisted for some time that if Urban Meyer were to bring on Beck, that could change things re: Burrow's recruitment. Beck and Burrow, the rumors go, didn't mesh and that is why the Athens quarterback didn't seriously consider Nebraska, the alma mater of basically everyone in his family. For his part, Burrow has said nothing of the sort, but did acknowledge that he's very interesting in sitting down and talking with Urban Meyer, Beck and Ed Warinner at some point in the near future to discuss how things will be handled moving forward. My concern level? Heightened. As we, and many others, have stated time and time again, recruiting is about comfort and relationships and the onus is on Burrow and the staff to get comfortable again real quick.
As for Gibson, the 6-foot-4, 205-pounder will visit Auburn this weekend and is scheduled to make his way to Baton Rouge and LSU next weekend. According to Gibson's latest USA Today journal, which right now is about the only place he's talking.
OK, so everyone wants to know about me taking visits to different schools while I’m committed to Ohio State. Basically my mom wants me to see what’s out there because she wants me to make sure I’m 100 percent making the best decision.
No, she doesn’t want me to decommit or anything, she just wants me to have seen everything. I’ll be taking officials to LSU and Auburn.
Ohio State fans shouldn’t worry at all. Just let me enjoy this process; it’s the only time I’ll be able to do this in my lifetime.
Most of us will never know the stress associated with this level of scrutiny on every move you make, every Tweet you tweet, etc. While Gibson's heart definitely appears to be leaning towards Ohio State, both Auburn and LSU are likely to try and appeal to his head, to get in his brain about depth charts and opportunities to play early, etc. The Buckeyes, in this case, are still winning the comfort and relationships race, and ultimately it's going to be Gibson deciding on what is important to him and how much faith he has in the pretty words he'll hear over the next two-and-a-half weeks. I've felt he was 100-percent Buckeye since mid-July and I don't think that's changing anytime soon.
Ironically, a decision to flip to another school by Burrow or Gibson is likely to help ease the mind of the other, as the crowded depth chart at Ohio State would get at least a little less tricky to navigate.
EICHENBERG SETS NEXT BUCKEYE VISIT
The state of Ohio's second-ranked offensive lineman for 2016, Liam Eichenberg of Cleveland St. Ignatius, will return to Ohio State for another visit during the big junior day weekend coming up on January 23rd-25th. Eichenberg was on campus during Ohio State's regular season finale against Michigan, and it appears that the Buckeyes are gaining some traction in his recruitment. Recovering from a minor knee surgery, Eichenberg says he's getting close to being 100-percent and that he's recently started running again.
Ohio State's 2016 offensive line group could be smaller than the last few years and with IMG Academy's Tyler Gerald (who left Ohio for the Bradenton, Florida football factory) already in the mix, the Buckeyes would like to seal the deal with Eichenberg sooner rather than later.
BUCKEYES BATTLING FOR BECKNER
We've discussed it, a lot. The Buckeyes are still anxious to add another defensive tackle to their 2015 recruiting class and right now it appears that Terry Beckner, Jr. is the one they'd most covet and yet is certainly the likely most difficult to nab, despite what this fake Twitter account says. Dream big, right? Missouri has long been the rumored favorite to land Beckner and that appears to be accurate.
East St. Louis head coach Darren Sunkett believes that Mizzou is definitely the front runner for Terry Beckner Jr. #mizzou
— Frank Cusumano (@Frank_Cusumano) January 14, 2015
The country's 16th-rated player in the 2015 class, Beckner is still scheduled to visit Ohio State next weekend. Although the Buckeyes are going to be working from a trailing position the last few weeks have taught us that Urban Meyer can win as the underdog. The keys to swooping in and stealing Beckner are simple, according to his coach.
"Family," his coach shared. "can he trust the coaching staff."
The Buckeyes have a need for help at defensive tackle and one of the country's best will be in attendance as the team gathers to celebrate the national championship.
Game on.
