The Hurry Up is your nightly dose of updates from the Ohio State football recruiting trail, keeping tabs on the latest from commits and targets from around the country.
BUCKEYES OFFER MAMMOTH DEFENSIVE LINEMEN
Ohio State faces an uphill battle if it wants to net one of the country's top defensive linemen from the Class of 2018, but the Buckeyes took the first step in doing so on Saturday by offering a scholarship to 6-foot-4, 275-pound Greg Emerson. The Jackson, Tennessee, native was in Columbus for Friday Night Lights, and stood head and shoulders above several of the other prospects in attendance.
Blessed to receive my 14th offer From Ohio State #Buckeyes # pic.twitter.com/9x7tEWigqm
— Greg Emerson/G.mamba (@sneakerhad_greg) July 23, 2016
Considered a four-star prospect and No. 73 player overall in his class, Emerson holds offers from some of the top programs in the country, including Alabama, Florida State, Georgia, Michigan State, Nebraska, Tennessee and USC.
The 247Sports Crystal Ball has Emerson ultimately winding up with the in-state Volunteers, though it should be noted that only one prediction has been cast. One thing that will help the Buckeyes in the coming months, too, is the fact that Emerson plays for former Ohio State captain Donnie Nickey.
FOCUS PLACED ON DEFENSIVE TRENCHES
It seemed as if every defensive lineman made the most of the opportunity to shine at Friday Night Lights. Top 2017 defensive end Chase Young pledged his services to the Buckeyes, while Emerson and 2019 defensive end Antonio Alfano locked down scholarship offers.
Honored and privileged to receive a scholarship offer from Ohio State!! @OhioStateFB @OhioStFootball @OhioState pic.twitter.com/jkqdPRZror
— Antonio Alfano (@Antonioalfano99) July 23, 2016
The event marked the first time that 6-foot-5, 250-pound sophomore from Rahway, New Jersey's, Bergan Catholic was on campus.
We mentioned in Thursday's edition of The Hurry Up that Alfano was “very excited” for the visit, and that he likes Ohio State because of its history, academics, location and success with putting players into the National Football League.
Though he's not yet rated by national recruiting services — neither are any other prospects from the Class of 2019 — Alfano also has offers from Boston College, Duke, Penn State, Rutgers and Virginia Tech. Notre Dame has also shown interest, though Alfano cancelled Saturday's visit to South Bend, Indiana.
PAIR OF ELITE LINEBACKERS VISIT LONGHORNS
Originally scheduled to take an unofficial visit to Ohio State for Friday Night Lights, five-star linebacker Baron Browning instead decided to attend Texas' Under the Lights recruiting event.
The Longhorns have long been in play for the Kennedale, Texas, prospect, and having him spurn the Buckeyes shifts all the momentum to Austin after Browning had been leaning toward Columbus for some time.
The 6-foot-3, 230-pounder has offers from 40 top programs, though he maintains a Top 10 list — in no particular order — of Alabama, LSU, Michigan, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Ohio State, TCU, Texas, UCLA and USC.
Elite Texas LB targets Baron Browning & Anthony Hines just pulled up in a golf cart #HookEm pic.twitter.com/5lqFdZP2lF
— EJ Holland (@EJHolland247) July 23, 2016
Browning was joined at the event by fellow 247Sports Top100 prospect Anthony Hines, who seems to be the only other linebacker in the Class of 2017 that Ohio State is recruiting at this point. The 6-foot-3, 225-pounder from Plano East, Texas, holds offers from Auburn, Florida, Ohio State, Oklahoma, TCU, Texas and Texas A&M, to name a few.
Browning told Horns247 that he really enjoyed his visit, while Hines left the event early and did not speak to the media.
PLANTING ANOTHER FLAG IN THE STATE UP NORTH
Ohio State assistant coach Kerry Coombs has heavily recruited the state of Michigan since he arrived in Columbus nearly five years ago, and it looks as if that will only continue as the Buckeyes offered Belleville offensive lineman Devontae Dobbs following his performance at Friday Night Lights.
Blessed to say I've received my 12th offer from the university of Ohio State. #GoBuckeyes pic.twitter.com/slLSZQYpda
— Devontae Dobbs (@Devontae_Dobbs) July 23, 2016
The 6-foot-5, 270-pound sophomore has offers from Auburn, Florida, Michigan State and Tennessee, among others. And while it's too early to tell where he'll end up in recruiting rankings, I'd say that Dobbs looked as impressive as any other lineman at Friday Night Lights.
TOP 5 SURPRISE
Four-star cornerback Marco Wilson of Plantation, Florida's, American Heritage High School released a Top 5 on Saturday morning that included Florida, Georgia, Miami, Ohio State and USC.
Edit by @Hayesfawcett3 Listing my Top 5 pic.twitter.com/N2q4A6HtgG
— MARCO WILSON (@MjW_era) July 23, 2016
The only issue, however, is that the Buckeyes received a pledge from four-star Cincinnati Colerain cornerback Amir Riep just a few hours later and remain in hot pursuit of defensive backs Darnay Holmes of Calabasas, California, and Lamont Wade of Clairton, Pennsylvania.
Wilson hasn't visited Columbus since he attended a summer camp last year, and it's likely his Top 5 was filled out with schools that may have shown interest at one point in time. Point blank, as Cleveland.com's Ari Wasserman stated, Ohio State doesn't have enough spots for the 6-foot, 180-pounder to be considered a real target.
