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.
ST. THOMAS AQUINAS GETS BUCKEYE VISIT TODAY
After a lunch with 2015 signee Torrance Gibson, Ohio State assistant coach Zach Smith visited Fort Lauderdale and St. Thomas Aquinas, checking out the Raiders' practice. The primary targets at St. Thomas are the big names: Nick Bosa, Sam Bruce, and Trevon Grimes. Bosa, as we talked about earlier today, is one of a few major 2016 targets remaining, and Bruce and Grimes are a pair of wide receivers Ohio State would love to land in the 2016 and 2017 cycles, respectively.
The Buckeyes also offered a pair of 2018 defensive backs from St. Thomas: Benjamin Sapp, Jr. and Asante Samuel, Jr. It's still very early to get excited about any 2018 prospect, but the Buckeyes' reputation at St. Thomas Aquinas means they're likely to be involved with these two players as well as many more in the upcoming years.
NEW 2017 DT OFFER TALKS OHIO STATE
St. Thomas Aquinas was not the only South Florida high school that had some Buckeye flare in it today. Dillard High School and 2017 defensive lineman Jon Ford also heard from Ohio State, namely defensive line coach Larry Johnson, Sr. The 6-foot-5, 240-pound Ford found out today he was the recipient of a Buckeye scholarship offer.
"Larry Johnson was at our school," Ford said. "He talked to my coach and told him that they'd like to offer me."
The Buckeyes are a program that Ford says he'd been hoping to hear from.
"Ohio State has been a top five school for me," he said. "I would love to bring my talents to their program and help them get another ring. I've always seen them taking care of business on the field."
While he's not visited anywhere outside of Florida, Ford says he'd like to take in some places this summer. Still, while he's eager to explore, it's hard to not think about staying home. The University of Miami has six commitments in their 2017 class and each is from the Miami/Fort Lauderdale area.
"I don't have a problem with leaving home," Ford said when asked if there's any pressure to stay home. "I want to go and explore new places. I've been to Miami, FIU and FAU. Still, I think I'd rather stay home for college."
The Buckeye offer may not be enough to get Ford to consider leaving South Florida, there's no doubt that Ohio State will be active in trying.
PURDUE MAKING MOVES IN THE BIG TEN...FOR BASKETBALL OF COURSE
Although they've got only one football commitment for 2016, Purdue made big waves today when they received a commitment from the country's 18th-ranked 2015 basketball prospect, Fort Wayne's Caleb Swanigan.
Mr. Basketball Caleb Swanigan commits to Purdue. http://t.co/qtrRgWvg2f #BoilerUp pic.twitter.com/TrzsJMnSgN
— IndyStar (@indystar) May 19, 2015
A five-star prospect, Swanigan had been committed to Michigan State for roughly a month before decommitting last week. The pledge to Purdue was not only a shock to Michigan State, but also a big win for Matt Painter over Kentucky and a suddenly exploding California. The pledge gives Purdue an extremely formidable front line under the basket. This from the Detroit Free Press.
"He wants to win a national championship and said he wants to do it in the state of Indiana and wanted to do it at a place he's never done it before. Purdue was the perfect fit with their personnel coming back and coach (Matt) Painter as coach. It fit the criteria."
Purdue returns two centers: 7-foot senior A.J. Hammons, a second-team All-Big Ten player last season, and 7-2 sophomore Isaac Haas. Swanigan presumably would play the traditional power forward spot for the Boilermakers.
The Big Ten is getting better and the Buckeyes 2015 recruiting class, which ranks as the best in the conference, just got another big test.
PARIS FORD ON THE VERGE OF A BUCKEYE OFFER?
Pittsburgh has long been a key recruiting area for the Buckeyes and even though they've failed to strike gold there in the last few years, they keep going back to the well. Today they stopped by Seton-La Salle to see 6-foot-2, 180-pound 2017 athlete/defensive back Paris Ford.
OSU visited today...
— Paris Ford1 (@DiddyBop1_) May 19, 2015
Right now Ford, the country's 143rd-ranked prospect in 2017, doesn't have a Buckeye offer, but they are the team to beat in the sometimes-worth-paying-attention-to 247Sports.com crystal ball.
Ford is slated to call Ohio State tonight and a potential offer from the Buckeyes could be looming.
