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.
SURPRISE: THE NCAA IS WRONG
Before I launch into this upcoming "The NCAA is Awful" diatribe, I want to make sure this first point doesn't get lost: both sides, the college football programs and the NCAA are out only for themselves, not for the student-athletes they pretend to care about.
OK.
So, Friday the NCAA outlawed the dreaded satellite camp while also eliminating restrictions on electronic communication with recruits. Both of these decisions are wrong and detrimental to recruits and their families.
The SEC gets a lot of the credit for bringing the satellite camp "issue" to the forefront, but it was not just that conference who voted to kill it.
Source told @ESPN conferences that voted against satellite camps: ACC, Big 12, SEC, Pac-12, MWC, Sun Belt. In favor: B1G, AAC, C-USA, MAC
— Brett McMurphy (@McMurphyESPN) April 8, 2016
It's not hard to notice a geographical divide in the vote, a divide that seems to run along the same lines the country's population has shifted in recent years. The Big Ten is certainly the largest conference that voted in favor but, of all those conferences that did, they're the least likely to really be hurt by this decision. Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, Penn State and others don't need to have a camp in Florida or Georgia, but schools like Toledo, Bowling Green, Northern Illinois and others? They do. The opportunities to mine talent and evaluate prospects in person are huge for the smaller programs throughout the Midwest and it's not even just a matter of holding a satellite camp: coaches will not even be permitted to appear as a guest at another college's camp.
Not sure all the people who voted on the camp issue realized they were voting to ban their coaches from guesting at other camps.
— Andy Staples (@Andy_Staples) April 8, 2016
The noise created by Jim Harbaugh brought satellite camps into the purview of the dissenters, but it's the little schools and the under-the-radar players that are hurt by the changes.
Satellite Camps might have been the only way some athletes could be seen by college coaches and now the NCAA wants to take that away... wow!
— Tate Martell (@TheTateMartell) April 8, 2016
National recruits are going to get seen, they're going to get the attention they always get, but guys like Johnny Two-Star from Nowhereville, Alabama? He's missing out on a chance to get seen by schools that are frantically searching for players just like him.
Does this bother Ohio State or their coaches? Heck no. The Buckeyes have had satellite camps for one reason: to keep up with the Jones'. The last thing Ohio State coaches want to do in the middle of the summer is pack up and head to Georgia for a week but would do it if they could. They won't lose sleep over that rule change. What is impacted is that now, even when Ohio State holds one of their huge summer camps in Columbus, small programs from around the region, who have made those camps a staple for years, cannot attend and get players exposure.
Still, it's bad for players all over the country.
On the flip-side of the coin–as in it will mean more and more opportunities to be annoyed by a non-stop barrage of recruiting–but also still a negative thing for prospects and their families is the decision to deregulate electronic communications. Coaches, graduate assistants and operations' staffers across the country have already been racing to be first to communicate will now race to the one who messages the most. High school students who are already inundated with thousands of text messages, direct messages and more every single day. There will now be no chance to separate themselves from a process that has been too big, too intrusive and too pressure-filled.
Sure, a player can shut off his phone or run away from his life a bit, but is that what should have to happen for a 16-year-old to enjoy the chance to be a kid with his family on occasion?
To summarize:
Hurt sleeper kids by banning satellite camps, and top recruits by never allowing them to get away from recruiting... pic.twitter.com/CsVEScDx3E
— Todd Huber (@ToddHuberSS) April 8, 2016
The NCAA has, once again, decided that the welfare of its prospective student-athletes football players is secondary and let the agenda of college football coaches reign supreme.
HONIGFORD, SICHTERMAN, CARRICK CONTINUE TO PLAY WAITING GAME
It's could be a wild summer for a trio of in-state offensive lineman.
Joel Honigford, Matt Sichertman and Matt Carrick–who have a combined 52 scholarship offers between them–are three very talented offensive lineman from Ohio that, at least for now, are in a holding pattern with the Buckeyes.
Honigford, from Garaway High School in Sugarcreek, has recently visited Auburn, Oklahoma, Michigan State and others as he continues to add opportunities from around the country. The Sooners and the Spartans have offered, the Buckeyes have not.
Sichterman, a 6-foot-5, 266-pounder from Kings Mill by way of Wisconsin, has 26 offers, including Nebraska, Oregon State, Boston College, Virginia and a host of Power Fives. Ohio State has not offered.
Matt Carrick is from the football-rich town of Massillon, where he lines up at guard for Perry High School. His latest offer from Michigan State is one that will always cause Buckeye ears to perk up, because the Spartans have done so well in talent-evaluation in recent years. Carrick "only" has six offers, but he's been in regular communication with Ohio State since January when he attended their Junior Weekend. He doesn't have a Buckeye offer.
Ohio State has two offensive linemen committed for 2017–both Top 100 players nationally–and are likely to add one more future Slob. There are a number of national names to go along with the aforementioned three, but the Ohio natives listed above have a unique opportunity to earn their spot this summer if they choose to hold off on making a college decision before June.
We could potentially see an early-summer camp in Columbus with these three big men competing for one spot as Urban Meyer, Ed Warinner and Greg Studrawa look on from the sideline. That is what camp season is all about and it's an exciting proposition for prospects that thrive on competition.
ANOTHER BISHOP GORMAN STAR INTERESTED IN OHIO STATE
The Buckeyes have been very active on the West Coast in general and Las Vegas specifically these last few months and they've caught the attention of another Bishop Gorman player, this one with Big Ten ties.
Jacob Isaia, an offensive lineman entering his first season with the Gaels, after moving to Las Vegas from Hawai'i. He's looking forward to the chance to protect the nation's top-ranked 2017 quarterback, Tate Martell.
"I was at Iolani, a private school," he said. "We played against Punahou, Manti Teo's school, and St Louis, Marcus Mariota' school, I started at left tackle as a sophomore. I transferred to Gorman in January. I'm projected to be starting left tackle and protect Tate's blindside, but I will play guard in college."
If his genetics are an indicator, he's got a bright future.
"I guess I have football in the blood," Isaia told Eleven Warriors. "My dad, Sale Isaia, played in the NFL and at 6-foot-5 and 350 pounds. I hope to follow in his footsteps, he played at UCLA and with the Patriots and Ravens. Also, my grandpa, Bob Apisa, was an All-American at Michigan State on The 1966 national championship team."
Last summer, Isaia, who doesn't yet have an offer, visited Ohio State. He's hoping that being at national powerhouse Gorman will get him a look from the country's biggest programs, including the Buckeyes.
"The Ohio State facilities are awesome, and the coaching staff is great." Isaia said. "I'm a huge Bg Ten fan, and the ability to play in the 'Shoe and play for Urban Meyer would be amazing."
