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.
SAM BRUCE: WHAT GIVES?
Twitter was hot Wednesday for a number of reasons, but a tweet from Dwayne Haskins Jr.—Ohio State's newest verbal commitment—really got things popping early.
Got my south Florida boys in #Zone6 @_QUICK6 @BinjimenVictor
— Dwayne Haskins, Jr (@dh_simba7) January 20, 2016
That is Haskins talking about Binjimen Victor, who committed to the Buckeyes roughly four hours before the Maryland quarterback did, and Sam Bruce, a four-star wide receiver from Fort Lauderdale's St. Thomas Aquinas High School that has been committed to Miami since the summer of 2014. Bruce took the Twitter scuttlebutt to another level by tweeting this picture.
— $am BruceVI (@_QUICK6) January 20, 2016
So what does it mean? Is Bruce a Buckeye? Well, Urban Meyer and Zach Smith were in Fort Lauderdale Wednesday and absolutely, right now, there's a ton of momentum and tea leaves moving in Ohio State's direction. The one potential holdup that I've been told is, believe it or not, space: can the Buckeyes find room for Bruce? If they have room, which I imagine they will, I think it's clear as of Wednesday Ohio State is the leader.
In the summer of 2014, when Bruce committed to Miami, the odds that he'd ever end up a Buckeye were between slim and none, but as Al Golden's era in Coral Gables came to end–and more specifically as Mark Richt decided not to retain Bruce's mentor Kevin Beard as wide receiver coach–the odds went way up. Bruce has never not been a high-value target for the Ohio State staff because his game and style of play is perfect for how Meyer's offense has been built for years. Bruce was a target for a pair of current Buckeyes who made trips home to Florida after the Fiesta Bowl and he's very close with Nick Bosa among others.
So what's the hold up if the Buckeyes tell him he's got a spot? There's still a little bit of concern from some about Florida, where a number of the diminutive dynamo's friends play, but the reports from Gainesville are that the Gators too aren't sure if they have a spot. Regardless of that, Bruce will visit Florida this weekend and see what's what.
Then there's South Carolina, where Bruce visited officially last weekend. That can't be discounted because Travaris Robinson, Will Muschamp's defensive coordinator, is an exceptional recruiter who's new to the Gamecocks but definitely not new to South Florida recruiting. He's the primary reason Auburn freshman Carlton Davis flipped from Ohio State in the 2015 class.
TL;DR - I think Bruce is a Buckeye when it's all said and done because Meyer has never been able to turn down a playmaker like him and I don't see him starting now.
HARBAUGH'S METHODS COMMON BUT STILL UGLY
I want to make something very clear at the start of this segment: this is not about a "rivalry" or "obsessing about Jim Harbaugh." This is about the ugly truth about recruiting.
Wednesday, Michigan 2016 commitment Erik Swenson announced his "decommitment" from the Wolverines.
I remember talking to Swenson in the spring of 2013 as he was really beginning to start his recruitment, as a freshman, and his flat-out love for Michigan was evident even as we talked about his conversations with the Buckeyes, who offered him in May of that year. He committed to the Maize and Blue in November 2013, the day Ohio State broke the Wolverines' hearts thanks to a stopped two-point conversion in Ann Arbor. Swenson never looked back, never talked to another school, never flirted with another program despite tons of reasons to as Michigan's coaching staff went through overhaul after overhaul.
Here's what Swenson told MLive.com in June of 2015:
"You have to stick with your commitment, you committed to Michigan, you have to honor that," Swenson said. "You made a commitment and you have to show you're willing to honor it. There will be ups and downs at any place, and any place you go you'll have to show you can push through them.
There was no waffling on Swenson's part and unfortunately the news that he was unceremoniously dispatched by Harbaugh leaked into the public sphere and it is, no matter how you slice it, a bad look.
But, and here's the sad part, it happens everywhere.
Don't think for a second that Ohio State has not done similar things because to be a successful football program, you have to have good players. If a player who commits to your team isn't as good as you thought he might be after years of evaluation and game tape, you're absolutely within your rights to tell that player "We've re-evaluated your position and we don't think it's a good fit on either end. You've got a better chance of succeeding somewhere else." No school is tied to a verbal commitment, just as no player is.
If Player A commits to School One in 2013 and School One changes their coach after the program steadily declines and doesn't develop the way they felt it would, they'd be dumb to not look for a better option, right? Of course. So don't be surprised when School One decides that Player B, who committed as a bright-eyed pup with a world of potential, hasn't developed the way they thought he would and looks at Player C instead. That's the business: you get better or you get fired.
However....
There is a right way to do that to a kid and there's a wrong way to do that to a kid and, if you're to believe what Swenson has shared, it's hard to think Harbaugh and Michigan did it the right way. A month ago, Swenson was still excited about being a Wolverine; his social media profiles were full of very positive Michigan vibes.
Aside from the obvious concerns with the timing (two weeks before signing day is not a lot of time for a player to find a new path, compared to the six months that Ohio State afforded now Pittsburgh commit George Hill) to just stop talking to a player who has had a relationship with the school for almost three years is hard to understand.
I talked to Erik Swenson today about his scholarship being waived by Harbaugh recently. Take it as you see fit. pic.twitter.com/tuTLFJM0fR
— Bobby Kunz (@UofMDieHards) January 20, 2016
Adam Biggers, who covers Michigan and Michigan State football for TodaysU.com, says the timing definitely makes this questionable.
"(It) Blows my mind," Biggers told 11W. "I think reasonable people see this as a snub. He's out climbing trees and high-profiling it with kickers, yet he dumps the class' first commit. Timing burns."
When you're a coach in charge of the development of young people, you are not just responsible for their growth on the field. To avoid the difficult conversation with Swenson, to just stop talking to a kid who stuck with your program through every up and every down, is–to me–what makes this so hard to swallow. To tell a kid who committed to your school three years ago "we don't have room" as you publicly and aggressively flaunt your insane recruiting tactics on social media daily is a slap in the face and shows a stunning lack of awareness and class.
Harbaugh's methods aren't new and they're not unique to him even if he's one of the more egregious "offenders" of this approach.
The recruiting business is ugly, but you can be both ugly and upfront or honest and that's ultimately the best thing you can ask for these days on the recruiting trail.
Also, before it's asked, no, there will be no shot that Swenson ends up at Ohio State.
SCOUT.COM UPDATE ON MECOLE HARDMAN JR.
The folks at Scout.com, specifically southern analyst Chad Simmons, shared his thoughts on Mecole Hardman Jr., a five-star athlete from Elberton, Georgia.
Hardman made an official visit to Ohio State last weekend, and Simmons thinks it is likely that the Georgia standout will end up in Athens with the Bulldogs or perhaps Tuscaloosa with Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide of Alabama.
There has been a number of positive developments in Hardman's recruitment in the last two weeks, which culminated in his decision to visit Ohio State, but the Buckeyes are still unlikely to be the winner come signing day.
Expect Hardman to stay somewhere in the SEC, despite the excellent work done by the Scarlet and Gray to get into this race.
247SPORTS.COM FINALIZES 2016 RANKINGS
Another day, another final 2016 recruiting ranking is released. Wednesday it's 247Sports.com who put a cap on this year's group and, as expected, the Buckeyes are all over the list of their Top 247 prospects.
Where are the current Ohio State commitments in the final breakdown? Let's take a look, starting with the two five-star prospects in the Buckeyes' top-ranked class.
★★★★★ – DE Nick Bosa (10), DE Jonathon Cooper (32)
★★★★ – WR Austin Mack (35), ATH Demario McCall (57), QB Dwayne Haskins (62), Malik Barrow (63), WR Binjimen Victor (80), LB Keandre Jones (162), Luke Farrell (178), OL Tyler Gerald (200), RB Antonio Williams (212), LB Tuf Borland (213), TE Jake Hausmann (215), OL Michael Jordan (226)
Mack, Barrow and Jones found themselves moving up in the 247 rankings (not the composite rankings, but their network's actual rankings); Mack moved up 11 spots, Barrow–despite missing most of his senior season–jumped 33 spots and Jones moved up eight.
Binjimen Victor and Tyler Gerald fell the furthest of any Ohio State commit, dropping 42 and 43 spots respectively. Seven Buckeye pledges did not make the Top 247, including Norfolk's Wayne Davis which, to me, is incredibly surprising.
Of course, the Buckeyes may not be done and could add a few more names from these rankings to their commitment list in the near future.
Rashard Lawrence, who will decide between Ohio State and LSU Friday morning, checks in at No. 20 and keeps his five-star status. Defensive back Jordan Fuller made a big climb in the rankings, ascending to No. 41 nationally while Sam Bruce and Damar Hamlin each fell a bit, checking in at No. 179 and No. 216.
Kissimmee, Florida's Carlos Becker, who will visit Ohio State officially this weekend, went from out of the Top 247 in the previous rankings all the way up to No. 113 nationally. Becker is becoming a major target, and the Buckeyes have taken note.
#Buckeyes head coach Urban Meyer checked in on @beckercarlos5 today before his official visit to OSU this weekend. pic.twitter.com/cMMEEKNPsD
— Jeremy Birmingham (@Birm) January 21, 2016
Michigan signee Kareem Walker fell out of the Top 247, dropping to No. 323 nationally and is now ranked as the recruiting service's 11th-ranked running back.
