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 Buckeyes hosted 14 prospects committed to Ohio State this weekend, two players committed elsewhere and one very important wide receiver who they hope to see in their recruiting class.
Here's the rundown on the weekend.
HASKINS VISIT UPDATE
One of the more interesting developments with regard to the Buckeyes' 2016 recruiting class in recent weeks has been the renewed chase of Maryland commitment Dwayne Haskins. It appears that things went as well as they could have with Dwayne, with a couple of different sources indicating that they were pretty confident that the Buckeyes would in fact be the eventual landing spot for the country's sixth-ranked pro-style quarterback. Based on a few of those conversations, I've decided to make the "crystal ball" call and predict Haskins will commit to Ohio State.
As I said earlier this week, the decision for Haskins to visit Columbus this weekend in lieu of visiting Maryland—who also had a very big recruiting weekend on their campus—shouldn't have been overlooked. There's a number of reasons people believe Haskins wouldn't commit to Ohio State and instead would stay in Maryland's class when an offensive coordinator is named, including his role as a leader for the Terrapins, the style of offense the Buckeyes run and his desire to play very early in his career. All those things may be true, but he still decided, on the cusp of the recruiting dead period that begins tomorrow, to visit Ohio State after being fully apprised of their plans for the offense and within the recruiting class.
What happens next with Haskins is anyone's guess. I expect that the most likely scenario is that he goes relatively quiet, at least for a few weeks. I would think that if he publicly decommits from Maryland, a new decision date would be established quickly and that he could then make an all-star game announcement.
CORLEY VISIT UPDATE
One of the year's most bizarre recruiting scenarios has been that of Donnie Corley, Jr., one of the best pure wide receivers in the country. The 6-foot-2, 185-pounder, one of the six finalists for the US Army Player of the Year award, was a Buckeye lean earlier in the year but Michigan State has been the supposed favorite for months, although Corley himself has never tried purposely to indicate that any school was the favorite at any point.
At multiple points in his recruitment, Corley has been expected to make a decision, choosing at every point to delay in order to make additional and necessary visits. He's been to Notre Dame and Tennessee, Michigan State and Michigan and–before this weekend–had not been in Columbus since Friday Night Lights in July.
Corley's experience at Ohio State, according to players there with him, was not like most of the others. In fact, unlike the majority of the guys on campus who spent almost the entire weekend together, Corley spent it with the coaching staff and his parents, exploring thoroughly the plan Ohio State has for him on and off the field. In July, I wrote that Corley's FNL experience was also a bit different.
Donnie Corley's visit for Friday Night Lights went well, despite the appearance that he was not interested/not involved from time to time. Corley's personality is a bit aloof naturally, and it was important for the Buckeyes to really make him feel involved during his trip. He told me following the visit that the Buckeyes moved up his list and that he's planning on a visit to West Virginia tomorrow, then to Michigan on Sunday. The most interesting thing on Corley? I was told that as it stands today it's Tennessee and Ohio State as the top two, with Michigan State trailing. Corley also repeated that he's now likely to take official visits, perhaps all five of them, before making a choice.
What does it mean? Not much. Some kids are just different than others, and Corley fits that bill. He's always been very interested in Ohio State, and whether or not he ends up in Columbus for college, the work done by Kerry Coombs (and more recently Zach Smith) has made this, in my mind, a two-team race between the Buckeyes and Spartans. Daelin Hayes committed to Ohio State during a November 21st visit and when he left campus the "vibe" changed quickly as the days moved away from the trip. Corley's situation may not end up being too different from that, although there's no one saying he is "in," there's a sudden–and prominent–surge of confidence.
There's no official commitment date set for Corley, but the Army All-American game on January 9th seems like a reasonable guess. The dead period is absolutely the Buckeyes' friend right now as he won't be visiting other schools and the last impression has been a great one.
WINT VISIT UPDATE
It's not often that the Buckeyes are in a position to try and force a "flip" from a Temple commit, but that's the case now as the offer to Jahsen Wint became public this weekend.
Blessed to receive an Offer from Theee Ohio State University pic.twitter.com/8usOFTGZps
— Showtime Wint (@JahsenW) December 12, 2015
The three-star athlete says he's a safety in Ohio State's defense and that the feel of the campus was what really made him think this weekend.
"The campus itself," Wint said when asked what stood out about his trip. "That and how hard the team works."
This morning, Wint had breakfast with Urban Meyer before he left Columbus and now knows his final decision will come down to the Buckeyes or the Owls.
"This morning with (Coach) Meyer was good," he said. "We ate, talked, everything was good. It's Ohio State or Temple for me."
For most, that would seem to be an easy decision, but Wint's relationships are with Temple and the Owls have one advantage Ohio State may not.
"I'm thinking about playing time, where to get a good education and a place that will take care of me after football or if anything happens," Wint said. "I don't want anything given to me, so I will work for whatever I'm going to get."
I expect Wint to commit to Ohio State within the next two weeks, potentially on the sooner end of that timeframe.
LOSING LECOUNTE
The weekend had been, up until this afternoon, an unmitigated success for the Buckeyes. Then Richard LeCounte committed to Georgia.
#AllGloryToGod pic.twitter.com/OnuN1Gy5Z9
— Richard LeCounte III (@LilEasy_35) December 13, 2015
If you recall, on December 2nd, I briefly talked about what the hiring of Jeremy Pruitt in Athens could mean.
I received a message today from one Georgia source regarding Richard LeCounte in reaction to Georgia's hiring of Kirby Smart.
"Smart to UGa," the source said. "Is not a good thing for Ohio State with Richard."
The country's top-ranked athlete in the 2017 class and a five-star prospect, LeCounte's relationship with Ohio State is as good as any player in any class right now, but the bond he's had with Smart (while he was coaching at Alabama) combined with the long-time affection he's held for Georgia was a perfect storm.
It's almost certain that Ohio State won't give up this chase, but as we've talked about here for months, the Buckeyes were at a bit of a disadvantage with Richard from the start. His relationships with Ohio State recruits are strongest with the 2013 and 2014 classes, guys that are not really going to be around when he enrolls in school in January of 2017.
