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.
BARROW, BUCKEYES CONTINUE TO DEVELOP RELATIONSHIP
One of the key positions in Ohio State's 2016 recruiting class is defensive tackle and right now, it appears the most likely candidate to fill that role soon is IMG Academy's Malik Barrow.
"Ohio State is my leader right now," Barrow told Eleven Warriors. "If it feels right [to make a decision] following my visit then I'll make a decision."
That visit for Barrow, the country's 313th-ranked player and a four-star defensive lineman, will be in mid-April for Ohio State's spring football game.
"Yeah, I'm going to be at the spring game," Barrow said. "I'm still going to have to make a trip to Penn State."
The Buckeyes are making no bones about their need for interior linemen, and although he plays on the edge in high school, he has no issues with a potential positional move.
"I talk with (Luke) Fickell, and the defensive staff, mostly," he added. "They say I'd be inside, used a bit like (departing Buckeye Michael) Bennett. I have no problem with that."
Barrow visited Miami last weekend and is still considering the Hurricanes, Nittany Lions and Michigan State Spartans, as well as the Buckeyes, among his nearly 20 scholarship offers.
HAMMOND KNOWS MEYER WELL
One of the more recent Buckeye offers in the 2016 class was to Hallandale, Florida wide receiver Joshua Hammond. At 6-foot-1, 180 pounds, Hammond has NFL bloodlines – his brother, Frankie, plays for the Kansas City Chiefs – and a close tie to Urban Meyer; Frankie played for Florida when the Buckeye head coach was winning titles in Gainesville.
"I guess you can say we have a good relationship," Hammond said, laughing. "My family and I are very familiar with most of the Ohio State coaching staff because they coached my brother. I know Coach Meyer's style."
The Buckeye offer puts them in good company: Florida State, Florida, LSU, Miami, Notre Dame and a handful of the country's premiere football programs have already offered the three-star wide receiver. He's sure to see a boost in his ranking, but right now he's just focusing his options and taking his time.
"My brother's advice to me about recruiting has just been 'take your time, don't rush anything' and that's what I'm doing," Hammond told 11W. "I hope to get up to Ohio State in the spring, but I'm not sure yet. So far I've been to Tennessee, FAU, Miami, Duke and NC State. I want to decide before my senior season because I plan to enroll early."
2017 DEFENSIVE BACK LAMONT WADE TALKS BUCKEYE OFFER
You don't get to be tabbed the country's 44th-best player without having some considerable talent, but Clairton, Pennsylvania's Lamont Wade is focused on what he can improve upon. At 5-foot-10, the 185-pound cornerback realizes there's some things he won't be able to change.
"I'm working on becoming a pure, prototype corner," Wade told 11W. "I lack ideal height so I'm working hard to make up for it with my footwork, my hips, speed, jumping ability; the whole nine yards."
The Ohio State offer is one that's been in the works for a while. Wade is being recruited by Ohio State's Luke Fickell.
"Coach Fick is who I talk to," Wade said of the Buckeyes. "It's a huge offer for me right now. I've been to Ohio State once – last year for Friday Night Lights – and I'm trying to get over there on March 28."
Wade lists the Buckeyes, Pittsburgh, Penn State, West Virginia and Boston College among the schools he's hearing from the most right now.
ELI STOVE LATEST FLORIDA WIDE RECEIVER TO HEAR FROM OHIO STATE
We're staying in Florida and talking about Eli Stove, a 6-foot-1, 180-pound wide receiver from Niceville offered by the Buckeyes earlier this week. Stove, the 9th-ranked receiver nationally and 72nd-ranked overall prospect, already has offers from Auburn, Clemson, Baylor, Florida State, Michigan, Oklahoma, LSU, Georgia and more, but the Buckeyes are going to try to make themselves a threat.
While it's unknown whether Stove will give the Buckeyes a serious look, he's considering a visit and that's all any program can ask for. As we've stated many, many times: get him on campus and then see what happens.
