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.
ASH'S DEPARTURE AND THE POTENTIAL IMPACT
As we've mentioned recently, the odds were always pretty high that Ohio State would lose at least one of their coordinators this off-season. That came to fruition today as Chris Ash was officially announced as the new head coach at Rutgers. While it's not yet sure who the Buckeyes could turn to as they look to replace Ash, there's no doubt that a number of prospects he was responsible for recruiting are going to be keeping a close eye on what happens.
About three weeks ago, we talked to 2017 five-star Jeffrey Okudah, who said then that the potential departure of Ash would certainly impact his recruitment.
"It would have some effect," Okudah told 11W. "If he was to leave and a great defensive backs coach was hired, I'd have no problem. I'd be confident with whomever was hired, I'd just have to do some research."
Monday, Okudah commented again and echoed his previous statement, saying that there's been few people he's gotten to know better in his recruitment than the new head coach of the Scarlet Knights.
"I'm just being patient," Okudah said. "(I need) to see who is in place. (I) was closest with Ash out of maybe every coach I communicate with."
Okudah is one of the more high-profile kids recruited by Ash, but certainly not the only one bound to be impacted by his leaving.
— Fred Hansard (@Fred_Hansard56) December 7, 2015
That's four-star defensive tackle Fred Hansard, a New Jersey standout high on the Buckeyes reacting to the news that his home-state school has a new man in charge.
When your program is successful, coaches get other jobs, when your program isn't successful, coaches get fired. If you're a fan of Ohio State, you'd rather the program's assistants leave for this reason than the other.
BUCKEYES FINALLY SEE LINDSEY
Ohio State wide receiver's coach Zach Smith headed west to Las Vegas today and finally got a chance to meet with 2017 five-star Tyjon Lindsey.
GREAT DAY SEEING @CoachZachSmith IN THE VEGall the way from OHIO STATE! Listened to my life story & all! #Zone6 #GOBUCKS #OSU
— Tyjon Alvin Lindsey (@tyjonlindsey) December 7, 2015
The meeting apparently went well for Lindsey, who has been waiting to get a chance to meet with the Buckeyes since the summer.
"Coach Smith is the coolest dude I've ever met," Lindsey said Monday night. "I loved talking to him. I showed him around and what we do before games and all that. I loved the chat with him."
Lindsey is very close with his teammate at Bishop Gorman, quarterback Tate Martell, who is committed to Texas A&M and the Aggies have been the frontrunner for the country's 16th-ranked 2017 prospect. Lindsey has family in Ohio and has said in the past that he's hoping to visit Ohio State before making a college choice.
DEFENSIVE BACK SEARCH EXPANDING
As it seems more and more likely that Damar Hamlin ends up somewhere other than Ohio State and a Jordan Fuller decision is still a ways off, the Buckeyes are moving ahead and looking for new options at defensive back.
The latest offer is to Louisville commitment Rodjay Burns, a three-star athlete from Louisville's Trinity High School.
The 6-foot-2, 175-pounder committed to the Cardinals in March and the country's 72nd-ranked cornerback has not been actively pursuing other options but says the Ohio State offer is one that – at the least – he'll have to look into.
Expect a visit from Burns sometime after the Fiesta Bowl. Burns' recruitment could take an arc similar to what happened with the Buckeyes and now North Carolina commitment Myles Dorn. Do you take the chance to join one of the country's biggest programs or do you stick with the hometown team and what you've known your whole life?
JACKSON DECISION DATE SET
As we touched on Sunday night, a decision for Antwuan Jackson is coming soon and Monday the defensive tackle from Ellenwood, Georgia made the actual date official.
It's about that time I will making my college decision Dec 17th Thank Everyone for the support throughout this whole recruiting process
— Antwuan Jackson (@Hercules__52) December 7, 2015
A decision date being set generally means that a decision has been made, but there's nothing to suggest that is the case at this point with Jackson. He is expected to make his official visit to Auburn this weekend and the Buckeyes — who sent Larry Johnson Sr. to his final high school football game last Friday — have not yet used their in-home visit with the 6-foot-2, 285-pound four-star.
The Buckeyes and Tigers remain the two schools of interest for Jackson, with Johnson leading the way for Ohio State and Auburn's Rodney Garner being the lead recruiter for Gus Malzahn's Tigers.
Both sides are confident they've done the work to land Jackson, so this one is still anyone's guess.
MEANWHILE, AT MARYLAND
Chris Ash and DJ Durkin are two Urban Meyer protégés taking over their first programs, both in the Big Ten, and Durkin has made a move that many think will be very helpful in his efforts to recruit Maryland and the surrounding region.
The Terrapins have brought in Aazaar Abdul-Rahim, who has been a key player in Alabama's recruiting efforts in the Washington, D.C., area. Abdul-Rahim, who we mentioned here over the summer as a key part in the decommitment of Terrell Hall from Ohio State, has ties to a number of recruits from the DMV and it's a move that Durkin is no doubt banking on to help mend some broken fences.
Aside from Hall, expect the Terrapins to make a strong move with wide receiver Trevon Diggs (committed to Alabama) and they're likely to reach back out to Oklahoma (and former Michigan State) commitment Abdul Adams as they try to salvage what could be a pretty good class by February.
