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.
AKERS JUNE TRIP BECOMES A JULY TRIP
One of June's most important visitors will now be one of July's most important visitors.
According to Bill Kurelic of 247Sports.com, Mississippi's Cam Akers – who was scheduled to visit Ohio State this coming weekend – will now be arriving with his family in July for Friday Night Lights.
This weekend, Akers visited both Auburn and Georgia, but that doesn't mean Ohio State isn't looking for ways to recruit the five-star tailback. Yesterday, Buckeyes' freshman tailback Antonio Williams announced he'd be changing his number from 3 to 26, and while it's likely that move was made with potential special teams' conflicts in mind, it's worth noting that Akers wears No. 3.
#MakesYouThink
DARNAY HOLMES HAS TOP SEVEN, MICHIGAN HAS A MOTIVE
Ohio State has been fighting to stay in the hunt for Calabasas, California five-star Darnay Holmes since his visit last summer, and they're still in his top seven schools, according to a list released today.
2017 5 CB/WR Darnay Holmes has told @MaizenBrew his Top 7.
— Evan Petzold (@EvanPetzold) May 29, 2016
Stanford
UCLA
Michigan
Ohio State
Nebraska
Washington
Arizona
Nebraska has – according to most – leapt into the lead for his services, but according to sources we speak to, it's still Stanford that is the place Holmes would prefer if he's able to pass their rigorous academic standards. The country's eighth-ranked prospect has been planning to return to Ohio State for Friday Night Lights, where he starred last summer, and as of now a June 23rd decision is still being discussed, though it'd not be a shock if that was pushed back through to at least the start of his senior season.
Michigan has been making a run at Holmes and doing so in what has become a fairly typical fashion: they've become very involved in recruiting his cousin, Desean Holmes. The 5-foot-11, 170-pounder was a four-star wide receiver in the 2015 recruiting cycle.
ichigan #GoBlue pic.twitter.com/qG0nDMb6zH
— Desean Holmes (@Deseanholmes13) May 28, 2016
Holmes signed with San Diego State out of high school but left school a week after his enrollment due to what his head coach – Chuck Long – described as "a lot of problems, way too many for us to handle."
HIGGINS HEARING FROM BUCKEYES A LOT
The Buckeyes are in hot pursuit of a number of the country's best wide receivers, but they've rarely been listed as a real contender to Tennessee's Tee Higgins despite a fairly regular effort by Zach Smith this spring to push them into that discussion.
It appears that – at least superficially – that effort has paid off.
The country's 16th-ranked player in the 2017 class told VolSportsRadio that Ohio State has moved into a group of programs recruiting him the hardest.
“Right now, I’ve been talking a lot to Clemson, Tennessee, Florida State, Ohio State and Michigan,” said Higgins, who’s ranked the nation’s No. 16 overall prospect and No. 3 wide receiver in the 247Sports Composite for the 2017 class.
The 6-foot-4.5, 188-pound Higgins stopped short of calling those teams his current leaders, adding that they’re simply “the five that really talks to me the most.”
(H/T: Benwin)
BUCKEYES ASK GRACE TO CAMP
One of the Buckeye State's top freshmen-to-be, Cincinnati Winton Woods' Miquan Grace, says he's been asked by Ohio State to take in a camp setting in June.
"I got invited to the Ohio State camp on June 11th," Grace told 11W. "My dad spoke with (Kerry) Coombs. They were asking about my grades and if I liked the camp last year and said he can't wait to see me."
Grace has offers from Cincinnati and Kentucky and plans to be very active this summer.
"I'll be at the Sound Mind/Sound Body camp in Detroit," he said. "I'll also be at Kentucky on June 3rd, Auburn July 16th and Florida State on July 19th."
ANTJUAN SIMMONS READY TO PLAY AT MICHIGAN STADIUM
As part of Michigan's attempt to ingratiate themselves to high school coaches around The Mitten, they'll be welcoming in a number of the state's top high school football programs for this season's "Battle at the Big House."
Among the teams participating will be Ann Arbor Pioneer, the home of Ohio State commitment Antjuan Simmons. Pioneer won't have to go far – it's directly across the street from Michigan Stadium – but Simmons is likely to show up representing his future team as well as his current one
From TheDZone.net:
"It's gone [sic] be a big game. Biggest game across the state. Top teams facing off. It has all of the hype and what not you can ask for. This is that game us high schoolers dream of. Its going to be a special memory for me. p.s I might have to come out rocking OSU gear."
Simmons committed to Ohio State in March and the Wolverines are still coming after him very hard, trying to improve their relationship with the country's 277th-ranked prospect.
