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.
ANTONIO WILLIAMS TALKS RECENT VISIT, ZEKE AND MORE
Ohio State's most recent 2016 commitment, North Carolina running back Antonio Williams, made his second visit to Columbus in a month this past weekend. The future Buckeyes' tailback said this trip helped him continue to develop those all-important bonds with future teammates.
"Things with the other guys in the class are coming together really well," Williams told Eleven Warriors. "All the guys I've met think like I do –– they just want to be great."
What was not great this past weekend was Ohio State's offense, and there's no real way to sugarcoat it. Williams watched the game and saw the same inconsistencies everyone else did. As a recruit, how do the Buckeyes' struggles impact his confidence in his future coaching staff? Simple: They don't.
"As a commit and signee, I put all my trust in the staff and their ability to do their job, I may not understand why they are doing what they are doing but I trust that it is right or what they think will lead us to the most success," Williams said of Saturday. "Some games it may be 30 carries and other times, like Saturday. At the end of the day, I trust in the coaches to do what will make us as a team great."
Williams was doing his part to try and help the Buckeyes get better by spending a lot of his time with two other North Carolina natives who were making official visits: Myles Dorn and Dexter Lawrence.
"I talked to Dexter and Myles," Williams said. "I tried to sell them both on us all being from NC and starting a trend for the state if we all come. (Dexter) is a hard guy to read."
Williams will make another trip to Ohio State in two weeks before enrolling in January.
"I'll be back on Dec. 11, for my my official visit," Williams concluded. "It's another chance to get closer to everyone."
WESTON BRIDGES HAS EXCELLENT FIRST VISIT
Copley, Ohio, 2017 running back Weston Bridges made his first visit to Ohio State and came away very happy with how the trip went.
"It was beautiful," Bridges told 11W. "The atmosphere, everything. It was great to get to see the team and I spent a few minutes talking with the coaches before the game."
Right now, Bridges holds only MAC offers, but the Buckeyes are definitely beginning to pay close attention. He was definitely paying close attention to the game and was disappointed in the outcome, but didn't let it spoil his visit.
"I'm just blessed to know that people are watching me, it matters a lot," Bridges said. "I was a bit upset because I really wanted (Ohio State) to win. Still, the atmosphere was beautiful, it was loud no matter what and Buckeye fans are always going to be diehards. I loved it."
MARKESE STEPP IMPRESSED BY OHIO STATE
We've talked to a 2016 running back and a 2017 running back, so let's check in with one of the country's top 2018 running backs, who also visited Ohio State this past weekend. Markese Stepp, from Indianapolis' Cathedral High School, is expected to be a Notre Dame signee when it's all said and done, but the Buckeyes have had success at Cathedral (Terry McLaurin went to school there) and made a big impression on Stepp.
"It was a tremendous atmosphere," Stepp, who is 6-foot and 205 pounds, said. "It's hard to find another place like that in the country."
Although he's been recruited primarily by Kerry Coombs, Stepp spent some time talking to Tony Alford, Ohio State's running backs' coach.
"I talked to Coach Alford for a bit," Stepp said. "To me the outcome of a games doesn't really matter. Everybody loses games. I look at how I could best fit in a program when I visit."
Stepp currently has only one offer–from Indiana – but he's definitely on the radar of the region's biggest programs. He's visited Notre Dame, Michigan State and Ohio State this season and will take in his first trip to Michigan this coming weekend.
HAYES HAPPENING?
One of last weekend's most important visitors was Ann Arbor's Daelin Hayes, a four-star linebacker who in recent weeks has gone from long-shot to a definite possibility in Ohio State's 2016 class. Hayes, who made an official visit to Columbus on Nov. 7, isn't talking about the trip yet, as is his right, but the word coming out of Ohio State has been exceedingly positive.
I've talked to a number of different people since Sunday who feel that Hayes left this most recent visit in a Buckeye state of mind, but I'm still personally having a tough time putting my full confidence in that prediction. Hayes is a smart, savvy and incredibly respectful guy, so his overtly optimistic reaction to each trip he makes come across as genuine and shouldn't be discounted. Ohio State was nowhere near the front of his mind a month ago and now multiple sources around the program feel they've got as good a chance as Michigan State or Notre Dame to eventually land him.
So, what gives?
Well, there's this weekend's return trip to Michigan State, a team that has recruited Hayes longer than anyone. It's the third straight week that the linebacker will see the Spartans and there's an obvious long-term comfort with Mark Dantonio's program.
Beyond that, there's still Notre Dame, lurking in the background. The Irish were the favorite for some time–even when Hayes was committed to USC according to some–and in some ways the more he sees other schools the more he's apt to compare them to what he liked so much in South Bend. I don't buy into the theory that "Notre Dame is more serious about school" than Ohio State or Michigan State, because how a student-athlete approaches his academics is a personal decision not an institutional decree. There is undoubtedly a different atmosphere around the Golden Dome than there is in East Lansing or Columbus, and Hayes will have to decide what kind of college experience will set him up the best for his future.
One intriguing element remains timing: There are a number of rumors out there regarding the future of Brian Kelly at Notre Dame, with people speculating that he could be a potential NFL option next year. Mark Dantonio, although highly unlikely to leave Michigan State, has seen his name connected to other college openings as well. Hayes is an early-enrollee and could be "stuck" at a school that undergoes a coaching change after he's already on campus. Not sure that's likely in either case, but it's an interesting subplot.
JORDAN PICKS UP ALL-AMERICAN HONOR
Another week, another Buckeye commitment being honored as a US Army All-American. Tuesday, it was offensive lineman Michael Jordan.
Today #OhioState commit @Madj1998 is officially a 2016 U.S. Army All-American! #GoBuckeyes #ArmyBowl #ArmyTeam pic.twitter.com/1Z5C3dNvhM
— #ArmyBowl (@ArmyAllAmerican) November 24, 2015
Jordan visited Ohio State last weekend and will enroll early with the Buckeyes in January.
