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.
BOSA ON BOSA
One of the (many) perks on a New Orleans trip for the Sugar Bowl is the chance to connect with current Ohio State players. One of them, defensive end Joey Bosa, happens to have a little brother named Nick Bosa, as you may know. Nick, a 6-foot-3, 250 pound junior from St. Thomas Aquinas in Fort Lauderdale, has a built-in advantage with his recruiting: his older brother just recently went through it.
"I'm just trying to not push him anywhere," Joey said today during the Sugar Bowl's media day. "When you feel it, you know it's the place for you."
Nick, unlike Joey, has been described as a "Buckeye fan" for a while. Joey said that's accurate and that his brother is definitely fond of Ohio State.
"He loves it at Ohio State," Joey said of his younger brother. "If things stay the way they are, I think he'll end up here."
CONNER PREPARES FOR THE NEXT STEP
Dublin, Ohio linebacker Nick Conner did not have the year he expected as a senior at Scioto High School. Injuries sidelined the Ohio State commitment for much of his final year, but he's focused on the next phase of his life: enrolling at Ohio State in two weeks.
Graduated from high school, off to cali, then January 12th start at The Ohio State University #blessed pic.twitter.com/Iz4cs1Q2Q5
— Nick Conner42 (@NickConner11) December 29, 2014
"Cali" is where Nick will take part in the Semper-Fi All-American Game, although he will not play.
"I think my leg is good," Conner said. "But it's not got the strength it needs yet. I've done everything I could but it's just not happening at the pace I want it to."
So, "Cali" and then Columbus, where Conner says he's looking forward to getting to work with the Buckeyes.
"I can't be more excited than I am," Conner told Eleven Warriors about getting to Ohio State. "I can't wait to get there, be 100-percent and be able to do everything I need to do with the Buckeyes."
HONORS FOR A PAIR OF BUCKEYE-RELATED 2018 STARS
A pair of Ohio State-interested 2018 athletes earned MaxPreps.com Freshman All-American honors this week.
Woodbridge, Virginia (C.D. Hylton High School) running back Ricky Slade, Jr., who rushed for over 1,300 yards and 18 touchdowns for the Bulldogs has a Buckeye offer already. He's the high school teammate and a close friend of Ohio State 2015 commitment Matt Burrell. Virginia Tech, Virginia, Clemson, Iowa, Maryland and others have also extended a scholarship to the 5-foot-9, 170-pound freshman.
Columbus-native Jaelen Gill, who starred for very talented Westerville South team, was named second-team All-American at wide receiver. Although he's likely to finish his high school career at running back, Gill is definitely a name to watch moving forward. He's 6-foot-tall and almost 170 pounds already and has a different gear than most players two to three years older than he is.
ALL-AMERICAN NOTES AND NEWS
Here are some highlights from the All-American practices:
Torrance Gibson makes a nice pass to Van Jefferson, then runs a very familiar play to Buckeye nation.
Torrance Gibson looking solid. To Van Jefferson here https://t.co/nJUpPZI6ll
— Barton Simmons (@bartonsimmons) December 30, 2014
I reached out to Rivals.com recruiting analyst Marc Givler, who's in attendance in San Antonio for his take on Gibson after day one.
"He has a ton of arm talent," Givler, who can be found on BuckeyeGrove.com, said. "Definitely the strongest arm on the East roster and he can really spin it. Throws a pretty deep ball. (Gibson) is just very inconsistent with his upper body mechanics, arm angle, etc. When it clicks it's really really good and when it doesn't it can really get away from him."
Torrance Gibson running the read option https://t.co/3VlBeLsfYE
— Barton Simmons (@bartonsimmons) December 30, 2014
Today, Givler stated that Mike Weber and Dre'Mont Jones were two players that stood out physically. Jones is one player who 247Sports.com's Barton Simmons said "raised his stock" the most after day one.
Ohio State commitment Jashon Cornell, celebrating his birthday today, had a good day in Tampa/St. Pete at practices for the Under-Armour All-American Game.
#OhioSt DL commit @JayRock_9 celebrating his birthday with back-to-back sacks against OL Jalin Barnett at #UAAllAmerica practices.
— Jeremy Crabtree (@jeremycrabtree) December 30, 2014
For those of you worried about Weber, here's a picture of him doing his socializing in San Antonio, from Ohio State commitment Matt Burrell.
"@HeaftyLefty: Michigan !!!! You can't have @mikeweber25 he is a buckeye!! #BuckeyeNation" pic.twitter.com/jnmBh10nIL
— tOSU Recruiting (@tOSURecruiting) December 30, 2014
