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.
YOU ARE ALL SO PRETTY, LET'S BRUSH YOUR HAIR
So, it's Tuesday and it appears that means it's time for the weekly hair-brushing session. In an effort to quell concerns about at least a pair of big-time Buckeye commitments, let's get started right away, shall we?
I don't expect — nor does anyone within Ohio State's football program — that Torrance Gibson and/or Mike Weber end up anywhere other than Ohio State next summer.
After a big weekend in San Antonio for each of them, the pair of Buckeye pledges have become hot topics nationally and with that — especially Gibson because of Ohio State's riches at quarterback — the talking heads instantly begin speculating on this, that, or the other thing. Gibson has now been linked to Central Florida, Auburn and LSU as potential official visits, three schools he'd visited earlier in his recruitment. The Bayou Bengals may be the one school that actually gets an official visit from Gibson, but the rumors of others are still out there. There's four weeks until signing day and it will be a wild ride as it pertains to the Fort Lauderdale star, so get your minds ready.
Here's what matters: Gibson loves Ohio State and Urban Meyer. The love and loyalty Ohio State has shown throughout the summer, when all the other schools on Gibson's list abandoned him, isn't lost on Torrance. There appears to be someone pushing the 6-foot-4, 205-pound quarterback to other visits, but his family relationships with Ohio State are strong. He's said repeatedly that he's not concerned about depth chart issues at Ohio State and is willing to redshirt if necessary. The Buckeyes, for their part, are not really concerned until he makes the visits but if he does they're still comfortable in their positioning. If Gibson ends up elsewhere, it'd be a huge surprise to everyone associated with him and Ohio State.
As for Weber, he has done everything in his power to deflect the Jim Harbaugh/Michigan conversation, but it will continue to persist from here until signing day. The heat of this battle has not yet really begun but Weber's made every effort to reaffirm his decision and says he wants to be a Buckeye. He spent a lot of time this past week getting closer to the Ohio State verbals in attendance in San Antonio and has been (rightly) avoiding the media. Michigan will make this difficult for him, they'll pump the "Michigan's best play at Michigan" mantra and hope it sticks.
Here's what matters: According to the people close to Weber, the Buckeyes were never his "second choice" or anything like that. In fact, Ohio State was regularly regarded as his favorite school and there are some who believe Weber committed to Michigan when he felt that the Buckeyes were more likely to land Damien Harris. I'm not sure I subscribe to that exactly, but I know that a late November decommitment from Michigan didn't need to result in a commitment to Ohio State just two weeks later. That happened because Weber wanted to be a Buckeye and saw his opportunity and took it. If he decides to visit Michigan, which I think is likely, then raise your concern levels to orange, but until then, trust the young man's word that says "I'm a Buckeye."
Let's go bucks
— Mike Weber (@mikeweber25) January 2, 2015
MEET AUSTRIAN ROBINSON
Last night, we talked about some potential names that could end up getting a Buckeye offer along the defensive line. Of course, today the Buckeyes went ahead and offered someone completely different: New York's Austrian Robinson. A 6-foot-6, 255-pound defensive lineman, Robinson is built in the same mold as current Buckeye Adolphus Washington. He says that he and Ohio State have been in pretty regular contact since the end of November and he wants to visit soon.
"I've been talking with Coach (Larry) Johnson since like Thanksgiving," Robinson told 11W. "I'm trying to plan a visit there the last weekend of January."
Austrian Robinson highlights via hudl.
Maryland is the leader for Robinson right now, and the Buckeyes are not the only "big" name trying to get involved in his recruitment.
"I'm visiting Miami next weekend and Ole Miss the weekend after that," he continued. "I guess things are starting to 'blow up' a bit, and it's cool. The most important thing for me is just development, but I'm also looking for a chance to play and win."
Robinson's offer list includes Miami, Ole Miss, Ohio State, Maryland, Purdue, Penn State and about ten others, but he's only played football for the last few years. He preferred basketball growing up.
"I gave (football) a shot my sophomore year, but this is my second year of really taking it seriously," Robinson said. "(Larry Johnson) said he likes that because it means I'm still learning and can be molded into a good player."
BURROW, DAVIS HONORED FOR CALIFORNIA EFFORTS
Although there were five future Ohio State players on the rosters at the Semper-Fidelis All-American Bowl on Sunday night, only two (Joe Burrow and Carlton Davis)were able to suit and play; Jamel Dean, Nick Conner and Grant Schmidt, each of whom will arrive at Ohio State next week, were held out of the contest with varying degrees of injury.
Burrow and Davis were each impressive in the action they saw, and Davis was named the East squad's "Best of the Week" by Rivals.com. According to Rivals' analyst Rob Cassidy, Davis "was a major reason why the West team managed just three points, but his work during the week of practice is what made his performance truly special." He continued with the praise for the future Buckeye by saying he "made play after play while showcasing long arms and top-level closing speed."
For Burrow, who made the Best of the Week list at number seven, the praise was equally demonstrative. Cassidy said that Burrow "was the most consistent quarterback for the East squad. His arm strength has clearly improved and he spent the week throwing the ball with nice touch."
MORE ON VENZELL BOULWARE
Last night we briefly touched on the upcoming scheduled visit by Georgia offensive lineman and Tennessee verbal Venzell Boulware. As the news of the visit came out, there was some uncertainly on my part as to whether or not the Buckeyes would take Boulware still in this class with five offensive lineman already committed.
According to a few different sources at Ohio State, they would indeed, were he to "volunteer". Boulware is not a pure tackle, but as noted last evening his versatility is what makes him interesting. The Buckeyes got some good news today when Taylor Decker announced he'd return to Ohio State for his senior season, so while the situation with Boulware is fluid at the least, there's legitimate interest on both sides.
