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.
TWO-HORSE RACE
With the contact period opening last week, Ohio State has hit the recruiting trail hard.
The staff has already conducted in-home visits with a number of non-early enrollees, as well as a few priority targets, including Bellaire, Texas, Episcopal five-star defensive tackle Marvin Wilson.
New week and whole batch of new flags to plant! Started out this morning in Houston! #lonestarstatehasbeenverygoodtotheBuckeyes! #GoBucks!
— Kerry Coombs (@OsuCoachCoombs) January 16, 2017
The 6-foot-4, 329-pound Wilson is coming off an official visit to LSU, and by all accounts, the Tigers have taken the lead in his recruitment. But as long as Ohio State commits Baron Browning and Jeffrey Okudah remain in his ear, the Buckeyes are still in the running for Wilson.
Head coach Urban Meyer also holds an in-home visit in his back pocket, but there's no denying things are beginning to trend in a different direction.
GOING BACK TO THE WELL
Ohio State is actively looking to add another wide receiver to its 2017 recruiting class, which is why Meyer and wide receivers coach Zach Smith will be in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Wednesday.
Not only will they check in on five-star wide receiver commit Trevon Grimes, but they'll also meet with his St. Thomas Aquinas teammate Josh Palmer for the first time.
The 6-foot-2, 200-pound Palmer was a long-time Syracuse commit, but reopened his recruitment last week. He does not yet hold an offer from Ohio State, but has certainly caught the staff's attention after hauling in team-high 472 receiving yards and eight touchdowns as the Raiders' go-to receiver this season.
You may recall Grimes tore his ACL in September's 25-24 triple-overtime loss to Bishop Gorman, thus Palmer picked up the slack in his absence.
Palmer recently visited Tennessee and is slated to travel to UCLA this coming weekend, leaving Jan. 27 open for a potential visit to Columbus. If the interest is mutual and an offer is extended, it will absolutely be something to pay attention to in the coming weeks.
SIGN OF THINGS TO COME?
Just days after Ohio State running backs coach Tony Alford reached out about the possibility of a scholarship offer, Pickerington Central three-star running back Morgan Ellison reopened his recruitment.
My Recruitment is now open... Happy #MLKDAY pic.twitter.com/4gLWpPVF5w
— MORGAN-ELLISON (@MorganEllisonFB) January 16, 2017
The 6-foot-1, 221-pound Ellison committed to Ohio in November, but wants to take a step back and make sure Athens is the place for him. There's also the elephant in the room that is The Ohio State University, Ellison's dream school.
“[Alford] thinks I can play there and they want another running back,” he told Eleven Warriors.
I'm a firm believe that Ellison, the 76th-best running back in the Class of 2017, would already have an offer from the Buckeyes if it weren't for an injury that forced him to miss most of his sophomore and junior seasons. But with Ellison on the mend, Ohio State instead landed a commitment from four-star J.K. Dobbins and chased after five-star Cam Akers.
Ellison worked his way back to rush for 1,841 yards and 29 touchdowns to help the Tigers to the state semifinals, which is why the staff is re-evaluating him this late in the process. If Ohio State does ultimately offer him a scholarship, I'd expect Ellison to commit shortly thereafter.
Cincinnati is also another school to pay attention to down the stretch. Ellison doesn't hold an offer from the Bearcats, but has a great relationship with new head coach Luke Fickell from his days as Ohio State's defensive coordinator.
TEXAS TOM CAN'T MISS OUT ON THIS ONE
Though he's never been on campus, Angleton, Texas, five-star safety B.J. Foster included Ohio State in his Top 5 in November alongside LSU, Michigan, Texas and TCU. He hadn't elaborated on why the Buckeyes made the cut — until now.
I'm thankful for the opportunity god has given me to play the sport that I love at another level. With that being said top 5 top 5 5 #ATT pic.twitter.com/wV2wCquHbz
— bj foster (@nofear_2) November 24, 2016
“The coaches are great,” Foster told Eleven Warriors, mentioning Meyer, offensive line coach Greg Studrawa and defensive coordinator Greg Schiano specifically.
The 6-foot-1, 188-pounder is considered the top-rated safety and the No. 9 prospect overall in the Class of 2018. He was limited to five games as a junior due to a knee injury, but showed tremendous range and athleticism at the safety position.
“We always talk on the phone, and when I got hurt, they were the first to call and give me a little motivation," Foster said.
Foster hopes to make his first trip to Columbus this summer for Friday Night Lights and then return for an official visit this fall.
MAYBE WAIT UNTIL YOUR SENIOR YEAR TO NARROW IT DOWN
It wasn't too long ago that Woodbridge, Virginia, C.D. Hylton five-star running back Ricky Slade narrowed his focus to Florida, North Carolina, Penn State, Tennessee and Virginia Tech. But that's no more, as the top-rated all-purpose running back in the country recently announced on Twitter he's reopening his recruitment to any and all schools.
I no longer have a top 5 , my recruitment is wide open to anyone.
— RS3 (@TheSlade_Era) January 12, 2017
So where does Ohio State — which offered Slade in more than two years ago — stand?
“I have high interest in Ohio State,” Slade told Eleven Warriors. “Obviously, the coaching staff is great. And will all the commits they have, I think they are on their way back to the top.”
Virginia Tech and Penn State are still considered the front-runners from the 5-foot-9, 185-pound junior, but his relationship with defensive line coach Larry Johnson certainly gives the Buckeyes a chance.
“He knows what he's talking about and doing,” Slade said of Johnson. “He definitely has the potential to push the program to an even better spot than they are now.”
Ohio State already holds a commitment from Seffner, Florida, Armwood four-star running back Brian Snead and Westerville South four-star Jaelen Gill is arguably the top priority for the staff, so it'll be interesting to see where Slade falls in line. He and Gill have a very similar skill set, making it very unlikely they both end up in Columbus.
