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.
WEEK IN REVIEW
Here's a look back at a few of the items we talked about this week on Eleven Warriors.
- "The Hurry-Up," our (almost) nightly recruiting recap: 12/14 |12/15 |12/16 |12/17 |12/18
- Fort Wayne, Indiana 2016 DE Auston Robertson has a Buckeye connection
- Torrance Gibson has seen his game raised on the field and his maturity off of it
- Wayne 2015 Defensive Tackle Robert Landers committed to Ohio State
- The reactions from recruits about their newest future teammate
- Nick Saban is a recruiting demon and the SEC has the scars to prove it
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Maryland cornerback Juwuan Briscoe shares his feelings on Ohio State
WOULD WEBER WAFFLE?
Mike Weber committed to Ohio State about two weeks ago, and it was about one day after his choice was made public that the rumors of how "firm" that pledge was began. Rumors, like opinions, like...well you know the rest of the saying...everyone has one.
The theory is as follows: Michigan — where Weber was committed previously — will find a new head coach soon, or something. That new head coach will come in and sweep Weber off his feet and he'll head back to Ann Arbor. Ohio State, who has recruited Weber for the last year-plus and was often said to be his favorite school by many close to him, will be left in the lurch, sans running back.
Here's why I don't think that's going to happen.
First, Weber decommitted from Michigan because of the uncertainty surrounding their football program, and not just because they need a new head coach. There's a rift in Ann Arbor between the different factions of the university and Jim Harbaugh or any other coach isn't going to fix that in just a year. There's work to be done, and rebuilding a football team isn't the biggest issue.
Second, Weber re-opened his recruitment on November 22nd and ended it (again) two weeks later. There was no hesitation, no waiting to see who Michigan filled in the gaps with and no looking back. He cancelled other visits to Notre Dame and elsewhere and immediately scheduled his official visit to Columbus. Yes, I suppose there's a chance that Weber could just be "saving his space" at Ohio State, but it's not as if Michigan was going to run out of room for him with their six commitments.
Sure, there's always a chance that something weird happens — we're talking about recruiting after all — but it'd be a surprise if Weber ended up anywhere other than Columbus come next fall.
BIG 12 CLEANS UP IN BIG RECRUITING WEEKEND
It's a recruiting dead period, and with that comes a bit more silence than usual. The back and forth between coaches and recruits, especially as the holidays approach, slows to a crawl. However, one other thing that happens is this: lots of guys start making their college decisions and a number of big-time prospects made moves last week and the Big 12 was the big winner.
On Friday, Baylor nabbed five-star quarterback Jarrett Stidham, who had just five days earlier decommitted from Texas Tech. It's a huge loss for Kliff Kingsbury and the Red Raiders, where Stidham — who I think is my favorite quarterback in the 2015 class — had been committed since March.
Texas beat out in-state foes for Malik Jefferson and DeAndre McNeal from Mesquite (Texas) Poteet High School. Jefferson, the country's top-ranked outside linebacker, was a player many had slated for Texas A&M throughout the process, but Charlie Strong beat out Kevin Sumlin in the end for his first truly huge recruiting win.
That loss was not the only key defeat for Sumlin's Aggies on Friday. Five-star defensive tackle Daylon Mack, who had been a crucial member of the #GigEm class, re-opened his commitment and promptly named two new leaders.
My top two schools are LSU and TCU #NoOrder #GeauxTigers #GoFrogs
— THEE MACK TRUCK (@DaylonMack) December 20, 2014
While we never truly know everything that happens behind the scenes on the recruiting trail, it's safe to assume things are rarely as they appear to be. Texas A&M did have some good news last week of course: they landed Scottsdale, Arizona's Christian Kirk on Thursday.
Also on Friday, Oklahoma received a commitment from Ricky DeBerry, Jr., a linebacker/defensive lineman who transferred to Atlee High School (Mechanicsville, Virginia) from Richmond Saint Christopher's prior to the season. Ohio State was involved early in DeBerry's recruitment, but did not receive an official visit from him this fall. Tennesee, Texas A&M, Michigan State and Alabama were the four other schools DeBerry visited officially.
BUCKEYES PREPARE TO HOST LYLE FOR OFFICIAL VISIT
As Ohio State freshman hoopster D'Angelo Russell continues to climb draft boards, it's ever more likely he opts for the NBA rather than return to Columbus for his sophomore season. So, despite already signing a highly-ranked 2015 group, Thad Matta and Jeff Boals are back to work trying to find an additional scorer to fill the probable roster hole.
Enter JaQuan Lyle, a 2014 signee of the Oregon Ducks who did not qualify academically and was forced to go the prep school route. A 6-foot-5 point guard, Lyle was ranked as a Top-30 player nationally out of high school. Now, he's re-entering the recruiting market and the Buckeyes are one school that will get an official visit.
JaQuan Lyle tells me that he will visit Ohio St January 2-4
— Brian Snow (@BSnowScout) December 18, 2014
Lyle would be a valuable addition to an offense that not only faces the prospect of losing Russell, but also will enter the 2015-2016 with only true freshman A.J. Harris at the point.
