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.
BUNNIES
St. Louis Cardinal Ritter College Prep four-star wide receiver Jameson Williams opened his senior season with four catches for 60 yards and two touchdowns in an 82-0 win over Confluence on Friday night. But the highlight of the game was none other than his 62-yard punt return for a touchdown.
The immediately followed a safety, hence the kick return formation but punt return designation in the box score.
Basically track season for @juicedupjameson. pic.twitter.com/7lddjiNCUG
— Hudl (@Hudl) August 30, 2018
Anyway, the 6-foot-2 and 169-pound Williams won the state championship this spring in the 400-meter dash and the 300-meter intermediate hurdles, so it’s no surprise to see him flying past and over would-be tacklers in the open field. He also broke the state record in the latter event last year with a time of 37.28 seconds, which broke the mark set by former Ohio State running back Ezekiel Elliott.
Williams, you may recall, included Ohio State in his Top 5 back in early June alongside Alabama, Nebraska, Oregon and UCLA and took an official visit to Columbus just a few weeks later. He subsequently called the Buckeyes the team to beat in his recruitment during The Opening Finals in Dallas later that month.
“They treat me like the best thing,” Williams told Eleven Warriors. “If I choose Ohio State, I feel like those coaches would be father figures to me and help me to try to get to where I want to go.”
Williams plans to take official visits with his the other four finalists in September and early October, and a decision should come shortly thereafter. He’s the staff’s top target at the position, and someone who I believe would be a great complementary piece to five-star commit Garrett Wilson, seemingly reminiscent of the Santonio Holmes and Ted Ginn Jr. combination of yesteryear.
MOUNTAIN OF A MAN
My colleague Kevin Harrish attended last weekend’s game between Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary and Massillon Washington, and couldn’t stop raving about one player in particular.
“No. 65 for SVSM is a big dude,” he exclaimed in Slack, which is the go-to communication service for Eleven Warriors. “He’s one of the biggest high school guards I’ve ever seen.”
Quickly skimming the Fighting Irish’s roster, I came across 6-foot-9, 350-pound junior Savion Washington. And while he’s a new name on our radar, he’s been on Ohio State’s for quite some time.
“I talked with coach [Ryan] Day last year,” Washington told Eleven Warriors, noting the staff contemplated offering him a scholarship but wanted him to attend a one-day camp or Friday Night Lights first — which is quite typical for in-state prospects. “[He told me I have] good footwork, strength and just overall dominance over defensive players. And I’m only 16 and still growing.”
Washington, who is not yet ranked by any major recruiting sites and holds only an offer from Akron, was unable to make any of the camp dates this summer. He plans on attending a game this fall and then a camp next year with hopes of landing an offer from the staff.
“It would mean a lot to me because that’s always been my favorite team and I grew up watching them,” Washington said, noting how he’s kept close tabs on former St. Vincent-St. Mary wide receiver Parris Campbell since he arrived in Columbus back in 2014.
