Welcome to The Hurry Up, which runs Sunday through Thursday, serving as your last stop for recruiting news and notes nightly. We'll recap the day as it happened and preview the days ahead while keeping our ear to the ground on the Ohio State recruiting scene.
EICHENBERG SETS VISITS, HAS DECISION TIMELINE
Ohio's top uncommitted offensive lineman for 2016, Cleveland St. Ignatius junior Liam Eichenberg, doesn't expect to be uncommitted for much longer. On Friday night, he took to Twitter and left a vague message about his pending decision.
The country's 82nd-ranked overall prospect and 11th-ranked offensive tackle, Eichenberg clarified what his plans are for a college choice.
"I'm going to Notre Dame on April 10th and 11th, and then Ohio State on April 17 and 18," Eichenberg told Eleven Warriors. "I'll be at Ohio State on the first day for campus stuff and then the next day for the spring game. I'll decide shortly after those two visits."
Eichenberg says he and Ohio State's Ed Warinner have gotten to know each other much better. In fact, he sees similarities between he and the Buckeye offensive coordinator.
"(Ed) Warinner and I talk pretty much every week," he continued. "He and I are sort of the same, in my opinion. We don't talk a big game, just show it on the field."
Eichenberg will participate in The Opening regional camp on May 31st in Columbus.
ILLINOIS OFFENSIVE LINEMAN HEARING MORE FROM BUCKEYES
One of the bigger offensive lineman in the 2016 class, Carmel, Illinois-native Sean Foster, is hearing more from the Buckeyes lately, according to his father.
"They have been," Troy Foster said, when asked if the Buckeyes had been in regular contact. "He would love to the play for the Buckeyes."
Foster is a 6-foot-8, 285-pound offensive tackle, ranked 25th nationally at his position. He has offers from almost 20 schools, including Nebraska, Virginia Tech, California, Minnesota, Kentucky and others. The Fosters visited Columbus last spring, and his father indicated that the Buckeyes want to see him again on campus, hopefully this summer for one of their one-day positional camps.
"We were there last spring," Troy added. "They'd like us to come for a camp and we're looking to get back there."
BUCKEYES GRAPHICS TEAM BACK ON THE HUNT
Ohio State's video team was back at work late last week and it appears that their graphic's squad was as well, if the newest artwork displayed by Jarrett Guarantano is any indication.
#BuckeyeNation pic.twitter.com/epd7WZrbL8
— Jarrett Guarantano (@Guarantano18) March 14, 2015
Guarantano remains Ohio State's top target at quarterback and he's scheduled to be on campus within the next three weeks.
HARBAUGH CONTINUES INTERESTING METHODS
Jim Harbaugh hired the mother of a player he hoped would transfer to Michigan. It worked. Since then, the new head coach in Ann Arbor has made waves with his strange interesting personality.
Over this past weekend, he made his first foray into Ohio prep football and hired Rick Finotti, the former head coach at Lakewood St. Edward High School, Ohio's 2014 Division I state champion. As we've noted previously, Harbaugh has not – to my knowledge or anyone else that I've spoken to – visited any Ohio high school prospect inside the Buckeye State's borders.
Finotti's success at St. Ed's is impossible to dispute, but it's not likely to provide any immediate impact within Ohio for Michigan's recruiting efforts. Finotti's hire is as much for his football acumen as his ties inside of Ohio. Still, it's another good decision for a football program that needs as many of them as they can stack together.
On Saturday, though, Harbaugh was right back to Bizarro World, attempting to recruit a player via social media and out-and-out oddity.
ICYMI: You see what Jim Harbaugh did here? http://t.co/9X9z9GG1IX pic.twitter.com/MOvpyhlPCo
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) March 15, 2015
GARDNER BACK OFF THE MARKET, NOTABLE WEEKEND COMMITS
If the recruiting saga of Cocoa 2016 cornerback Chauncey Gardner is any indication, Bruce Judson's 2017 commitment will be quite a ride. Gardner and Judson were each in Gainesville this weekend checking on the Florida Gators, and Gardner left committed to the Gators (again). Gardner, who was selected for Nike's The Opening a few weeks ago, decommitted from Florida in January, six months after making a verbal pledge to former coach Will Muschamp. He'd has now been "committed" three separate times, twice to Florida and once to the University of Miami.
The Big Ten had a decent weekend, with Wisconsin, Illinois and Northwestern all picking up 2016 quarterback commitments. Wisconsin added Karé Lyles from Scottsdale (Saguaro), a Badger legacy. Lyles' father Kevin played tight end for the Badgers in the 1990s and his brother Kayden Lyles is a Top 100 prospect in 2017 class and already holds a Buckeye offer.
Illinois added two big pledges, one from Jacksonville, Florida quarterback Eli Peters and a four-star running back from O'Fallon, Illinois, Kentrail Moran. Three-star quarterback Deuce Wallace, from Sevierville, Tennessee, chose Northwestern during a visit to Evanston.
Garnder was not the only commitment from this weekend who has already earned an invitation to The Opening: linebacker Krys Barnes, a four-star prospect from Bakersfield, California, committed to UCLA this weekend.
