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.
FERNS AND OHIO STATE
In case you missed it earlier, there's been some movement on the Brendan Ferns/Ohio State front and it's not a positive update for those of you hoping for/counting on Ferns, the state's top linebacker, to end up Ohio State.
So, what happened? Basically, and quite simply: nothing went wrong, Ohio State just does not provide Ferns the academic program that he has long discussed as being a major component in his college choice, petroleum engineering. The Buckeyes and the Ferns family looked at a number of different options to try and make that work, but in the end, Brendan is making a forty-year choice, not just a four-year choice. Despite growing up rooting for Ohio State, and great relationships with Chris Ash and Luke Fickell, he will essentially "re-open" his recruitment and take a closer look at the programs who do offer that academic path. Obviously West Virginia and Penn State have been discussed in the past, but don't be surprised if LSU or any number of Texas schools finds their way into the mix.
So, what do the Buckeyes do at linebacker? Is it as simple as just moving ahead to Aaron Hansford and calling it a day? I don't think so, especially as Hansford continues to suggest that he'll wait until his senior season to make a choice.
The more likely scenario is that Ohio State, as the numbers tighten in this class, step back and consider sticking only with Tuf Borland at linebacker. However, Luke Fickell will visit IMG Academy to check in on native-Ohioan Jango Glackin tomorrow, and he's been picking up some excellent recruiting momentum in recent weeks, including an offer from Wisconsin.
DRUE CHRISMAN'S CHOICE
In a recruiting class that's seeing shrinking numbers, there's sure to be a subsection of Buckeye fans who are asking themselves: "Why would take a punter and turn away players like Josh King?" A valid question, for sure, considering Cameron Johnston could have two more years of eligibility with the Buckeyes. The answers as to why you take a punter at this point are equally valid, especially if you remember this past January's Sugar Bowl.
"People will ask that," one source at Ohio State said to the inquiry. "No one thinks about how much a weapon a good punter is until you don't have one."
Chrisman is not just a good punter, he's the best prep punter in the country and an Ohioan to boot (pardon the pun) so keeping him in state this year was big. The facts are, if Johnston is to leave early for the NFL – which isn't as far-fetched as it sounds – there's a need for a punter next year and if the Kicking Kangaroo sticks around for his final season in Columbus, Chrisman can redshirt and the Buckeyes can rest comfortably knowing they'd not find a better punter in next year's class. It's a win/win. For Chrisman himself, the choice was one made with peace of mind.
"I told the coaches about two hours before it went public," Chrisman told Eleven Warriors. "They were happy, but they'd have been happy for me no matter where I went. That's what it came down to, being comfortable with them and being able to stay closer to home."
YEAST HEARING MORE FROM BUCKEYES
Yesterday's Hurry Up briefly took a look at the potential wide receiver options for the 2017 class and Fremont Ross' Craig Yeast II was mentioned, the 29th-ranked wide receiver in the class and Ohio's 11th-ranked prospect next year. Yeast, the son of former Kentucky and NFL wide receiver Craig Yeast (who now coaches the Little Giants) has six current offers including Louisville, Kentucky, Cincinnati, Maryland, Washington State and Toledo, but he's got a busy summer planned.
"I'm going to Notre Dame, Louisville, Tennessee, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio state and Kentucky for camp and visits in June," Yeast told 11W. "Recruiting is going good."
As for the Buckeyes, Yeast said he's started to hear pretty frequently from Tim Hinton, who is recruiting that part of the state for Urban Meyer's staff.
"It's been a lot busier with Ohio State lately," he said. "Coach (Tim) Hinton came out to one of our workouts last week. He had me call him yesterday and said he wants me to call him every week. He's just telling me that they want to see me at camp to see my skills in person."
Yeast says that despite his father having played at Kentucky, he actually grew up rooting for Louisville as a kid in the Bluegrass State.
"I'm from Kentucky," he said. "But yeah, I grew up liking Louisville. My dad doesn't care about that, he'll let me make my own decision."
BUCKEYES OFFER TOP 2017 SAFETY
Late last night the Buckeyes offered a scholarship to the top 2017 safety in the country, Texas defensive back Jeffery Okudah.
Received an offer from the 2015 National Champs Ohio State! #GoBuckeyes #tOSU
— Jeffrey Okudah III (@TheJeffOkudah) May 4, 2015
A five-star prospect at 6-foot-1 and 200-pounds, Okudah is a big, physical, hard-hitting safety that has offers from basically every major program in the country.
Safeties like Okaduh are few and far between, so you can see why Ohio State extended an offer this early in the process. It could be that they hope the Texas star potentially developing relationships with already committed defensive backs like Shaun Wade and Marcus Williamson, two of the nation's best, could help improve their chances. It didn't take long for Danny Clark to get to work on Okaduh.
@TheJeffOkudah Congrats on your offer bro! I hope u join the family! Is that my boy Prii in your profile pic?
— PROTOTYPE (@DClarkQB) May 5, 2015
