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.
QUARTERBACK RACE NARROWING DOWN TO TWO?
So, we've gone over it again and again, but let's be clear: Ohio State's top quarterback target is – and has been – New Jersey's Jarrett Guarantano. However, things might be changing a bit as the Buckeyes get a bit more aggressive in their pursuit of DeSoto (Texas) standout Tristen Wallace.
"We have been very clear that Jarrett is our guy, but at some point we've got to try to protect ourselves if he's not gonna be that guy," a source close to Ohio State shared. "Jarrett is where we've put our time, and we think that he fits our offense better than anyone in the country."
The source continued, mentioning that Wallace is right now the guy most likely to take over for Guarantano at the top of the list.
"If Jarrett ends ups going elsewhere, which is something we're kind of prepared for, we don't feel there's a huge drop between he and Tristen. Tristen might have a better upside, but he's not as game-ready right now as Jarrett. Either way, we don't have a pressing need for a guy to come in and play as a freshman so we're just trying to prepare for the future with the best guy possible. We expect them both on campus soon so let's see what happens."
CORLEY, MACK TAKE IN NOTRE DAME, REMAIN BUCKEYES TOP TWO TARGETS
While we're on the topic of "highest priority" targets right now for the Buckeyes, let's move from quarterback to wide receiver, where Ohio State's two main prospects – Austin Mack and Donnie Corley, Jr. – are both coming off a big weekend visit to Notre Dame.
The Buckeyes are still at the front of the list for Mack, but there's no doubt that this weekend's trip to South Bend could put a wrinkle in those plans. The Irish have made Mack a priority for a while, but the relationships at Ohio State – namely with Zach Smith and Urban Meyer – have kept the Buckeyes as the favorite. There are some people close to Mack who are – reportedly - trying to get the Fort Wayne, Indiana native to reconsider his preferences and give two schools another, longer look: Notre Dame and Michigan, where Mack visited last weekend.
As for Corley, the Detroit Martin Luther King, Jr. star, the Buckeyes are working to try and get him back on campus. Corley has been at Michigan and Notre Dame this week and while Ohio State continues to recruit Corley, they've not – according to sources close to the 6-foot-2, 180-pound wide receiver – had much success establishing relationships with his family, an important element to his recruitment.
"There's two guys – Mack and Corley – that are our main guys," a source close to the Buckeyes said. "If we can lock those two down, everything and anything else would be gravy at wide receiver. We've got work to do, though, can't just assume that a guy is going to pick us because we were 'in the lead' before. Recruiting doesn't stop until signing day, period."
PARKER BRAUN HAS BUCKEYE CONNECTION
Last week, in a kind of under-the-radar way, the Buckeyes offered Kissimmee, Florida 2016 offensive lineman Parker Braun. Braun is a 6-foot-4, 275-pound offensive lineman from Osceola High School and he's got a pretty strong Buckeye connection: his father lined up and played for Ohio State's Ed Warinner when the Buckeye offensive coordinator coached at West Point.
OSU offered Parker today. Ed Warriner OL coach at OSU coached me at Army in 87-88. Took him 27 yrs to recover. He's ready for a new Braun!
— Mike Braun (@CoachBraun72) March 14, 2015
Braun also has offers from Stanford, Ole Miss, Duke, Auburn, Florida, Georgia and more among his dozen-plus offers, but it will be interesting to see how Warinner's influence pays off here. Parker's brother Trey is currently a lineman at Georgia Tech.
HARRIS OUTLASTS KENNARD, FRANKLIN
Ohio State 2015 basketball signee AJ Harris is only 5-foot-10, but he played one of the biggest games of his life on Saturday as his No. 10 ranked Dunbar (Dayton) squad toppled Duke signee Luke Kennard and second-ranked Franklin. Kennard finished with 41 points on Saturday, giving him 2,977 in his career – good for second-place all-time in Ohio prep history, passing Ohio State great Jay Burson but leaving him behind former Buckeye sharpshooter Jon Diebler – but it was a missed free throw in overtime by Kennard that allowed Harris to seal the deal for the Wolverines.
Harris went to the free-throw line with with 2.4 seconds remaining in overtime trailing by a point but sunk two free-throws, his 22nd and 23rd point of the contest, and sealed a huge win for Dunbar (22-5), advancing them to Columbus and the state semifinals. Harris' team came back not just once to force overtime, but twice to win it. He said that is a byproduct of being a senior-laden team.
"It's really a leadership thing," Harris told 11W. "We all have the same goal, we all wanted the same thing, so the four seniors kept fighting."
Harris, speaking of his two game-clinching free throws, said it was a simple matter of knowing where he wanted to be next weekend.
"I just told myself," Harris said of the game-winning shots. "I want to be at my second home, Columbus, next weekend."
Dunbar will face Defiance on Friday night in the state semifinal.
COOPER LIGHTS UP RIVALS CAMP SERIES
The most beautiful thing about the spring is not flowers, the regrowth of any other foliage or any transcendental crap like that; it's the return of football and combines and recruiting camps, obviously. This weekend Atlanta is the place to be because the Rivals Camp Series and Nike's The Opening regionals are both in the ATL.
2017 ATH Richard LeCounte with the #OhioState shorts on at Atlanta #GetOpen. Teammate of Raekwon McMillan pic.twitter.com/1VhcLNoXk0
— Gerry Hamilton (@HamiltonESPN) March 22, 2015
The Opening regionals are taking place today, Sunday, but yesterday's RCS in Atlanta featured a little Ohio flavor as Gahanna Lincoln 2016 defensive end and Buckeye commit Jonathon Cooper made the trek south to participate, wanting to test himself against some of the southeast's best.
Also hide your quarterbacks, Jonathon Cooper is here.
— Marc Givler (@MarcGivlerBG) March 20, 2015
Cooper was spectacular according to those in attendance, besting his competition on 12-of-12 during one-on-one reps. Cooper showcased his first step and edge-rushing ability.
4-star #OSU DL commit Jonathon Cooper dominating his #RivalsCamp reps https://t.co/i62S1nEN9E
— Rivals Camp Series (@RivalsCamp) March 21, 2015
