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.
GONE-AN-TANO
Ohio State's top recruiting target at quarterback will finally make his choice tomorrow. Jarrett Guarantano, the country's 131st-ranked prospect and sixth-ranked pro-style quarterback will decide between Ohio State, Tennessee, and Rutgers in a ceremony at his high school at 3:00 p.m.
Ohio State was at one time the favorite to land Guarantano, but at this point Tennessee has overtaken the Buckeyes as the likely landing point. His 247Sports.com crystal ball reflects that change.
What caused the change? Depth charts. Ohio State's very deep at quarterback and no matter what Guarantano liked about the Buckeyes in the beginning, that amount of competition is impossible to ignore.
I fully expect Guarantano to pick Tennessee tomorrow, and the Buckeyes will move on quickly to try and secure DeSoto's Tristen Wallace, which would still be a homerun for the recruiting class.
GRIMES TALKS TRACK, FOOTBALL PREPARATION AND RECRUITING
One of Ohio State's top 2017 targets, St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale) wide receiver Trevon Grimes, spent some time talking SouthFloridaHighSchoolSports.com about track, preparing for football and recruiting.
Grimes talked about recently running a 13.7 in the 110-high hurdles in the Texas relays, good for the third fastest time in the country, an exceptional time for an athlete at 6-foot- 4 and almost 200-pounds. As far as recruiting goes, Grimes talked preparing for his spring game at St. Thomas Aquinas and made no bones about why the Buckeyes are the leader in his recruitment, because they offer him a chance to feel at home.
"Overall atmosphere, great coaching staff, I just want to be able to feel like home," Grimes said when asked what he's looking for in a college. "Ohio State is my leader, I'm from Indiana, it feels like home to me. Urban Meyer is a great coach, chemistry, little things like that."
Grimes also talked about his friendship with fellow 2017 Floridian Kyshaun Bryan, a running back from American Heritage High School who also has a Buckeye offer. Bryan is a high school teammate of Ohio State signee Torrance Gibson.
2017 OFF TO A GREAT START
247Sports.com released their initial Top 247 for 2017 after releasing their Top 100 in August. LSU commitment Dylan Moses, a linebacker from Baton Rouge is the top prospect in the country but the Buckeyes are well-represented and if early returns/interest is any indicator, could be in line for a special 2017 class.
With four currently committed 2017 prospects (No. 3 Josh Myers, No. 15 Shaun Wade, No. 169 Danny Clark and No. 207 Bruce Judson) the Buckeyes have more pledges in the initial release than any other program. A quick scan of the complete list shows significant promise for the 2017 class, which – if Urban Meyer were to retire at the end of his newly signed contract extension – could be the last group to play four years for the current Buckeye head coach. Who is reasonably in the mix for Ohio State?
- No. 7 Trevon Grimes // Wide Receiver // Fort Lauderdale
- No. 13 Donovan Peoples-Jones // Wide Receiver // Detroit
- No. 23 Jeff Thomas // Wide Receiver // East St. Louis
- No. 47 Richard LeCounte // Defensive Back // Hinesville, Ga.
- No. 49 Keyshawn Johnson, Jr. // Wide Receiver // Calabassa, Calif.
- No. 67 Kyshaun Bryan // Running Back // Fort Lauderdale
- No. 87 Marcus Williamson // Defensive Back // Westerville, Ohio
- No. 101 Jerron Cage // Defensive Tackle // Cincinnati
- No. 108 Michael Warren // Running Back // Toledo
- No. 115 Danny Davis // Wide Receiver // Springfield, Ohio
- No. 123 Cameron Spence // Defensive Tackle // Baltimore (IMG Academy)
- No. 130 Lamont Wade // Defensive Back // Clairton, Pa.
- No. 131 James Hudson // Defensive Lineman // Toledo
- No. 150 Todd Sibley, Jr. // Running Back // Akron
- No. 181 Jaylen Kelly-Powell // Defensive Back // Detroit
- No. 215 Javonte Richardson // Wide Receiver // Maple Heights, Ohio
If you're one of those people expecting a recruiting slowdown from the Buckeyes, I'd think again.
EDMONDS PICKS STANFORD OVER OHIO STATE
Ohio State was surprised to learn late last night that Chatanooga, Tennesee defensive back Nygel Edmonds, who visited the Buckeyes two weeks ago, was ready to make his commitment. As the announcement of a pending announcement was announced, the prognosticators went into a frenzy, whipping up crystal balls, many of which were in the favor of Ohio State.
Unfortunately, Edmonds selected Stanford over the Buckeyes just about two hours ago. The Buckeyes will continue their search for defensive backs to join the 2016 mix elsewhere.
MENET SAYS HE HAS FINAL TWO, BUCKEYES OUT OF THE MIX
More bad news for the Buckeyes 2016 recruiting efforts today as Michal Menet, the country's 7th-ranked offensive tackle, has narrowed down to his list to two finalists, neither of which are Ohio State.
Duke and Penn State are the remaining two schools for Menet, who has been a high priority target for the Buckeyes. Penn State has long been considered the favorite but Duke's resurgent football program and academic excellence is opening a lot of eyes nationally.
