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.
TEXAS TWO STEP
Ohio State already has Nov. 29 circled on the calendar, as five-star Kennedale, Texas, linebacker Baron Browning is set to announce his college intentions that day. Well, you can circle it again because fellow Texan Anthony Hines took to Twitter on Sunday afternoon to share that's the date he will also be making his decision.
Dreams to reality....Committing on November 29th.
— (@TheAntHines_Era) August 28, 2016
With more than 90 scholarship offers, the Plano native is arguably the most recruited prospect in the country.
There was a point in time that Ohio State was considered the leader for Hines, as he listed the Buckeyes along with Auburn, Florida, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, SMU, Texas, Texas A&M, TCU and UCLA in his Top 10 last month.
However, three visits to Norman in recent months makes it look as if the Sooners have taken the upper hand as of late.
It remains to be seen whether the pair announcing their decisions on the same day are related. But it should be noted that Ohio State seemingly only has room for one, not both.
Browning is set to be on campus when the Buckeyes host Michigan on Nov. 26, so they'll have the last opportunity to impress the prospect. Hines, meanwhile, has not announced an official visit, though it is expected.
ARMY BRAT
I mentioned yesterday how impressive Bishop Gorman's Palaie Gaoteote was in Saturday night's national televised win over Cedar Hill, Texas, and the rest of the country is starting to take notice. Shortly after the Gaels returned to Las Vegas, the top-ranked linebacker in the Class of 2018 announced that he received an invitation to the U.S. Army All-American Bowl.
@ErikRichardsUSA @ZSoskin @LukeStampini @TomLoy247 @SFerb55 @SWiltfong247 @247Sports @Hayesfawcett3 pic.twitter.com/b8O5RfwC90
— Palaie Gaoteote (@ie_2018) August 29, 2016
The 6-foot-2, 205-pounder has 17 offers from schools like Arizona State, Auburn, Michigan, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Ohio State, UCLA and USC. The Buckeyes, who lead all 247Sports Crystal Ball projections, extended a scholarship offer to Gaoteote in March.
Bishop Gorman, meanwhile, regained the top spot in the USA TODAY Super 25 after former No. 1 St. Thomas Aquinas and No. 2 Grayson, Georgia, fell over the weekend. The Gaels have won 40-consecutive games heading into this weekend's matchup with Cocoa, Florida.
Seven new teams enter #Super25 https://t.co/OUhbvMBQzy @Cen10Football@WHSChaps @MillCreekHawk @SJCGridiron
— USA TODAY HSS (@USATODAYhss) August 29, 2016
100 PERCENT?
Chris Kirschner of SEC Country reported last week that Alabama is recruiting Ohio State safety commit Isaiah Pryor the hardest, but that a visit to Tuscaloosa would be unlikely because “Urban Meyer has a strict 'no visit' policy for his commitments.” And while we know that statement to be untrue, Kirschner spoke with Pryor following IMG Academy's 26-7 win over Grayson on Saturday.
5-star LB says #Alabama is recruiting him the hardest, #OSU commit not likely to flip | https://t.co/2Av8KVZETM pic.twitter.com/BAZJNqlkb4
— Chris Kirschner (@ChrisK_AJC) August 29, 2016
“I think [Alabama has] done a very good job, but I'm just set on Ohio State,” Pryor said. “It was one of my first offers. I go up there a lot and have family up there. I have a great relationship with the coaches and I just love it up there.
“They're [both] very good programs, but I just like Ohio State more than Alabama.”
Nothing to see here, folks.
Pryor is currently scheduled to take only one official visit this fall when the Buckeyes host Michigan.
Good stick here from #GoBucks pledge Isaiah Pryor for @IMGAFootball pic.twitter.com/37UAOAnj7w
— Sanjay Kirpalani (@SanjayKirpalani) August 27, 2016
CINCINNATI CRUSADE
With Sam Hubbard and Jake Hausmann on the roster, you could say Cincinnati's Archbishop Moeller has been good to Ohio State in recent years. It's no surprise, then, that the Buckeyes have been giving a lot of attention to another up-and-coming Crusader, Aeneas Hawkins.
“I talked to Urban Meyer last week,” he told Rivals.com ($) following Moeller's 47-14 win over Lakota West on Saturday. “I'm going to get up there for a visit soon and we'll see what happens. Nothing official yet, but we'll see what happens when I get up there.”
A 6-foot-3, 265-pound defensive lineman, Hawkins has picked up offers from Cincinnati, Florida, Florida State, Notre Dame, Penn State, Pitt and Tennessee. To get one from Ohio State, though, would validate all of his hard work.
“It would mean the world,” Hawkins said. “Ohio State is a great program. To get an offer from them would mean a lot. It would show how my hard work has turned out for me.”
A three-star recruit, Hawkins is considered the 16th-best player in the state of Ohio for the Class of 2018.
