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.
FIVE-STARS GALORE
Laurinburg, North Carolina, Scotland County five-star running back Zamir White will take an unofficial visit to Ohio State for this weekend's game against Nebraska, head coach Richard Bailey told Eleven Warriors.
"He is visiting with one of my assistant coaches," Bailey said. "We have our biggest game of the year Friday against our arch rival [Rockingham Richmond]. Biggest game in the state of North Carolina. I've been so involved with preparation I didn't know he was going until [Wednesday]."
The 6-foot-1, 209-pounder is considered the top-rated running back and the No. 4 prospect overall in the Class of 2018. He currently holds two dozen scholarship offers from programs such as Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, LSU, Miami, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma and Tennessee, among others.
This will mark the second time White, who rushed for 1,084 yards and 16 touchdowns in seven games for the Scots this season, has been to campus since he was extended an offer in May 2015. His visit in June coincided with the Ohio State football team taking part in the Buckeye Jobs Fair, a networking program designed to help players find employment following their athletic careers.
“It was good timing that he was there for that event,” Bailey said following the visit. “He 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.”
White has taken unofficial visits to Alabama, Clemson, Notre Dame and South Carolina this fall, but Georgia is considered the prohibitive favorite to land his commitment next winter.
ANOTHER ONE
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, five-star defensive end Micah Parsons took to Twitter within the hour to announce he'll also attend Saturday's game. The 6-foot-3, 245-pounder is considered the best player in the state and the No. 5 prospect overall in the Class of 2018.
Going to be @Ohio state this weekend with @anderson_quon #BuckeyeNation #ZONE6
— #blessedMVP (@Micah_Parsons90) November 3, 2016
Ohio State offered Parsons in September, though he's been committed to Penn State since February. He's repeatedly said his commitment is solid, but he plans to take as many visits as he can before making a final decision.
Parsons recently made headlines when he transferred from Central Dauphin to Harrisburg when school officials accused him of inciting a riot earlier and suspended him for three days. His father said he left the school in the aftermath of a racist social media post by a group of female students and his son was targeted by school officials because of a tweet that included the racially insensitive photo.
“This is the school I rep,” Parsons tweeted. “I gotta transfer.”
After a brief holdup on paperwork, Parsons played his first game at Harrisburg last Friday. He carried the ball five times for 47 yards and a touchdown as the Cougars' running back and recorded a pair of sacks and a forced fumble on defense.
Tagging along will be Parson's new four-star teammate Shaquon Anderson-Butts. The 6-foot, 193-pound wide receiver does not have an offer from Ohio State but was visited by defensive line coach Larry Johnson in the spring.
THE NEW ABU DHABI
Calabasas, California, five-star cornerback Darnay Holmes was also set to be in Columbus on an official visit this weekend, but the plans have changed according to teammate and Ohio State target Brendan Radley-Hiles.
Radley-Hiles, the cousin of wide receiver commit Tyjon Lindsey, told Eleven Warriors they'll make it to campus for the Nov. 26 game against Michigan.
The 5-foot-11, 190-pound Holmes is considered the second-best cornerback and the No. 11 prospect overall in the Class of 2017. He holds more than two dozen offers but narrowed down his list in June to Arizona, Michigan, Nebraska, Ohio State, Stanford, UCLA and Washington.
The Buckeyes were one of the first players in Holmes' recruitment, offering back in May, but he has seemingly fallen off the radar in recent months thanks to the program's already impressive defensive backfield haul. He will make his decision at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl on Jan. 7, 2017.
Radley-Hiles, meanwhile, previously told me he has significant interest playing alongside his cousin at the next level.
The 5-foot-10, 175-pounder is considered the ninth-best corner and the No. 48 prospect in the country for the Class of 2018. He currently holds more than 20 offers from schools such as Alabama, Florida, Michigan, Michigan State, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Tennessee, UCLA and USC.
Radley-Hiles said he's mostly looking forward to getting to know the coaches and seeing what the city and fans have to offer, but added he's in no hurry to make a decision on his college future.
BEAT BLUE
Huber Heights Wayne four-star wide receiver L'Christian “Blue” Smith is going to have to drop his nickname for at least one afternoon, as he told Eleven Warriors he'll bookend the regular season with an unofficial visit for Nov. 26 game against Michigan. The 6-foot-6, 205-pounder was also on campus for the season opener against Bowling Green.
Smith, who has 35 receptions for 576 yards and 7 touchdowns for the Warriors this season, is considered the third-best athlete in the state and the No. 93 prospect overall for the Class of 2018. He currently holds double-digit scholarship offers from school such as Alabama, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State and Tennessee.
A two-sport standout, Smith also holds basketball scholarship offers from Florida, Georgetown, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio State, Syracuse, Texas and UCLA. He averaged 14.7 points and 8.8 rebounds per game last year to lead the Warriors to an unbeaten regular season.
A MATTER OF TIME?
The Collegiate Commissioners Association conducted the first of several meetings Thursday at the Big Ten headquarters in Park Ridge, Illinois, to discuss the introduction of two 72-hour periods — one in June and the other in December — where a recruit can sign a National Letter of Intent.
The Collegiate Commissioners Association is meeting at Big Ten HQ to discuss reform package that would create two early signing periods. pic.twitter.com/wO9H6n4e3e
— Jeremy Crabtree (@jeremycrabtree) November 3, 2016
The proposal will remain up for discussion among the NCAA membership through January, at which time final drafts will be presented. It must be approved by both the NCAA Board of Directors and the CCA before it would go into effect during the 2017-18 recruiting cycle.
“Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby, who is also chair of the NCAA's Football Oversight Committee, said progress wasn't expected, but the football-playing leagues affirmed that there needed to be changes to the recruiting environment,” ESPN's Jeremy Crabtree reported.
The June signing date seems to be the biggest cause for concern.
“There are reasonable disagreements as to if the June signing date [is] the right thing,” Bowlsby said. “They're asking, 'Is December the right thing, or is August or November better?' There's plenty of opportunity for input on that, but generally speaking, everybody agreed the recruiting architecture hasn't changed for 30, 40 years and it cries out for attention.”
Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer is vehemently against an early signing period and continues to bring up the subject any chance he gets.
The main reason, he's said over and over, is it's neither beneficial to the school nor the recruit. Too many things can change — be it a coach gets fired or leaves for another job or the program decides to move in a different direction at a player's position. It will also force schools to send out offers even earlier along in the process.
“I still can't believe we're having this conversation,” Meyer said.
