The Hurry Up: Wyatt Davis Prepares for Ohio State, Good First Visit for Zamir White, Buckeyes Hit Key Camps

By Jeremy Birmingham on June 16, 2016 at 7:45 pm
Zamir White at Ohio State on Wednesday
Zamir White
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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.

WYATT DAVIS VISIT, OHIO STATE OPTIMISM?

Five-star offensive lineman Wyatt Davis, the country's top-ranked offensive guard, is heading to Columbus for a visit to Ohio State on Saturday. The trip to Columbus will be the third leg in a three-day tour that includes stops at Notre Dame (Thursday) and Michigan (Friday).

Davis was offered by Ohio State in May and has been building a relationship with the Buckeyes since, culminating in this weekend's visit. 

Ohio State has continued to look for another offensive lineman in the 2017 class and with two of the country's top-ranked tackles already committed, it makes sense to think they'd prefer a true interior lineman were they able to reel one in.

Alabama is the 247Sports.com leader for Davis, but there are a few folks around the Buckeyes' recruiting class that believe this weekend could potentially sway things in Ohio State's favor. Davis father, actor Duane Davis, was born in Cleveland and his grandfather, NFL Hall of Fame defensive lineman Willie Davis, played for the Browns in 1958-59.

I'm not going to say Ohio State lands Davis, but keep an eye on him because there are a few connected to the Buckeyes who really feel they've got a good shot to surprise here.

SITKOWSKI VISIT ONE TO WATCH

Another visit to play a little more attention to this weekend is the trip being made by New Jersey 2018 quarterback Artur Sitkowski. The country's fourth-ranked pro-style quarterback will travel from New Jersey and arrive at Ohio State Friday around 8 a.m.

Sitkowski, like Emory Jones did on Tuesday, is expected to spend the morning getting a chance to see the school before putting on the cleats and throwing for Tim Beck and Urban Meyer later in the day.

There's a ton of smoke out there right now that Jones is close to becoming a Buckeye – the Buckeye quarterback for 2018 – but if things go well with Sitkowski Friday and he wanted to commit? I wouldn't expect Ohio State to tell him no. The 6-foot-4, 215-pounder was very impressive each time the Buckeyes saw him this spring and it's not really a 1, 2 or 3 situation with Jones, Sitkowski, and Oklahoma's Casey Thompson so much as it is a 1A, 1B, and 1C situation.

Sitkowski talked to Rivals.com about his summer visits last week and highlighted his relationship with Tim Beck as one of the best in his recruitment.

To add a little intrigue to Sitkowski's recruitment is that if he doesn't end up at Ohio State, the rumors are that he's almost certain to end up at Michigan, where he'll visit Saturday.

Sitkowski doesn't plan on making a decision until the end of his junior year, but if he wants to be a Buckeye, he may have to make that choice significantly sooner than he intends to.

BUCKEYES IN GEORGIA, FLORIDA FOR SATELLITE CAMPS

Urban Meyer and his coaching staff may not love the satellite camp tour but Thursday they're taking part in two of the more important ones on their schedule. This morning, the Buckeyes arrived at Central Gwinnett High School in Lawrenceville, Georgia, and visited the Black Knights' camp.

The camp gave Ohio State a chance to work with a number of the Southeast's best players, including Grayson defensive back Jamyest Williams and gave Meyer a chance to loosen up his throwing arm.

Ohio State extended one offer at the camp, Snellville, Georgia's Matthew Hill, a 6-foot-2, 175-pound wide receiver at Brookwood High School. Hill came into the camp with offers from Bama, Florida State, Auburn, Florida and others and clearly impressed the Buckeyes.

After leaving Georgia, the Scarlet and Gray boarded a plane and headed to South Florida and St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Fort Lauderdale, arriving in the middle of a nasty Florida thunderstorm.

The clouds parted and the camp is underway. Ohio State has offered 2,349 players at St. Thomas, but certainly the biggest name in attendance is the Raiders' five-star wide receiver Trevon Grimes, who will be returning the favor and visiting Ohio State in the next few days.

Satellite camps are not for everyone, but they've certainly given coaching staffs from all over the country a chance to see players they've been trying to get in front of for a while.

ZAMIR WHITE SEES UNIQUE SIDE OF OHIO STATE FOOTBALL PROGRAM

The Buckeyes hosted the country's top-ranked 2018 running back on Wednesday afternoon, North Carolina standout Zamir White.

The third-ranked prospect overall in 2018, White's visit was unique in its timing, he arrived on the day the Ohio State football program was taking part in the Buckeye Jobs Fair, a program designed to help put athletes in contact with the people who they'll be networking with for employment following their athletic careers. That program caught White's eyes, according to his coach at Scotland County High School, Richard Bailey.

"It was good timing that he was there for that event," Bailey told 11W. "(White) was very impressed with the after graduation opportunities and the real life Wednesday program, it shows the commitment to (life) after graduation. Zamir is interested in law enforcement and he got to see about every kind of law enforcement there is. FBI, ATF, highway patrol, police, etc. Pretty amazing actually."

Beyond the job fair, the chance to get to know Urban Meyer and Tony Alford stood out among the day's other activities. 

"Zamir really liked (Urban) Meyer," Bailey said. "He knows Meyer is a proven winner and his track record speaks for itself. He also likes (Tony) Alford, he felt like he cared about his players more than just whether they can play football."

Of course, playing football is part of the puzzle and the Bailey said Ohio State wants White to return for Friday Night Lights in July. The Buckeyes left no doubt where he stands on their 2018 recruiting board.

"They told him that he is he No. 1 running back on their board for 2018," Bailey said. "They talked about (coming back for Friday Night Lights), we'll have to see what the schedule looks like."

GANT VISITING FRIDAY

Toledo St. Johns's 2018 linebacker Dallas Gant will camp with the Buckeyes Friday before heading to Notre Dame for their big "Irish Invasion" camp this weekend. The country's top-ranked outside linebacker prospect in 2018, Gant is Ohio's fourth-ranked player and the highest-ranked Ohioan without an Ohio State offer heading into the weekend. A big performance could change that. 

Ohio State has not offered many linebackers yet (just three overall) in the 2018 class and Gant being from Ohio means things will likely move a little slower, but the talented youngster is going to get a long look Friday.

"I think that he is like Raekwon McMillan, just not filled out yet," Doug Pearson, Gant's head coach shared. "He just turned 16 in late May. Notre Dame likes him as a Will but I think he can be a Mike or Sam as well."

Expect Luke Fickell to spend a lot of time with the 6-foot-3, 201-pounder.

TOP TARGET MAKING KEY VISITS ELSEWHERE THIS WEEKEND

Speaking of targets visiting Notre Dame this weekend, Kennedale, Texas linebacker Baron Browning, a five-star 2017 prospect, will make his first visit to South Bend, a key trip in the Buckeyes' hopes to remain at the top of his list. Browning's brother, Barry, is working the camp at Notre Dame as the Irish hope to make some family ties matter. After his visit, Browning is expected to visit Michigan for two days, and Jim Harbaugh was Barry's head coach at Stanford, so as Ohio State tries to stay out front here, these next four days will go a long way towards seeing exactly where things stand.

Emory Jones did not make it to the Buckeyes' satellite camp at Central Gwinnett Thursday.

"No, I didn't make it," Jones told 11W. "I was worn out. I didn't go."

Jones has been on the road non-stop for the last six days and will be heading to Knoxville tomorrow morning for a two-day visit to Tennessee, a trip that may very well be his final college visit before announcing a decision.

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