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.
INSIDE TRACK FOR MICHIGAN COMMIT
In what should only be described as a soft verbal pledge, Springfield tight end Leonard Taylor committed to Michigan at its spring game in April. The 6-foot-6, 258-pounder then showed up to Ohio State's spring game just two weeks later decked out in scarlet and gray.
The prevailing thought is that the 2018 prospect ultimately flips to Ohio State when he announces his final decision sometime during his senior year. In the meantime, he told 247Sports that he will take several unofficial visits this fall.
“I'm going to go to Ohio State when they play Indiana,” Taylor said. “I'm going to Penn State-Ohio State. I'm going to Notre Dame-Michigan State. And, I'm going to Michigan-Ohio State. I'm going to try to get a game at Tennessee, too.”
Taylor — whose uncle Ormonde Ricketts was a captain for the Buckeyes under legendary coach Woody Hayes — was scheduled to attend Ohio State's Friday Night Lights camp last month, but ran into some issues that prevented that from happening. Getting him on campus for a pair of games this fall only adds to the likelihood that he'll play his college ball in Columbus.
OUT OF SIGHT, OUT OF MIND
Four-star offensive tackle Isaiah Wilson included Ohio State among his top five schools in a now-deleted tweet back in February, but a lot has obviously changed in the months since.
The Buckeyes had always been a long shot to land the 6-foot-7, 350-pounder from Poly Prep Country Day School in Brooklyn, New York, and had never been able to get him on campus. So, the staff instead shifted its focus and gained a pledge in June from five-star tackle Wyatt Davis of Bellflower, California.
On Tuesday, Wilson revealed a new Top 5 and indicated which official visits he will take this fall.
Now I do what I want pic.twitter.com/s5qynQcb5j
— (@_LayZay_) August 9, 2016
Davis, meanwhile, seems happy to be a part of Ohio State's top-rated class. You can check out some practice highlights of Davis and his teammate, five-star safety and Ohio State target Jaiden Woodbey, in Under the Radar's Dog Days of Summer visit to St. John Bosco High School.
ON SECOND THOUGHT
As mentioned in Sunday's edition of The Hurry Up, Alabama commit VanDarius Cowan has not been so kind to Ohio State's 2017 recruiting class in recent months. That all changed once five-star defensive end Chase Young entered the fold, however.
Cowan told 247Sports that he and Young had conversations during Nike's The Opening about him potentially joining the Buckeyes, which is the reason that he plans to take an official visit to Columbus this fall.
“Yeah, I'm going to make an official visit there,” the 6-foot-4, 226-pounder said. “I'm not sure when yet. It will be for a game When I talked to Chase about it, he said the Michigan game would be a good one to go to.”
He will visit Alabama, Georgia, LSU and USC.
“Once I committed to Alabama, everybody pretty much backed off,” Cowan said. “I've been talking to [defensive coordinator] Luke Fickell now. I've heard a lot of good stuff about Ohio State.”
The No. 4 outside linebacker and No. 72 player overall in the Class of 2017 wasn't always as high on Ohio State as he is now. During the Nike event in July, Cowan cut off reporters when asked to compare Alabama's class to Ohio State's.
“I'm not even worried about Ohio State, so don't even ask me any questions about Ohio State,” he said before saying — in essence — that the Buckeyes' class was overrated.
Cowan is set to announce his decision at the U.S. Army All-American Game in January.
WOLVERINES NAB TOP OHIO PROSPECT
The above-mentioned Young has had quite the effect on the current recruiting cycle, as his commitment has seemingly allowed one of the best in-state defensive ends — Toledo Central Catholic's James Hudson III — to announce his pledge to Michigan.
Sorry For The Wait pic.twitter.com/keAFekr22f
— James Hudson III (@__BallisLife2) August 8, 2016
Because Ohio State continues to recruit on a more national level, the four-star Hudson was never offered a scholarship by the Buckeyes. He also did not camp in Columbus this summer, which seemingly sealed any chance he had of being included in the the scholarship-restricted class.
Hudson is considered the No. 12 defensive end and the 15th-best prospect in the state of Ohio for the Class of 2017. Young, meanwhile, has been tabbed by 247Sports Composite rankings as the No. 3 defensive end and top overall prospect in the state of Maryland.
RIVALS250 STACKED WITH POTENTIAL BUCKEYES
The inaugural Rivals100 for the Class of 2018 was headlined by Ohio State commit Emory Jones, of Heard County, Georgia, coming in at No. 6 overall. Well, another future Buckeye made the list when the outlet unveiled its top 250 players on Tuesday afternoon.
#Rivals250 has been released for 2018 -- https://t.co/rxoukgTjxL pic.twitter.com/9UECALdd6x
— Mike Farrell (@rivalsmike) August 9, 2016
Running back Brian Snead, of Seffner, Florida, sits at No. 128 overall. The 5-foot-11, 187-pounder became the first pledge of the 2018 class during his first visit for Friday Night Lights last month.
Other Ohio State targets to make the list include Justin, Texas, offensive lineman Darrell Simpson (No. 103); Plantation, Florida, defensive back Tyson Campbell (No. 105); Brooklyn, New York, defensive tackle Matthew Jones (No. 109); the aforementioned Leonard Taylor (No. 118); Lindenhurst, New York, tight end Jeremy Ruckert (No. 133); Fort Lauderdale, Florida, wide receiver Elijah Moore (No. 139); Clearwater, Florida, cornerback Amari Burney (No. 140); and Toledo linebacker Dallas Gant (No. 229).
