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.
RAIDERS UPDATES
Last night, Fort Lauderdale's St. Thomas Aquinas took on Dillard in a scrimmage in South Florida. The Raiders knocked off the Mighty Panthers 24-0 nothing behind three touchdown passes from 2017 quarterback – and Florida commitment – Jake Allen. Allen, a 6-foot-3, 190-pounder, has two of the country's most explosive wide receivers (Sam Bruce and Trevon Grimes) as primary options and found Bruce, the Miami commit, twice (from 44 and 49 yards) for scores and Grimes for another from 35 yards. Allen ended up with over 250 yards to go along with his three scores.
I had a chance to briefly catch up with a source at St. Thomas following the matchup and there's a few interesting notes.
- The Raiders offense, according the source, didn't play well and was inconsistent. A new running back and a new quarterback means some things may get disjointed, but they were able to put some scoring drives together.
- Buckeyes commitment Nick Bosa only played three series, but was his normal disruptive self.
- There's some thought that a Trevon Grimes commitment could be coming "soon."
- Speaking of Bosa, the source indicated that he's glad to have his commitment out of the way but that it wasn't quite the "blowout" people expected it to be: the decision between Ohio State and Florida State was lamented over quite a bit.
- Nick isn't really the "recruiting" type, but he's been regularly in the ear of Sam Bruce and Grimes and Bruce is expected to make an official visit to Ohio State on October 17th. Bosa is expected that night as well and Grimes is hoping to make the trip with him.
GEORGE HILL SHOWS OFF THE JETS
The Buckeyes have no shortage of talented athletes in their 2016 recruiting class and – despite some questions about where he ends up come February – George Hill is definitely one of them. Yesterday, thanks to Twitter user Scott Killian, we got a chance to see Hill do what Hill does best and that's run; really fast.
There's a substantial amount of scuttlebutt surrounding Hill and his place with the Buckeyes. Is he a running back? Is he a wide receiver/H-back? Is he a defensive back?
These are the questions that Hill is going to have to ask himself, and answer for himself, before ultimately deciding on what opportunity is best for him.
LECOUNTE BEING COUNTED ON
Whether or not he's a Buckeye commitment – some believe he committed to the Ohio State during Friday Night Lights in July – Richard LeCounte is not just one of the country's best athletes, but he's one of the most important players for his team. The Liberty County Panthers are certainly relying on the 5-foot-11, 175-pound athlete as they make a push for the playoffs this season after finishing 4-7 a year ago.
The Hinesville, Georgia school starts their season tonight at Effingham County High School and LeCounte's Panthers were previewed yesterday by wsav.com.
The country's 42nd-ranked 2017 prospect continues to be very interested in Ohio State, Georgia and others.
FORGETTING ABOUT FELDER?
With so much discussion around the remaining 2016 defensive back targets, it's easy to overlook the pair of cornerbacks that are committed to the Buckeyes: Wayne Davis and Kareem Felder. The pair was identified early by the Ohio State staff and are viewed as pure cornerbacks that may not be getting the "love" they deserve from fans and recruiting analysts.
Felder, for his part, is a three-star prospect and that star ranking may be one reason why he's sort of passed over by Buckeye fans, but he shouldn't be. Reviewing some old twitter feeds today, I came across this Vine of Felder against Clemson 2016 wide receiver commit and Buckeyes' offer Cornell Powell. This one clip why Ohio State's Kerry Coombs is so fond of him.
WR Cornell Powell vs Kareem Felder (Vine by @DavidLake3) https://t.co/BNf0iZIgas
— nc (@Carolina_B0Y) July 1, 2015
Let's remember: Ohio State coaching evaluations >> star rankings.
GOOD DAY FOR MACK
Earlier this week we mentioned that Austin Mack was at Ohio State last weekend and he had a face-to-face with Urban Meyer.
"(Urban) Meyer said he wants me to get there midyear," Mack said. "So I can get bigger."
Whatever Urban wants, Urban gets. Today, Mack's clearance for early enrollment at Ohio State was made official as he was announced as a Buckeye by Meyer's Twitter account.
Proud to officially welcome @Austin_Mack10 to the Buckeye Family! pic.twitter.com/ukI5aiNa70
— Urban Meyer (@OSUCoachMeyer) August 21, 2015
Tonight, Mack and his Bishop Luers teammates start their season against Bishop Dwenger High School and Mack will go into the contest with a little extra pressure on his shoulders: he's officially the FortWayne.com preseason player of the year.
