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.
THE RECRUITING WEEK THAT WAS
- THE HURRY UP: 08/24 08/25 08/26 08/27 08/28
- RIVALS 100 REVEALED: Five Ohio State commitments make new Rivals 100.
- LINDSEY DEVELOPING BUCKEYE BONDS: Ohio State is getting after it with 2017 five-star.
- 11W COMMUNITY INTERVIEW: Canton, Michigan offensive lineman Michael Jordan.
- FUTURE BUCKEYES ON TV: Andrew Ellis previews a busy TV weekend for Ohio State recruits.
- CUPP LOOKING AHEAD: Ohio State commitment Gavin Cupp's weird road to being a Buckeye.
- LIL' BEAR REPRESENTING: Nick Bosa throws up an "O-H-I-O" on ESPN.
- VICTOR-Y FOR BUCKEYES: Ohio State's top WR target donning Buckeye gloves during game.
- PREP TRACKER WEEK 2: Buckeye commits all across the country get their season going.
CHRISMAN TAKING GRAYSHIRT YEAR?
Cincinnati La Salle's Drue Chrisman is planning on taking a grayshirt year before he enrolls at Ohio State, according to a conversation he had with 11W last night.
"I always liked the idea of a redshirt year," Chrisman told 11W. "Just because I want to get used to the college atmosphere and a grayshirt basically is that, so I'm happy (about it)."
The expectation is that barring a Cam Johnston departure for the NFL after this season, Chrisman will enroll at Ohio State in January of 2017. What this means, is that if he goes through with the grayshirt, Chrisman won't count against the Buckeyes' scholarship count until 2017.
WHAT DOES TRISTEN WALLACE LOOK LIKE?
If you were one of the folks who spent your Saturday afternoon plopped down on the couch in front of the TV getting your fill of high school football, you likely watched Tristen Wallace and DeSoto get steamrolled by Arlington Martin High School.
The Eagles came into the game as the country's seventh-ranked high school team and sputtered out of the gate. Wallace was hurried left and right and made some poor decisions when rattled that led to turnovers. Other times he had the ball knocked out of his hands by his own players - it was that kind of day for DeSoto.
When the clock struck 00:00, Wallace finished 18-40 for a whopping 484 yards. His three long touchdown passes (76, 86, 46), which all came in the fourth quarter when the game was out of reach, helped fill out his stat sheet (he also had a touchdown run) but the game was anything but pretty.
What's the point for you, the Buckeye fan watching the game? Basically, don't panic about Tristen Wallace.
When he visited Columbus in June, Wallace worked for hours with Tim Beck and the Buckeyes and the general consensus was that Ohio State was very happy with what they saw.
Remember that Wallace missed most of last year with a broken ankle, that his team has a new head coach, that they don't really have any offensive line to speak of and were run heavy in the first half as they fell way behind and take a deep breath.
Wallace isn't going to be expected to play at Ohio State for a few years, and the Buckeyes see a very good starting point.
PRYTS EXPLAINS HIS CHOICE
In case you missed it, the Buckeyes missed on one of their top defensive back targets yesterday when Hermitage, Pennsylvania's Andrew Pryts selected Penn State over Ohio State. We've talked about about "comfort and relationships" as the primary factor in most recruitments, and with a family lineage that ran through Happy Valley, it was not a surprise that Penn State and James Franklin got the last crack at Pryts and sealed the deal.
From PennLive.com:
"I feel like I fit best at Penn State," Pryts wrote in a message to PennLive. "It's home to me; from being around their coaches to the players, I feel it's a system that I can succeed and reach my goals, both on and off the field.
"As far as coaches, I have great relationship with [defensive coordinator Bob] Shoop, who will be my position coach and coordinator, and I'm excited to continue that. Him and [head] Coach [James] Franklin were very excited when I committed, but they told me I better be ready to work.
AUBURN FEELING THE PINCH ON ANTWUAN JACKSON?
Two weeks ago, rumors began to swirl that a decision could be coming up for Ellenwood, GA (Cedar Grove) defensive tackle Antwuan Jackson. That time has come and gone and the 2016 standout has remained mostly quiet on his intentions. Last week, Jackson's father spoke with Auburn Undercover's Kieth Niebuhr and didn't hide his feelings toward Ohio State's defensive line coach ($$):
When asked which coach has he built the strongest relationship with, he replied, “Coach (Larry) Johnson at Ohio State. I’ve bonded with him good.
While Jackson has visited Auburn a dozen times and has only been to Columbus twice, it's clear that Larry Johnson Sr. is making his presence felt. The question still remains as to whether or not the 6-foot-2, 285 pounder will make a decision in the near future, but one thing seems to be certain: official visits will be crucial, whether they come before or after an announcement has been made.
One potentially big development? Jackson's teammate, 2016 linebacker Elysee Mbem-Bosse, seems to be pushing his decision back. Long thought to be an Auburn lock (the Tigers currently hold 100% of the crystal ball picks), Mbem-Bosse was expected to announce last week at his team's season opener – the same rumored announcement date for Jackson. The 6-foot-3, 232 pound linebacker is now planning on taking five officials before making a decision. Mbem-Bosse recently named a top five that consists of Auburn, Southern Cal, Michigan, NC State, and Wake Forest. So what's the kicker? In a recent interview with Keith Niebuhr, the Georgia standout had this to say ($$):
Asked if any team not in his top five was making a move, Mbem-Bosse replied, “Ohio State.” The Buckeyes have not offered.
MORE ON VICTOR
Yesterday you saw Binjimen Victor rocking some Ohio State gloves as Coconut Creek traveled to Atlanta to knock off Marist.
Following the game, Victor talked to DawgNation.com and spoke on where things stood with his official visit.
The Buckeyes, as you can see, are securely in the mix for the country's ninth-ranked wide receiver. Ohio State, as referenced, was the first team Victor mentioned when asked about his official visit schedule.
He also mentioned that the Buckeyes are the team recruiting him the hardest in the last couple of weeks. No doubt Zach Smith is eager to get him back on campus this fall.
