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.
RUNNING BACK THE RUNNING BACK SITUATION
We're now 19 days away from my favorite day of the year, National Letter of Intent Signing Day. The Buckeyes sit on 24 commitments, but there's zero doubt that fireworks are coming, one way or another. There's not a year that goes by when things don't get weird, and your best hope is often to just not let them get weird for your team.
Unfortunately for the Buckeyes, despite the on-field success they've experienced these last few months, there's bound to be changes in this year's recruiting class. One position that continues to be plagued by the rumor mill is running back, where the Buckeyes are working hard to hold on to their commitment, Detroit's Mike Weber. I know, as the majority of you reading this are Ohio State fans, you'd question the intelligence of anyone who didn't want to take their turn in the Buckeyes' borderline ridiculous running game, but Weber's situation is unusual for many reasons. Obviously, he's from Michigan, he was once committed to Michigan and is without a doubt one of Jim Harbaugh's top priorities as he attempts to salvage the Wolverine's class.
Weber continues to dance around the topic of whether or not he'll seriously entertain Harbaugh and Wolverines, and as often the case is in recruiting, if he's looking then the Buckeyes are looking, too. Both sides are moving cautiously, but there's a small chance that Ohio State could get a visit this weekend from Michigan State commitment LJ Scott, who might be looking around a bit in the wake of Pat Narduzzi's departure to Pitt. Why does Narduzzi, Michigan State's defensive coordinator impact Scott? Who knows, but he does and if the Buckeyes don't feel confident in their stance with Weber, you should expect them go full bore after Scott...again.
What about Damien Harris? We're all aware he was the Buckeyes' top target at the position for some time, but from discussing things with Harris, it does appear that ship has sailed. Harris told me yesterday he has not talked to any other coaches or schools since making his commitment last Friday, and I wouldn't expect that to change.
COACHES ON THE TRAIL AGAIN TODAY
The recruiting dead period is over. The Buckeyes coaching staff, now national champions, are making their way around the country to talk to their 2015 commitments and to make headway with their future stars. Key members of the "Elite '15" got big visits today, but no one got more time today with Urban Meyer than Cardale Jones, who spent a few hours with him in Cleveland before his big press conference. From there, the Ohio State head coach headed to New Jersey where the Buckeyes met with 2016 quarterback Jarrett Guarantano among a number of other players in the Garden State, like Kareem Walker, who committed to Ohio State on Monday.
Crazy day! Coach Meyer , Coach James Franklin , & Coach Butch Jones were all in school today with their OCs ! Also 5 RU coaches & NC came !
— Jarrett Guarantano (@Guarantano18) January 15, 2015
Kerry Coombs and Stan Drayton made their way to Michigan, checking in on Plymouth's 2016 offensive lineman Michael Jordan, who also added an offer today from Penn State. From there, that pair went to Cass Tech and had a brief conversation with the aforementioned Weber.
The Buckeyes were also present in South Florida today, where Zach Smith met with Torrance Gibson, who will still make his official visit to Auburn this weekend. Gibson has made no bones about wanting to play at Ohio State, and the Buckeyes still feel very confident that if everything is equal, he'll be in Columbus next summer. Smith also stopped by Coconut Creek to see 2016 stars Binjimen Victor, Trayvon Mullen and Malek Young.
2017 FLORIDA STARS HEADING NORTH?
While the Buckeyes were shutting down an unstoppable Pacific Northwest offense on Monday, they also received some good news from the Atlantic Southeast, at least for their future. As you no doubt are aware, Ohio State received commitments from two of the top four players in Florida's 2017 class as No. 3 Shaun Wade and No. 4 Bruce Judson both decided Columbus was the best place to play college football (for now, anyway). Those two are not the only standouts in that class excited about the Buckeyes and the future of Ohio State football.
Coconut Creek's Emmanuel Greene, a four-star wide receiver currently ranked 10th in Florida's 2017 class, and Trevon Grimes, a 6-foot-3, 180 who is ranked second, are both very high on Ohio State. Greene, who could very well wind up at IMG Academy for his junior and senior seasons, is a dynamic slot receiver and Grimes is the prototypical outside threat that in the mold of Michael Thomas. Grimes, born and raised in Indianapolis, has been been a big fan of Ohio State's for the past few years and with the Ohio State influence that's so prevalent at St. Thomas Aquinas, it'll be a bit of a surprise for any other school to sway him at this point. The Buckeyes have historically always had great success in Florida, and now with Urban Meyer the sky is the limit.
DON'T COUNT OUT WASHINGTON
If you're thinking that Ohio State is now out of the Robert Washington sweepstakes because they've got commitments from Kareem Walker and George Hill at running back for 2016, think again.
"A lot of my friends were like 'I guess that means Ohio State is out,'" Washington told Eleven Warriors. "I told them 'not at all.' I'm not trying to take anything away from anyone, but you have to go somewhere the system fits you. It doesn't change anything with me. All the hype and the rankings mean nothing to me. I love competition and I feel like I fit the system and what they need from a running back."
Washington, who has over 40 scholarship offers, says he's not sure when he'll get back to Ohio State, or even if he will, but that's not indicative of any changed feelings.
"I've been there three times on three different types of visits," he said. "I've seen what I needed to. I love it up there."
