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.
ANTWUAN JACKSON FEELING THE BUCKEYE LOVE
As we've noted earlier this week, the Antwuan Jackson visit with Ohio State continues to go very well. Today, Jackson put the cleats on and decided to do some work with Larry Johnson, Sr. and the Ohio State defensive line coach was eager to get some time with the country's 8th-ranked defensive tackle.
The 6-foot-3, 285-pound Jackson was side-by-side most of the day with Ohio State's Jonathon Cooper, and the pair seemed to get along very well, talking at length throughout the afternoon and late morning.
According to a few sources I've spoken with, the Buckeyes are feeling pretty good about where they sit right now with Jackson. There's still a concern about Auburn, but a near four-day visit isn't something to scoff at. Jackson has said in the past he'd like to make two visits to Columbus this summer and it'd be surprising at this point if the Buckeyes didn't come out of this visit as a clear-cut leader in his recruitment.
COLE KMET EARNS BUCKEYE OFFER
One of the few players to impress Ohio State enough to be considered for an offer was 2017 Arlington Heights, Illinois tight end Cole Kmet. Kmet, 6-foot-4 and 220-pounds, was impressive all afternoon and very natural as a pass-catcher and route-runner.
The Buckeyes offered Kmet at the end of the camp, making him the second 2017 tight end to be offered in the last three days. Cincinnati Moeller's Matt Dotson was offered on Saturday.
GILL, WILLIAMSON MAKE THEMSELVES AT HOME
The Buckeyes have already landed a commitment from 2017 defensive back Marcus Williamson, and last week they pulled the trigger on an offer for 2018 athlete Jaelen Gill, each of whom were on campus today. The Westerville South pair spent most of the day touring around the facilities and talking to different Ohio State coaches and players. Ohio State 2017 commitment Danny Clark also shared some time and conversation with the duo, playing catch and loosening up for his afternoon workout session with them.
At one point, Urban Meyer took the pair to get introduced to Ohio State 2016 commitment Demario McCall, hoping to begin relationships among the group.
Gill, who has not committed to Ohio State, said today that he'd like to wait until his junior year before making a decision. Williamson was considering working out but is nursing a bit of a quadricep issue that he wanted to let rest.
COOPER CONTINUES TO IMPRESS ON AND OFF THE FIELD
Jonathon Cooper was not intending on doing much camping with the Buckeyes this summer, but the Ohio State commit seems to have a tough time turning down the chance to put in work on his game. It's that commitment to improving that has made him one of the country's fastest-rising prospects this off-season.
As mentioned above, Cooper's most important work today might've been in the role of recruiter. He was all over Antwuan Jackson and was also working with Cincinnati's Jerron Cage.
At the conclusion of the camp, Cooper was pulled aside by Ohio State coaches Larry Johnson, Sr. and Chris Ash. In a brief conversation, the coaches commended him for a day of great effort. Ash, speaking as Cooper walked away, had one request of the Gahanna standout.
"Keep recruiting, keep recruiting."
NOTES AROUND THE CAMP
- Maple Heights 2017 wide receiver Ja'Vonte Richardson did not make the trip today, neither did the Toledo Central Catholic pair of Michael Warren and James Hudson.
- Another Maple Heights standout, 2016 wide receiver Quartiz Long, was very impressive today.
- The Buckeyes spent a good amount of time watching St. Xavier 2017 offensive lineman Matt Bockhorst, who was offered by Michigan State during the Ohio State camp. Whether or not the Buckeyes offer is up in the air, but I would imagine they'll hope to see him again this summer. Bockhorst wasn't great in one-on-ones when Urban Meyer was present and they may want to see him again.
- Mansfield's Tyrell Ajian hurt his leg early in the day and didn't compete in the afternoon. He intends to return to Ohio State for Friday Night Lights.
- Fremont Ross 2017 wide receiver Craig "Russ" Yeast II was excellent today, and was definitely one of the more consistent pass-catchers.
- 2018 quarterback Brennan Armstrong was really good, and it's easy to see why he's already caught the eyes of the Buckeyes. If he continues to grow and develop, this is where the next Buckeye quarterback could come from.
- Danny Clark works so hard in these camp settings. The kid is tireless and constantly seeking out advice and teaching.
- Toledo offered Portsmouth, Ohio's Blaine Scott, a 2018 offensive lineman. Scott could be a guy the Buckeyes offer down the road, and he was pretty good today. He's really got good feet for his size but needs to improve his upper-body strength to make himself a more dominant blocker.
- Austin Mack, as expected, was back on campus and just spending time with players and staff. Most of the camp he talked with Demario McCall and Zach Smith, but he spent a lot of time talking to Tyvis Powell and Erick Smith as well.
- Dublin Coffman 2017 wide receiver Caleb Stoneburner, the brother of former Buckeye Jake, ran a 4.49 today in front of the Buckeye coaches.
- Antoine Winfield, Jr. was excellent today, ran a blistering fast 40 for the Ohio State coaches (4.27!) and got to spend some one-on-one time with Chris Ash. The Buckeyes, who might've been less-than-seriously considering an offer for the Texas prepster prior to today could have an interesting decision to make. Winfield will visit Michigan State later this week, and the Spartans have already offered.
