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.
TRISTEN WALLACE'S IMPACT ON OHIO STATE
If by some chance you missed today's big news, here it is: DeSoto, Texas 2016 quarterback Tristen Wallace committed to the Buckeyes this afternoon. The country's third-ranked dual-threat quarterback, Wallace is one of the premier athletes at his position, measuring in at 6-foot-3, 228-pounds and regularly running a 40-yard-dash in sub 4.5 seconds.
A former teammate of current Buckeye Dontre Wilson at DeSoto, Wallace originally committed to Texas Tech in early January, decommitting in early March. He made a late March visit to Columbus with his parents and that trip caught his eye enough that the Buckeyes became the primary threat to land him.
Of course, there was still one little problem: the Buckeyes wanted to know where they stood with New Jersey's Jarrett Guarantano, who was scheduled to commit today at 3:00 p.m. An early week meeting with Guarantano post-Easter – a week before his decision date – gave the Buckeyes all the info they needed and the heat was officially turned up on Wallace last week. The draw, according to Wallace, was simple: Urban Meyer.
"“I know coach Meyer is going to be hard on me and be just like my dad,” Wallace told 247Sports.com. “Coach Meyer knows a lot about football and how how to develop quarterbacks like he did with Tim Tebow and Cam Newton.”
As for Wallace's development, the Buckeyes are – according to one source – "thrilled to land him." He's big, he's fast and he's supremely athletic, a combination that Meyer covets for his offense.
From a recruiting standpoint, the benefits are as evident. He's from a recruiting hotbed in Texas and shows that Tim Beck, not just Tom Herman, can make big waves while wearing the Block O. Wallace's commitment will shut down any further quarterback recruiting in 2016 and barring something significant happening roster-wise, it's likely we've seen the last recruit at the position until 2018 with Akron Archbishop Hoban's Danny Clark already committed for 2017.
Bottom line: Wallace is no consolation prize. In fact, two of the four major recruiting services have Wallace ahead of Guarantano, who committed to Tennessee this afternoon. Ohio State is getting a very talented prospect with a huge upside and a kid who is a leader on – and off – the field. Wallace is a yes-sir, no-sir kid who wants discipline and has an intense passion for improving his craft.
WADE SAYS NOT SO FAST, JUDSON HAS GATORS GAINING
Reports this morning were circulating that Ohio State 2017 commitment Shaun Wade would be making his first visit to Columbus this weekend in time for the Buckeyes' spring football game. Those reports were based on a tweet by the aforementioned Danny Clark, the ringleader of the 2017 class.
Just got word @shaunwade2017 will be with @4way_lilbruce and I this weekend! Sensational 17 cliqued up like The Avengers! #BuckeyeFamily
— PROTOTYPE (@DClarkQB) April 15, 2015
Certainly Clark's tweet doesn't leave much room for interpretation, but when I spoke to the Jacksonsville Trinity star junior-to-be this morning he was not certain the visit would take place.
"We're trying to get my ticket," Wade told 11W. "My parents have to let me know if they can."
Bruce Judson, on the other hand, is verified and will be in Columbus on Friday. He and Clark plan to spend most of Friday evening together. This visit to Ohio State is vital for the Buckeyes and their hopes of retaining Judson's commitment, especially after the events of this past week around his former teammate Jamel Dean.
Last weekend Judson made a trip to Gainesville and watched the Gators' spring game and if reports are to believed, they made a big impression on the Cocoa, Florida star athlete.
“Yeah it helps them out,” Judson told GatorCountry.com. “I’m going to Ohio State on Friday but Florida is the number two school on my list. Florida has about a 30 or 40 percent chance right now but I can tell that they’re going to be gaining.”
WILLIAMSON WILL BE ON CAMPUS AGAIN THIS WEEKEND
This past Sunday 2017 Westerville South defensive back Marcus Williamson told 11W he was not yet sure if he'd be able to get back to campus at Ohio State this weekend.
"I am going to try and make it next weekend," Williamson said of the spring game. "I have prom, but hopefully I'll make it."
Today, Williamson confirmed that he would, in fact, be on hand for the spring game.
"I'm going," Williamson told 11W. "I'll leave a little early if needed."
NO HANSFORD THIS WEEKEND
Recent Buckeye visitor Aaron Hansford, a teammate of current Ohio State commitment Terrell Hall, had hoped he'd get back to Columbus this weekend – at least temporarily –but that does not appear to be in the cards. The Buckeyes are currently the crystal ball leader for Hansford.
He could make another big visit this weekend instead of a return to Ohio State; there's discussion he could check out Penn State which is a bit closer to home. He, like many other Buckeye targets, will be taking the ACT on Saturday.
