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.
HARDMAN TALKS UPCOMING VISIT TO OHIO STATE
Tuesday night the news broke that Elberton, Georgia, five-star athlete Mecole Hardman Jr. would be making an official visit to Ohio State this weekend. The visit, Hardman's second official (he made a trip to Michigan on Nov. 28 when the Wolverines hosted the Buckeyes), stems primarily from a developing friendship between he and Austin Mack. The pair got to know each other well last week in San Antonio.
I will be taking an official tohio State this weekend #Buckeyes
— Mecole Hardman Jr. (@iiAm_Mesho) January 13, 2016
"Austin was a big reason," Hardman told 11W when asked what prompted the seemingly last-minute trip. "I know a lot about Ohio State just from what I've seen."
Hardman, the 21st-ranked 2016 prospect, could play offense or defense in college and says that he wouldn't mind playing both if possible.
"I don't have a preference," Hardman said. "I wouldn't mind playing both and a lot of schools have been recruiting me on both sides of the ball."
Ohio State is one of those schools, and while Hardman recently listed Alabama as his leader, most people seem to think that Georgia is more likely to be his choice. He hasn't scheduled any other official visits besides TCU the weekend of Jan. 22. As he looks towards this trip to Columbus, in the dead of Ohio's winter, he said he's not worried about the cold weather.
"I've got no issue with the cold," Hardman said. "I'm just going to go up there and have a good time."
The 5-foot-10, 170-pound Hardman added that he expects to make his final decision on signing day.
RASHARD LAWRENCE FEELINGS AND THOUGHTS AND RUMBLINGS
So Tuesday I wrote a story where, in it, I tried to predict the final pieces of Ohio State's 2016 recruiting class. One prediction I made, with a "I'm nuts" disclaimer, was that the Buckeyes would pull the upset and land Monroe, Louisiana, defensive tackle Rashard Lawrence. Were that to come to fruition, Lawrence would become the first ever player to sign with Urban Meyer from Louisiana (at Bowling Green, Utah, Florida or Ohio State) and it would mean that Lawrence would spurn the home-state Bayou Bengals of LSU, which doesn't usually happen. I know the odds are long, but I made the prediction anyway.
Why? Why make that prediction just hours after Lawrence, who did not have an official visit to LSU planned, decided at the last minute to take one this weekend?
I talked to one source close to Lawrence on Monday night, and in that conversation I was told the defensive tackle is torn between the Buckeyes and the Tigers.
"He goes back and forth," the source said about Lawrence. "Every day."
The report of that kind of confusion, at least as I read it, is validated by Lawrence's late decision to visit LSU, because there's clearly some questions or concerns he's not yet had answered by the Tigers. Certainly he's giving them the opportunity to answer those questions during one of LSU's biggest recruiting weekends of the year.
Thursday night, Ohio State is expected to send Larry Johnson to Louisiana to meet with Lawrence prior to his trip to Baton Rouge. What's unknown is who will escort Ohio State's defensive line coach, but it's been the relationship between Johnson and Lawrence that has really taken the Buckeyes from no shot to "back and forth every day."
I would expect that Johnson will try and reiterate the need for a player like Lawrence to line up alongside Jonathon Cooper, Malik Barrow and Nick Bosa and to underscore that the Tigers already have tackle commitments from four-stars Edwin Alexander and Glen Logan and are at the top of the list for Stephon Taylor and D'Andre Christmas-Giles. Obviously LSU will counter and tell Lawrence that he's their top priority over Taylor and Christmas-Giles, which may be 100-percent accurate, but his value in Ohio State's class and the future of their defensive line can't be overstated.
As I said Tuesday in a comment, it's still more likely that Lawrence ends up at LSU than Ohio State, but I absolutely believe the Buckeyes are more than just a second hat on the table.
MORE ON SAM BRUCE
That brings me to another one of the "predictions" I made, this one about Fort Lauderdale, Florida (St. Thomas Aquinas) wide receiver Sam Bruce. Bruce, a four-star wide prospect that has been committed to Miami since July 2014, has been at times the longest of long-shots. In recent months, however, there has been a steady increase in conversation between the 5-foot-8, 180-pound dynamo and the Buckeyes, which began around the time of his October official visit to Columbus. That trip was made with Ohio State pledge Nick Bosa and the usually laid back Bosa–and occasionally his entire very laid back family–has made getting Bruce to Ohio State a priority.
Does that mean Sam is a done deal to the Buckeyes? Of course not, although it's probably unwise to upset a Bosa. Bruce is still committed to Miami, but recent staff changes at The U have helped keep the door open, and Zach Smith and Ohio State have done a great job of building their relationships since.
Bruce is regarded as a bit of a home body and that is what keeps people thinking he'll stay in Florida, but with official visits still scheduled for Florida and South Carolina, it appears he's still very interested in exploring his other options and according to some in Florida, the Gators are not a realistic landing spot right now despite Bruce's close friendship with Florida freshman Jordan Cronkrite.
The Buckeyes have been enamored for a long time with Bruce's talent—there are not many players in the country as exciting on the football field as he is—but there are questions about numbers that have to be considered. Where does Bruce fit in, can they take him and Binjimen Victor if they both wanted in, and if they were only able to bring in one, is it the bigger, outside wide receiver or the inside, slot guy that's a bigger priority?
There are a lot of questions to be answered in the next few days and the Buckeyes will begin sorting them out soon. I expect the Miami/Fort Lauderdale area to be one of their first stops as the dead period comes to its conclusion Wednesday at midnight.
