The Hurry Up: Another Visit for Walker, Mack Earns Honors, Judson on the Road and More

By Jeremy Birmingham on July 16, 2015 at 7:45 pm
Kareem Walker and Jake Hausmann
Kareem Walker and Jake Hausmann
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The Hurry Up is your nightcap of Ohio State recruiting news, catching you up on the day’s events with an ear on the ground for what’s next.

MACK PICKS UP STEAM

Throughout the spring, some might've wondered why the Ohio State coaching staff was so adamant about landing Austin Mack, who they believe is one of the country's top two or three wide receivers. When Mack committed to the Buckeyes on June 7th, a week after earning an invite to Nike's The Opening, was ranked by the "experts" somewhere in the mid-20s at his position, but another 247Sports.com ratings bump is in the works and Mack will move up inside the Top 100 overall prospects and into the Top 10 at wide receiver.

Mack, who is now fully recovered from a torn labrum that he suffered towards the end of last season, received some more good news today when was officially invited to participate in the US Army All-American game.

Shortly after the invite from the Army All-American folks, the 6-foot-1, 206-pounder from Fort Wayne was asked to play in the Under-Armour All-American game as well. 

With his best friend Auston Robertson playing in the Army game, that's where he'll likely play his final high school football game.

Next Friday, Mack will be back in Columbus for the last time this summer for Friday Night Lights with the Buckeyes, but it's not just a social call. Mack says he intends to work out and put on a show for the Ohio State fans in attendance.

WALKER VISITING ARIZONA STATE

Although he plans to visit Ohio State in early August, Buckeye commit Kareem Walker will not be at Friday Night Lights next week. He will, however, be in Tempe, Arizona visiting Arizona State and the Sun Devils this weekend, according to 247Sports.com's Ryan Bartow.

Walker has been to Rutgers, Alabama and Auburn in recent months, and this trip to Arizona State – expected to run from this evening through Sunday – is another step in what's sure to be a long journey until signing day (or early enrollment in January, if Walker is able to do what he'd like to). 

The Buckeyes know that they have to recruit every committed player as if they're not committed and Walker, along with Terrell Hall (who just visited Bama again with his good friend Abdul Adams) especially, fit that bill since they're from out of state.

When you recruit players like Ohio State recruits, especially – as I said – from out of state, there's going to be a challenge to keep them. The Buckeyes are better equipped than any team in the country to handle a recruiting "attack" 

Stay the course, don't fret. Every little thing, is gonna be alright.

JUDSON CAMPS AT FLORIDA STATE

Another Buckeye commitment was on the road today, but this time in the 2017 class. Bruce Judson, the very talented athlete from Cocoa, Florida, who will be in Ohio on Thursday and stay through next Sunday, was in Tallahassee today working out at Florida State.

Judson will be at Florida State until tomorrow, then head north to Georgia for "Dawg Night" on Saturday before hitting up Auburn on Sunday. 

The 5-foot-9, 186-pound Judson was working out today at wide receiver with the Seminoles, which isn't entirely surprising as he knows that's where his future will be football-wise. Buckeye fans should expect to see him working out with Ohio State on Friday in a similar fashion.

OMG, IMG

We've talked about the IMG Academy before, so I won't spend too much on whether or not I think it's a good thing for high school football. Instead, take it from Calvary Baptist head coach John Bachman, who this week found out that his five-star quarterback, Shea Patterson, would be transferring to Bradenton.

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Bachman, who was glowing his praise of Patterson as a quarterback and as a person, doesn't seem pleased about what's happening with academy's like IMG. 

"I'm just now starting to find out about, I know it existed," Bachman said. "I don't know if it's best for high school football. I don't like anything that takes away from high school football so I'm not necessarily a fan of it."

IMG needed a new quarterback because five-star Florida State commitment Malik Henry, who transferred to IMG in January, has left the school. Why? It's not entirely known but rumors are that the two sides just didn't "get along." No problem for IMG, they just swapped one five-star quarterback for another. 

The question though is why do these kids decide to uproot their lives for one year in Bradenton? Bachman's thoughts on it are clear.

"He gets to be a football player all day long more than he gets to be a student-athlete," he said. "More hours of football, again I don't think that's best for a high school athlete...when do you get to be a kid?"

PASS PICKS CARDINALS

6-foot-5, 220-pound Jawon Pass, the country's 4th-ranked dual threat quarterback, committed to Louisville today, where his brother plays, choosing the Cardinals over Alabama, Auburn and approximately 20 other offers.

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