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.
KING STILL PLANNING ON OHIO STATE, MICHIGAN VISITS
One of the more talented prospects on Ohio State's big board for 2016 is Hinsdale South (Darien, Illinois) defensive end Joshua King. King is a hot prospect among the midwest's premiere programs, and his 247Sports.com crystal ball is a pretty good indicator that Ohio State, Notre Dame, Michigan, and Michigan State are all feeling pretty good about where they stand with the country's 51st-ranked overall player.
King was scheduled to be at Notre Dame's very important junior day this past weekend, but was unable to make the trip due to a transportation issue. As of today, he intends to still make a couple other key visits this coming week: to Ann Arbor on Sunday and Ohio State next Monday, March 30th. The trip to Michigan is a big one for Jim Harbaugh and his staff as they hope to make an impact on a player that was once strongly considering the Wolverines; King will make his first trip to Ann Arbor in the Harbaugh era.
Ohio State will host King, as noted, next Monday, the 30th. The Buckeyes will have a unique opportunity to spend one-on-one time with him that wouldn't be available were he to be on-campus Saturday, when there's sure to be a bevy of recruits on-hand.
With defensive end commitments from Jonathon Cooper and Terrell Hall already – and Nick Bosa on-deck – the Buckeyes will have to sell King on their pending depth issues at the position in 2016 and beyond.
MACK TALKS NOTRE DAME TRIP, COMING UP
One player who did make the trip to South Bend this past weekend was Fort Wayne, Indiana wide receiver Austin Mack. Mack, as we've talked about a number of times, is the top target at wide receiver for the Buckeyes and, up until recently, has been a player that seemed to be a "lock" to end up in Columbus. While Ohio State is still confident in their positioning, Mack said this weekend's trip to Notre Dame was an eye-opener.
"It was a great trip," Mack told 11W of his weekend. "Notre Dame is like no other place. I really got a chance to look at the school as a business. 'Four years for 40 years' is huge."
That mantra was cited by IMG Academy running back Tony Jones on Sunday as he explained his decision to commit to the Irish after the weekend trip.
4 for 40 thats all yall need to know #GoIrish #FightingIrish pic.twitter.com/Gtd5C146bU
— T4 (@TonnJoness) March 22, 2015
Clearly the lure of Notre Dame's academic prestige – combined with their historical football prowess – is still inviting to many prospects across the country.
This weekend, on his way to Florida for spring break, Mack – the country's 28th-ranked wide receiver – will make a stop in Tuscaloosa to check out Nick Saban's Crimson Tide. Bama has not yet offered Mack, but it'd be very surprising to see him leave Alabama without one. When he returns from spring break, Mack will visit Ohio State on April 10th and 11th and then Michigan State on April 18th.
"It's awesome to get the chance to see all these places," Mack said. "I'm investing four years to one of these organizations, so I can't get to know them well enough. I have to put all this time into it."
LUKE FARRELL WILL RETURN TO OHIO STATE THIS WEEKEND
Although Ohio State has a commitment from 2016 tight end Jake Hausmann, they're still aggressively pursuing Perry's Luke Farrell, according to Farrell himself.
"They were just on vacation, so I didn't hear from Ohio State last week," Farrell told 11W. "Aside from that, they've been in touch regularly."
Farrell, who visited the Buckeyes in February, will visit Columbus again this weekend.
"My brother is a junior at Ohio State," Farrell said. "I'll be there this weekend because it's a sibling's weekend, but there's a practice Saturday morning [Ohio State] invited me to."
Ohio's second-ranked tight end and the country's 8th-ranked at the position, Farrell said there's no chance he'll end his recruitment this weekend.
"I am definitely taking other visits," he added, noting his spring trips to Penn State and Boston College that are planned. "I plan on deciding before my senior season."
Farrell will participate in Nike's The Opening regional camp series May 31st in Columbus.
BUCKEYES SURPRISE LEADERS FOR IMATORBHEBHE
In a bit of a surprise today, Suwanee, Georgia, 2016 wide receiver Josh Imatorbhebhe told 247Sports.com that out of his near 20 offers, the Buckeyes are the team at the top of his list.
“I’ll say that Ohio State is probably the team to beat right now," Imatorbhebhe told Luke Stampini of 247Sports. "I have a great relationship with Coach [Zach] Smith and Coach [Chris] Ash. They are always in constant contact with me.”
The country's 46th-ranked wide receiver visited Ohio State last fall with his brother, Daniel, a class of 2015 tight end that signed with Florida. The Buckeyes have continued to stay in touch and it appears that their work has not gone unnoticed. The Buckeyes do appear on the "crystal ball" list for Imatorbhebhe.
I'm reluctant to put too much stock into today's report because it's very early in the process and there's no return trip to Columbus planned, but it's worth noting how strong the Buckeye brand is right now.
