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.
KAREEM FELDER ON CAMPUS
The Buckeyes hosted a pair of out-of-state defensive backs (Chad Clay, from Georgia and Kenney Lyke from Illinois) last weekend and are back at it today with Baltimore's Kareem Felder.
That's almost exactly how my field swag be too pic.twitter.com/ACqamgVV9i
— Kareem Felder Jr #7 (@Wolvereem07) April 8, 2015
Felder is a 5-foot-11, 165 cornerback from St. Frances Academy and is currently committed to Virginia Tech. The country's 103rd-ranked cornerback, Felder has an offer list that says far more than his current ranking or three-star status: Ohio State, Clemson, North Carolina, Virginia Tech, Iowa and Rutger are among his current opportunities.
He arrived at Ohio State this morning and after talking to a few different sources close to Felder and the Buckeyes, it appears that the interest level is serious from both sides. He's not visited Columbus before, and is staying at Ohio State overnight. As of now, this picture from Felder suggests that things are going very well.
There is a very real possibility that Ohio State could flip Felder in the near future, if things stay on this trajectory.
Stay tuned.
FULLER ON CAMPUS
A few weeks ago I had mentioned that New Jersey athlete Jordan Fuller would be visiting Ohio State and he's on campus today with the Buckeyes. A four-star prospect who would likely line up at defensive back for Ohio State, Fuller has offers from Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Florida State and many others, including the Buckeyes.
The Buckeyes have reportedly been paying Fuller a lot of attention these last few weeks and today's visit could lead to some increased interest from both sides. Fuller is the country's 144th-ranked prospect and has a brother that plays football at UCLA, leading some to believe the Bruins could be the biggest threat for his services.
NOTRE DAME ON TAP FOR EICHENBERG
Ohio State's top in-state offensive tackle target Liam Eichenberg will visit Notre Dame this weekend. The visit, which has been planned for a while now, will precede Eichenberg's scheduled trip to Ohio State next weekend for the Buckeye spring football game.
A 247Sports crystal ball that is 60-percent in Ohio State's favor doesn't mean much in this case. Eichenberg has been adamant that he's still trying to decide between Ohio State and the Irish so this weekend's visit is exceptionally important for him, and for Ed Warinner and the Buckeyes' hopes of keeping him from ending up in South Bend. The Fighting Irish have already secured a commitment from Ohio's top player in 2016, Cincinnati's Tommy Kraemer, and Notre Dame insiders from all over the world of recruiting are increasingly optimistic that they'll swoop in and steal Eichenberg as well.
Ohio State has been confident that they're in a good position with the St. Ignatius standout, who was offered by the Buckeyes as a freshman in high school, but they're prepared for anything. One thing is for sure, whenever Eichenberg decides on a school, he is not going to be the type of kid to play the waffling game, so it's important for Ohio State to get him back next weekend.
TALKING WALKER
Speaking of waffling, there's been a bit of scuttlebutt surrounding Ohio State's prized 2016 commitment, running back Kareem Walker.
On Monday, Walker visited Rutgers, the home-state school an hour up the road from his hometown. Yesterday he let the world know he'd be unable to make it to Ohio State's spring game next weekend because of standardized testing he needs to get out of the way so that he's able to enroll in college in January. Later in the evening, ESPN had a story with Walker where he talked about his recruitment and the possibility of visiting other schools.
As I've said for a few months now, don't be surprised if that happens. Walker is a top-five national prospect and is not a guy who grew up dreaming of playing in Ohio Stadium and donning the scarlet and gray. He's a player who – without needing to – committed to Ohio State a year before signing day because he believes the Buckeyes will provide him the best opportunity to accomplish whatever he wants to. That means something.
That said, he's going to be sold a lot of stuff, from a lot of big-time programs about how they'll make him a better player, person, etc. They'll tell him Ohio State isn't being honest about how George Hill and Demario McCall – listed as running backs on their recruiting profiles – will be used in the offense. Ignoring the obvious fact that Ohio State can point to Ezekiel Elliott, Jalin Marshall and Dontre Wilson as a proven example of how it will work. Coaches from all over the country will have a chance to sway Walker, and the Buckeyes will recruit him until signing day as though he's not even committed. Why?
Because they have to. The bottom line is this: Ohio State isn't concerned they're losing ground with Walker. They know he's going to have bugs put in his ears that Urban Meyer, Ed Warinner and Tony Alford will be forced to deal with. This is recruiting in 2015, and it's April 9th. Get used to the turmoil or sign off until February.
MISCELLANY
Donnie Corley, Jr. will not visit Ohio State this weekend. His father has a work conflict and the family is discussing the more likely scenario of a visit for next weekend's spring game.
Detroit Cass Tech 2016 two-way lineman Michael Onwenu and defensive back Demetric Vance will be part of a group from the school making their way to Columbus this weekend that includes 2017 defensive back Jaylen Kelly-Powell and five-star wide receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones, and 2018 defensive back Kalon Gervin. Kelly-Powell was scheduled to visit for next weekend's spring game, and he told me he'll make a trip both weekends, further highlighting his interest in Ohio State.
Ohio State had a key visits from a pair of in-state 2017 targets, Springfield wide receiver Danny Davis and Mansfield athlete Tyrell Aijan, a fast-rising prospect with offers from Michigan and Tennessee among others. It would be a relatively large surprise if both Davis and Aijan don't end up with Buckeye offers and soon.
