The Hurry Up: Nate Craig Talking Up Buckeyes, Ahmir Mitchell Gets a Look, More Ohio State Recruiting News

NATE CRAIG-MYERS SAYING ALL THE RIGHT THINGS

Since he decommitted from Auburn last week, Nate Craig-Myers, the country's top-ranked 2016 wide receiver, hasn't said much publicly. This week, Rivals.com analyst Marc Givler was on location in Tampa ($$) and had a chance to sit down and talk to NCM face-to-face. In regard to Ohio State, Craig-Myers said what people have known for some time: he's always been a fan of the Buckeyes and Urban Meyer being in Columbus makes them an attractive option for him. 

"Growing up that was the school that I always watched and it was one of my dream schools," Craig-Myers said. "I have a great interest in them and I talk to coach (Tony) Alford and coach (Urban) Meyer a lot. I just want to get up there for a visit."

I'm not the overly optimistic sort, but there's something about Craig-Myers recruitment that feels eerily similar to the way Torrance Gibson's went, minus the weekly "Top 7" lists and overly-theatric social media antics. NCM, like Gibson, grew up a big fan of Urban Meyer and although things were up and down early in his recruitment with Ohio State – Craig-Myer's commitment to Auburn was a surprise – the Buckeyes are there when it matters. The key, much like it was with Gibson, is to get the 6-foot-2, 205-pound wide receiver on campus this summer, which is reportedly in the works. Remember, Gibson never made it to campus until Friday Night Lights, weeks before the start of his senior season and from that point forward it was all Ohio State for him. 

Craig-Myers is a former teammate of current Buckeye commitment Malik Barrow, now at the IMG Academy, but Barrow has also reportedly been working hard to talk up the Buckeyes. As I noted last week, Tony Alford and Zach Smith will get very involved here moving forward, but – again, as with Gibson – this might be one that requires some personal touch from Urban Meyer himself to pull this talent from Florida.

AHMIR MITCHELL GETS KEY BUCKEYE VISIT

New Jersey wide receiver/athlete Ahmir Mitchell tweeted last week that he was getting close to making a college decision and many have begun speculating that Ohio State and Michigan are the perceived favorites. Today, Zach Smith and Ed Warinner were at Cedar Creek High School to check out the 6-foot-3, 210-pounder and to try and see exactly how he could fit into Ohio State's plans. 

There's talk from some close to Mitchell that they'd prefer he slow down the recruiting process a bit and let things play out, so it will be interesting to see what happens from this point forward. The country's 79th-ranked overall prospect is behind a a few names on Ohio State's wide receiver board. Right now, there's a number of prospects that Ohio State is looking at and only a few who they see as surefire, can't lose prospects. The separation from No. 4 on the list to No. 10 on the list is negligible, so it really comes down to what happens with the top of the list before anything can be known beyond that. Don't be surprised if Mitchell makes a trip Ohio State soon, potentially on May 19th before before makes a trip to South Bend, Indiana to check out Notre Dame.

CORLEY TALK

One of the players ahead of Mitchell, as we've discussed frequently, is Detroit Martin Luther King's Donnie Corley, Jr. Corley was at Michigan State earlier this week, and a tweet by the Spartans' head coach Mark Dantonio had some wondering if the 6-foot-2, 180-pounder had committed to Michigan State on the trip.

Future gets Brighter!! Add one more to 2016 class! #Crusader #V4MSU

— Mark Dantonio (@DantonioMark) May 12, 2015

Later that night, Michigan State added a commitment from Jonah Morris, a wide recevier from Akron, and the next day picked up two more pledges – defensive back Demetric Vance and offensive lineman Thiyo Lukusa – both key commitments for Michigan State but neither at a school nicknamed the "Crusaders." Martin Luther King, Jr. High School is nicknamed the Crusaders, so did Dantonio let a silent verbal slip or was he just making an effort to prod Corley along? Either way, there's been no public declaration by Corley, and a commitment was denied by sources close to him, but he could be a reason for the Buckeyes being less-than-decisive on players like the aforementioned Ahmir Mitchell.

Ohio State would really like to see Corley back on campus sometime soon, and are working to try and arrange for a visit in the near future. Since he's already been invited to The Opening, it's unlikely he'd come down at the end of the month to couple a visit with Nike regional camp, so it'd need to be just a family visit for Corley.

WARINNER SEES ANGELINE TODAY, RASHAN GARY TOMORROW

Aside from Ahmir Mitchell, the Buckeyes also checked in on Pennsylvania tight end Cary Angeline again today, as well as another New Jersey wide receiver, Kelvin Harmon. Tomorrow, he's expected to stop at Paramus High School and make another attempt to impress upon the country's top prospect (Rashan Gary) how important he is to the continued success of the Ohio State defense. Gary is just one of a handful of big-time prospects at Paramus, including another highly-ranked defensive tackle, 2017's Corey Bolds.

Yesterday, Ohio State's Luke Fickell and Kerry Coombs were in Georgia and stopped in on Richard LeCounte, who remains very high on the board for 2017. LeCounte told me he's considering a visit to Columbus for The Opening regionals at the end of the month if he can arrange it, doubling up a big camp experience with another chance to see Ohio State and his "brother" Raekwon McMillan. Ohio State, Georgia, and Miami remain high on LeCounte's list.

Zach Smith is expected in South Florida tomorrow, so don't be surprised if Coconut Creek and wide receiver Binjimen Victor are on his list of stops.

IMATORBHEBHE DECISION COMING

Another wide receiver on the radar is North Gwinett, Georgia's Josh Imatorbhebhe and he tweeted last night he'd be making a decision sometime next week. 

Top 7 Decision Coming Soon.... Stay Tuned pic.twitter.com/FoJqEYtoq9

— Josh Imatorbhebhe (@Ball4Him_24) May 14, 2015

Last year, Daniel Imatorbhebhe, a tight end, signed with Florida, and the Gators are one of a handful of impressive programs on the 2016 wide receiver's list. The Buckeyes, as you can see, are on the list, but there's basically no reason to consider that they're a legitimate option for him at this time. Josh is a 6-foot-2, 205-pounder ranked as the country's 33rd-best wide receiver.