While Ohio State players will use the open week to recuperate from their hard-fought win over Oklahoma, several assistant coaches have dispersed across the country to visit some of their top remaining recruiting targets.
The Buckeyes have 18 commitments in their top-ranked Class of 2017, 11 of which are considered to be among the top 100 prospects in the country.
There are still roughly five spots or so remaining in the class, though, which could push the class even further into unprecedented territory as the best recruiting class in school history — and, quite possibly, the top signing class in college football history.
This is mind blowing pic.twitter.com/wzFhuzb6Yq
— GrimeTime (@TrevonGrimes7) September 19, 2016
First and foremost, Ohio State is going all-out to retain five-star cornerback Shaun Wade, who became the Buckeyes' second commitment in the class in January 2015.
Wade has maintained throughout the process that he remains 100 percent committed to Ohio State, but has shown interest in schools like Alabama, Florida and Notre Dame.
“Nothing has changed, he's still committed to Ohio State,” his father, Randy, told 247Sports ($). “We told these coaches and programs we would visit and we are. But for us, it's Ohio State. For me and my wife, it's Ohio State. [Shaun] is just going through the process like he should.”
Wade took an official visit to South Bend, Indiana, over the weekend for the Fighting Irish's loss to Michigan State, so it's no surprise that defensive backs coach Kerry Coombs' first stop of the week was in Wade's hometown of Jacksonville, Florida.
In case anyone is wondering what happens on a bye week, just landed in Jacksonville to do a little flag planting! #onlywaytokeepthisrolling
— Kerry Coombs (@OsuCoachCoombs) September 19, 2016
The 6-foot-1, 177-pounder is considered by 247Sports Composite Rankings as the third-best corner in the class.
Many prognosticators believe he will ultimately flip to the Crimson Tide, which is why Coombs followed up his in-house visit on Sunday with a short trip on Monday to Roswell, Georgia — just north of Atlanta — to see four-star defensive back Xavier McKinney.
The 12th-best safety in the Class of 2017, who called Ohio State his “dream school” after earning a scholarship offer in August, announced over the weekend his intentions to take an official visit to Ohio State.
It's assumed based on the schedule and his already planned trips to Clemson and Florida that the former Alabama commit will be in town for either the Oct. 29 game against Northwestern or Nov. 5 versus Nebraska.
Great day recruiting in Dallas! Always preparing for reload!!#letitfly
— Luke Fickell (@CoachFick) September 20, 2016
Defensive coordinators Luke Fickell and Greg Schiano, meanwhile, were in Grand Prairie, Texas, on Monday to see five-star safety Jeffrey Okudah. The 6-foot-1, 190-pounder just spend the weekend at Oklahoma, and had a first-row seat for the Buckeyes' 45-24 win.
It's been said that Okudah committed to the staff back in May and reaffirmed his pledge on Monday morning, but it's likely he'll take official visits to Florida State and Georgia before announcing his decision publicly.
The duo also checked in with four-star Plano linebacker Anthony Hines, who spent the weekend at Penn State.
Ohio State wastes little time getting out to see 5* LB @TheAntHines_Era following his official visit to Penn State.
— Greg Powers (@GPowersScout) September 19, 2016
The second-ranked inside linebacker in the Class of 2017 has yet to set up an official visit to Ohio State, and has only three trips remaining after spending the opening weekend of the season at Texas A&M. Hines is set to announce his college decision on Nov. 29, the same day as fellow linebacker Baron Browning, whom the staff also saw on Monday.
It was a busy day for Fickell and Schiano, obviously. But spending time with Hines is important because many believe that he and Browning will make their decision known in a way that is similar to how wide receivers Trevon Grimes and Tyjon Lindsey committed to Ohio State.
Browning will be on campus for the Michigan game, just three days ahead of the announcement date.
With the rest of the staff looking to close out the current class with a bang, offensive coordinator Ed Warinner got a head start of the Class of 2018 on Monday. He was in Long Island to see Lindenhurt, New York, tight end Jeremy Ruckert and Brooklyn defensive tackle Matthew Jones.
There's a long way to go in their recruitment, but Ohio State is considered the odds-on favorite to land the top two players in the state.
Even the graphics department has stepped up its recruiting efforts in the open week, evident by a pair of tweets that Fickell and wide receivers coach Zach Smith sent out on Monday afternoon targeting the fertile recruiting grounds of Florida and Georgia.
FLA OH#BuckeyeNationSouth pic.twitter.com/1Ahd7giuaF
— Zach Smith #Zone6 (@CoachZachSmith) September 19, 2016
@CamHeyward @BradRoby_1 @Kwon_daTRUTH @TheVonnBell7 #Georgia who's next#BuckeyeNationSouth pic.twitter.com/NIzOqaGbJ2
— Luke Fickell (@CoachFick) September 19, 2016
Assistants will continue to travel throughout the week before returning to Columbus to prepare for the Big Ten portion of the schedule, which kicks off on Oct. 1 at home against Rutgers. Stay tuned to The Hurry Up each evening for the latest.
