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.
COACH'S TAKE
In case you missed it, Cleveland Heights four-star wide receiver Jaylen Harris committed to Ohio State this morning over finalists Alabama, Michigan State, Penn State and Tennessee. The 6-foot-5, 210-pounder instantly becomes the tallest receiver on the roster, and according to his high school coach, gives the Buckeyes a legitimate deep threat they've been missing for the last few seasons.
“It was interesting because year to year recruiting changes, but Jaylen made it relatively easy because he didn't act like a primadonna or anything like that,” Cleveland Heights head coach Mac Stephens told Eleven Warriors. “He was very humble and always communicated with me what was going on in terms of who was calling or sending him text messages. For the most part, it was a very positive experience from start to finish.”
Harris took the recruiting process very slow, and some perceived it as apathy. He only took two official visits during his senior year, though he's set to make the trip to Columbus next weekend.
“To be quite honest, I always thought he was going about it the way that I wish every high school kid would go about it and just do their due diligence,” Stephens said. “Jaylen took some unofficial visits to schools and then lined up his official visits once our high school season was over. He didn't let it become a distraction to his teammates. I don't even think most of his teammates knew who his Top 5 schools were. He just didn't talk about it. In terms of the word apathetic. I think if people were up close and understand the things he was going through on a daily basis, they'd see he was far from apathetic.
“When there was talk about this receiver or that receiver committing to Ohio State or this other school, it never had any bearing on his outlook toward recruiting,” Stephens continued. “He believed in himself and knew what he was doing behind the scenes to prepare for college football.”
It was widely assumed Harris would eventually pick Ohio State, but Stephens said things weren't always so cut and dried.
“I knew Ohio State was a dream offer for him because, for most kids growing up in Ohio, Ohio State is always one of the top schools. But then he hears from schools like Alabama, Georgia, Michigan State, Tennessee, Penn State and various other schools, and the picture got a little cloudier,” Stephens said. “I know he was starting to feel the pressure a little bit, because he really did have good relationships with the last five schools. That was hard on him. People forget that he's a teenager. His emotions are a part of this decision, and you don't want to let anyone down or have anyone upset at you. But at the same time, I told him, 'You have to make a decision for you. This is the one time in life that you're allowed to be selfish.' He's gotta live these next four years, and that was sort of the approach.”
As for what the Buckeyes are getting on the field? Certainly not the 28th-best receiver in the country.
“From my perspective, he's doing the things I expected of him. You see how hard he works,” Stephens said. “Obviously he has the freakish ability. I'm just extremely excited to see what he does at the next level when it's an every day process to make you the best player possible and having access to the facilities and resources that take you to the next level. That in itself is pretty exciting.
“There's some great high school receivers that were rated pretty high, but I didn't see how he was rated as low as he was,” Stephens continued. “I felt he was one of the top five or six receivers in the country. Obviously, I'm a little biased, but you've gotta remember, that's a 6-foot-5 kid running like that. I don't think people realize how strong he is. He's got pretty good speed and he's just an explosive player. I was pretty surprised, but like I tell all of my guys, you just have to look at the rankings with a grain of salt. How he's not a five-star is beyond me, but now it doesn't matter.”
PLANNING AHEAD
Brunswick, Georgia, four-star offensive tackle Warren McClendon announced on Twitter Friday afternoon he received a scholarship offer from Ohio State.
Blessed to receive a offer from THE Ohio State University #buckeyes pic.twitter.com/tpiPOnacB8
— Warren McClendon (@wcmcclendonjr) January 13, 2017
“They've been talking to me a lot and sending me a lot of mail, so it means a lot that they finally offered me,” McClendon told Eleven Warriors. “I actually talked to [head coach] Urban Meyer just a couple minutes ago.”
The 6-foot-4, 270-pound McClendon is considered the third-best offensive tackle and No. 25 prospect overall in the Class of 2019. He also holds offers from Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina and Tennessee.
FASTEST WAY TO A RECRUIT'S HEART
Though it's not typically the reason a top-tier prospect chooses a school — I'm looking at you, Anthony Hines III — food is certainly at the top of the list of things a recruit and his family get to enjoy during an official visit to a college campus. From crab cakes to cookie cakes and everything in between, schools look to leave a good taste in a prospect's mouth.
Ohio State has raised the bar, however.
Ohio State sees your cookie cakes and raises you helmet replica cakes for recruits:https://t.co/z374O0aI4D
— Tom VanHaaren (@TomVH) January 13, 2017
From ESPN's Tom VanHaaren:
Arlena McCoy of Mrs. McCoy’s Cakes and Pies, LLC, has been making the replica cakes for Ohio State since November. Each recruit who takes an official visit gets his own helmet cake to enjoy while on campus, specially made by McCoy and her Columbus bakery.
She initially got in contact with Ohio State after asking the compliance department if she could donate a cake after Ohio State’s national championship victory following the 2014 season.
McCoy created the cake, which is a bust of former Ohio State player Kosta Karageorge, who committed suicide in 2014.
After the national championship cake was donated, McCoy was put in touch with the athletic department and hired to create the new cakes for visiting recruits.
I've already put in my order with Mrs. McCoy.
