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.
MEYER HITS THE PEACH STATE
With a week before Signing Day 2016, the Buckeyes are on the road checking out some of their top targets for 2017 and that meant Urban Meyer himself was in his second home, Georgia, to see the Peach State's best.
Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer made a trip down to Lee County. pic.twitter.com/eL9RR46rlz
— Matthew Doyle (@MatthewWFXL) January 26, 2016
The Buckeyes' head coach was first at, as noted, Lee County High School in Leesburg, Georgia, the alma mater of current Ohio State quarterback Stephen Collier and the home of the nation's seventh-ranked 2017 defensive tackle, Aubrey Solomon.
Solomon has the Buckeyes at the top of his list and it seems that Ohio State is making him a priority: Urban Meyer doesn't just visit anybody.
From Leesburg, Meyer was expected to head to Lawrenceville and Central Gwinnett High School to check on a pair of 2017 standouts: offensive lineman Tony Gray and defensive lineman Emmanuel McNeil. The Buckeyes have offered both Gray and McNeil and are hoping to see the pair visit Columbus this spring. Central Gwinnett produced former Ohio State linebacker Trey Johnson.
BURNS TALKS DECISION TO LEAVE LOUISVILLE; CARDINALS VISIT THIS WEEK
On Sunday night, hours after ending his official visit to Ohio State, Louisville commitment Rodjay Burns surprised more than a few people by announcing via Twitter that he was flipping from the hometown Cardinals to the Buckeyes. For Burns, the decision was a difficult one but something that he and his family felt was necessary.
"My dad wanted me to get away from Louisville," Burns told Eleven Warriors. "I started feeling the same way after going through my visit. I just explored each school, wrote down my pros and cons of the schools and sat down with my parents. We talked what's best for me and made my decision from there."
After deciding to make the switch, the hardest part for Burns was letting the staff at Louisville–where he'd been committed since April–know that he was not going to be attending their school.
"It was tough," Burns said of decommitting."It's my hometown and everyone was thinking that is where I would attend school."
The Cardinals are not giving up on the three-star athlete who will play defensive back for the Buckeyes.
"Louisville is coming by Thursday," Burns added, saying the Buckeyes had nothing to be concerned about. "I'm really confident on where I want to go."
SO...ANOTHER DEFENSIVE BACK OFFER?
OK (and I know people hate when I suggest that you should "relax"), everyone, let's not freak out. The Buckeyes have offered another 2016 defensive back.
I AM BLESSED TO SAY I'VE RECEIVED AN SCHOLARSHIP OFFER FROM MY DREAM SCHL HI STATE #BuckeyesI'M ON pic.twitter.com/dgJ4Hg9C01
— S A V A E (@Kwallace_5) January 26, 2016
K'Von Wallace, a very quickly-rising two-star prospect from Highland Springs, Virginia, added Ohio State and Michigan State to his offer list Tuesday, a day after Clemson joined the fray and three days after a late official visit to Virginia Tech. The 6-foot-tall, 172-pounder has been committed to Cincinnati since the summer but Pitt and others are now trying to get into the mix.
So, why offer now?
First and foremost, if you watch Wallace's tape you'll see that he's really good. Screw "two-star" status, the kid picked up an offer from Clemson, Michigan State and Ohio State in a 24-hour-stretch because he can play football.
This does not have any bearing on Jordan Fuller. Period. Ohio State knows they're in a tussle for Fuller with Michigan and Notre Dame but they still believe they're in a good spot for Fuller and if not him, Becker and Hamlin are still on the table. This offer isn't a concession of any sort.
This is not "choosing Wallace over Sam Bruce" either. Wallace certainly could play wide receiver, but he's being looked at as a defensive back. What this may mean is that the Buckeyes had wanted to fill three more slots (With one reserved for Malik Harrison and one reserved for Fuller/Hamlin/Becker) and that they may have decided that Wallace was good enough for a look no matter what.
This story will get very interesting in Wallace makes a visit to Ohio State this weekend or early next week.
Whatever ends up happening, and I don't mean to sound condescending, but you've got to trust that the Buckeyes' coaching staff knows what they're doing. They've proven to be pretty good at this whole thing a few times, haven't they?
TEXAS DEFENSIVE BACK INCLUDES BUCKEYES IN FINAL TWO
With probably three spots left in the 2016 class, the Buckeyes are finding themselves coming to the finish line with a handful of defensive backs, of which they're likely to land one.
Jordan Fuller announces next Monday, as does Pittsburgh's Damar Hamlin. The Buckeyes are still in pursuit of Carlos Becker and he could announce anytime following his planned official visit to Ole Miss this coming weekend. While those are the "big three" we've been tracking, it seems–in the word's of Jedi Master Yoda–there is another.
After decommitting from @Longhorn_FB @SLCAthletics DB @Obi_Eboh3 says his 2 finalists are @StanfordFball and @OhioStFootball #txhsfb
— Greg Riddle (@DMNGregRiddle) January 26, 2016
So, who the heck is Obi Eboh?
Eboh is a three-star defensive back, likely a cornerback, who is being recruited by a pair of Ohio State assistants, Tim Beck and Greg Schiano. He plays at Southlake Carroll in Texas, one of the country's best known programs, and was selected for Nike's The Opening this past summer.
Recently decommitted from Texas, Eboh was offered by Ohio State and Stanford on Jan. 9 and he quickly (the next weekend) scheduled and followed through with an official visit to Palo Alto. He has not visited Ohio State and right now there isn't a scheduled visit so if he doesn't take one this weekend is there any reason to watch this one at all? Yes, maybe.
Eboh told The Dallas Morning News that he's got no scheduled announcement date, so perhaps, in the event of Ohio State missing on the three names listed above, they could convince him to wait past signing day to make a decision?
JAYLEN HARRIS TO VISIT OHIO STATE THIS WEEKEND
Ohio State's first big junior weekend of 2016 is approaching and the Buckeyes are bringing in a handful of the region's best.
One of the players who is expected to be on-hand is Cleveland Heights' Jaylen Harris, the 6-foot-5, 210-pound wide receiver who earned an Ohio State offer last June. Yesterday, Harris added an offer from Georgia, his 12th.
"Recruiting has been a little busy," Harris told 11W. "But everything has been cool. I'll be in Columbus this weekend. I talk to Ohio State almost every day."
Aside from recruiting, Harris continues to stay busy on the hardwood. He's averaging a double-double for Heights' basketball team.
Ohio State has 100-percent of the predictions for Harris on the 247Sports.com crystal ball.
