The Hurry Up is your nightcap of Ohio State recruiting news, catching you up on the day’s event with an ear on the ground for what’s next.
GREENE VISIT WILL HAVE AN INTERESTING TWIST
Today marks the beginning of a week-long visit to Columbus for Florida 2017 wide receiver Emmanuel Greene. Greene has been clear that this week could go a long way towards deciding his future and the Buckeyes have been in the driver's seat for his commitment for some time now.
So, what's the deal? Today also marks the beginning of vacation for the Ohio State coaching staff. Next Monday begins another recruiting dead period, so Greene's visit to Columbus is as much about his family checking out the city and the school as it is him spending time with Ohio State directly.
While the timing of the visit is a bit odd, it's still worth noting that this kind of trip, with your entire family in tow, doesn't happen just because. Greene lives in Florida, and a family isn't going to just vacation in Columbus, Ohio in mid-June unless there's a more important reason to do so.
Expect Greene to make an announcement about his college choice within a few days of his return to South Florida.
BIG DAY FOR HARBAUGH, MICHIGAN WITH BIG WEEKEND COMING
Despite receiving a fair amount of mockery for commitments from some pretty under-the-radar players of late, Jim Harbaugh's first full recruiting class at Michigan is quickly moving up the national rankings.
Today, the Wolverines looked to add two more four-star pledges to their ledger with more, if rumors are to be believed, coming. First, it was Farmington Hills (Harrison) 2016 defensive end Khalid Kareem who had narrowed his list to a handful of schools that included Michigan, Michigan State and Alabama. Kareem, the state of Michigan's sixth-ranked player, spurned the home-state schools and selected Alabama today at his school. Kareem was projected early and often to Michigan State (he had committed there for a day or so), but the recent commitments of Auston Robertson and Josh King for the Spartans meant a renewed look at other schools and Bama beat out Michigan, the heavy crystal ball favorite, in the end.
Just a little over an hour later, Harbaugh's class bounced back and added four-star offensive lineman Devery Hamilton, who chose Michigan over Stanford. Hamilton, who hails from Baltimore's well-known Gilman High School, is a 6-foot-6, 260-pound tackle who became the fourth four-star offensive line verbal for Harbaugh and his line coach Tim Drevno. Michigan is also the presumed favorite for another Maryland four-star lineman, Terrance Davis from DeMatha.
Now at 19 commitments for 2016, Harbaugh and his band of Enthusiasts are preparing for what could be a major weekend in their class's future. They'll host a number of their biggest targets over the next few days including Philadelphia tight end Naseir Upshur and New Jersey stars Ron Johnson, Ahmir Mitchell and Rashan Gary. Michigan is at or near the top of the list for each of those players and it wouldn't be a surprise to see this weekend go a long way towards eventually signing a number of the New Jersey group .
HILL RUMORS...AGAIN
It's baaack...yes, the rumors of George Hill's recruitment taking a nasty Gang Green-style turn towards Michigan State have returned. Why? Because, for the most part, George just isn't active in the Buckeyes' recruiting efforts and seems to make little to no effort to be involved, at least that is the speculation. Now, the question becomes is that fair or unfair?
Hill was the first commitment in the Buckeyes' 2016 class and since then has done his best to stay out of the spotlight and has rarely spoken on, or off, the record. He isn't interested in the recruiting game – if he was he wouldn't have committed so early – and that is being held "against" him in the court of public opinion. The facts are that Hill is just a different kind of kid, one that is quiet and a bit aloof but that doesn't mean he's not interested in being a "good Buckeye."
The Buckeyes, for their part, would absolutely like to see more of him around campus and in recruiting efforts, but he's continued to talk with Ohio State coaches and keep them abreast of what's happening around him, even if it's not quite as often as one would like.
If Hill is really looking at Michigan State, beyond the cursory "I'm still listening when they call" kind of looking, then he'll need to make a visit up to East Lansing sometime soon. As noted earlier, the recruiting dead period starts Monday so that will not likely happen for a while. The Buckeyes would really like to see Hill at Friday Night Lights in July and if that doesn't happen, for whatever reason, I think it's fair to have some legitimate concerns about what happens in the future.
The bottom line is that Ohio State wants George Hill in this recruiting class and continues to make sure he's aware of that.
MAYDEN NAMES TOP SEVEN, DECISION COMING
At one point Sachse, Texas 2016 defensive back Jared Mayden was one of the most commonly discussed names among a number of secondary options for the Buckeyes. Although the four-star cornerback has not visited Ohio State in months, the recruiting efforts of Chris Ash and Tim Beck still have the Scarlet and Gray in the star's finalists as a decision looms.
I would like to thank all the programs that have offered me. And @DynastyPA and @Hayesfawcett3 for the edit pic.twitter.com/mzHDqbpfcP
— Jaredmayden II (@MaydenII) June 24, 2015
While the Buckeyes made the cut for Mayden, it's unlikely that they'll be the choice come July.
