The Hurry Up is your nightcap of Ohio State recruiting news, catching you up on the day’s events with an ear on the ground for what’s next.
WALKER TO VISIT OHIO STATE NEXT WEEK
After a recent visit to Arizona State, the rumors around Kareem Walker and the strength of his commitment to Ohio State have once again cranked back up. In fact, some have even placed 247Sports.com crystal ball predictions for the Sun Devils, thanks in part to a connection between the team doctor at De Paul Catholic and Arizona State.
With the rumors out there, Walker has stayed a bit under-the-radar of late and today broke his silence a bit, tweeting about a recent important conversation he had with Ohio State running backs' coach Tony Alford.
"It was nothing about football," Walker said of the conversation. "It was just personal talk."
A few hours ago, Walker went back to Twitter and confirmed what he'd told Eleven Warriors a few weeks ago: he'd be visiting Ohio State in the near future.
Zone 6 next week. #Buckeyes
— AlightyReem (@_KareemWalker) July 28, 2015
"I'll be going there Monday and Tuesday," Walker added. "I'll be leaving Wednesday."
RENE UPDATE
Yesterday Patrice Rene informed 11W that he was waiting to talk with the Ohio State coaching staff today to hear their final input on his spot with the Buckeyes.
I've talked to a few sources today and while the conversation around Rene has been overwhelmingly positive thanks in part to his very solid outing at Friday Night Lights, I do not expect to see him end up in Ohio State's 2016 class and I've tabbed him as likely heading to Rutgers. Virginia Tech or North Carolina could still spoil the Scarlet Knights pursuit.
BUCKEYES OFFER 2017 DEFENSIVE LINEMAN FROM PENNSYLVANIA
Heading into last Friday, Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania defensive lineman Donovan Jeter made no bones about wanting to earn an Ohio State offer. Tonight, the 6-foot-4, 260-pound lineman got the news:
Extremely blessed to get my 11th offer from THE DEFENDING NATIONAL CHAMPS Of Ohio State #BuckeyeNation
— 7 God (@JeteNificent34) July 28, 2015
The offer is, as you can see, the 11th for Jeter, who is the country's 19th-ranked defensive tackle and a four-star recruit in the 2017 cycle. This summer he's visited Ohio State twice (he also camped with the Buckeyes in June) and he's made trips to Penn State and West Virginia as well.
JARVIS LOOKING FORWARD TO MORE TIME WITH BUCKEYES
One of the offensive lineman that impressed at Ohio State's Friday Night Lights last week was Kevin Jarvis, a 2017 big man from Park Ridge, Illinois.
"I dominated," Jarvis said confidently when asked how his night went. "Ohio State thought I did well and they want me to call them later this week."
One highlight for Jarvis was the chance to work alongside Ed Warinner and the Buckeye coaching staff. He says an offer from Ohio State, were it to come, would mean a lot for his recruiting process.
"He is a great coach," Jarvis said of Warinner. "He's very thorough. An offer from (the Buckeyes) would mean everything to me. I'm extremely interested in Ohio State."
DEMARCO ARTIS BLOWN AWAY BY OHIO STATE EXPERIENCE
Another 2017 prospect who was at Ohio State last week was Seminole, Florida defensive end DeMarco Artis. Artis is a 6-foot-3, 212-pounder who currently holds an offer from Kentucky and Florida Atlantic. The Buckeyes exceeded expectations for Artis.
"It was amazing," he said of the visit. "More than I expected. The facilities are what stood out the most."
Artis also got a chance to talk with Urban Meyer and he admired the candor of the future Hall of Fame coach.
"I like how forward Urban Meyer was," he said. "He told me to keep working and keep grinding. I also worked with Joey Bosa and a few of the defensive lineman. Bosa seems like a real humble guy and he taught me a lot of stuff."
The Florida native also checked out campus and was impressed, but not overwhelmed.
"I liked (the campus,)" he added. "It's big, but it's not too big. I didn't think I'd ever see a campus that big."
2018 RANKINGS GET EARLY RELEASE
It's hard to project how an average high school football player will develop and grow after just one year of high school football, but that doesn't mean anyone is going to hold off from creating unnecessary rankings for 2018 prospects. Today, some were released so let's take a look at them.
Here's a few key names from a Scout.com update today, courtesy of Ryan Ginn. The Buckeyes aren't aggressively pursuing many 2018 kids yet, but a few of the guys on this list are going to be heard about for years to come.
(Note: the players aren't necessarily ranked, just given a star ranking.)
- Tyreke Johnson // Defensive Back // Trinity Christian (Jacksonville, Fla.) // ★★★★★
- Micah Parsons // Defensive End // Central Dauphin SHS (Harrisburg, Pa.)) // ★★★★★
- Zamir White // Running Back // Scotland HS (Laurinburg, NC) // ★★★★
- Teradja Mitchell // Linebacker // Bayside HS (Virginia Beach, Va.) // ★★★★
- Matt Jones // Defensive Tackle // Erasmus Hall (Brooklyn, NY) // ★★★★
- Ricky Slade // Running Back // CD Hylton (Woodbridge, Va.) // ★★★★
- Jaelen Gill // Running Back // South (Westerville, Ohio) // ★★★★
- Nicholas Bonitto // Defensive End // St. Thomas Aquinas (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) // ★★★★
- Jalen Mayden // Quarterback // Sachse (Sachse, Texas) // ★★★★
- Brian Snead // Running Back // Armwood HS (Sneffer, Fla.) // ★★★★
There's a number of Buckeye connections on this list, so while it's too early to project out for 2018, the "ins" are there for the Ohio State staff. Tyreke Johnson is a teammate of 2017 commitment Shaun Wade, the Buckeyes have made serious in-roads into Virginia, including at CD Hylton where 2015 signee Matt Burrell went to school. Tim Beck has a well-established name in Texas and the Buckeyes were at the top for Jared Mayden. Brian Snead has Ohio State as an early leader and we're all aware of the Buckeye presence at St. Thomas Aquinas.
BIG DAY FOR BIG BLUE NATION
While they've not yet landed a player that Ohio State was actively recruiting inside of the Buckeye state's borders, it's impossible to ignore what Vince Marrow and the Kentucky recruiting staff have done in recent years recruiting Ohio. Today, the Wildcats added two more big 2017 pieces to their future program when a pair of Northwest Ohioans, Craig "Russ" Yeast and Michael Warren, Jr., committed to Kentucky.
Yeast, a three-star wide receiver who could also be a high-level defensive back, is the son of former UK star Craig Yeast, who went on the play in the NFL. Warren is a four-star prospect from Toledo Central Catholic and the country's 102nd-ranked 2017 prospect. He camped at Ohio State last week for Friday Night Lights, but was not offered by the Buckeyes. One potential side-effect to the Warren commitment? His teammate, two-way lineman James Hudson, almost immediately followed suit.
After discussing this with my family, I am committing to The University Of Kentucky #BBN #WhyNot pic.twitter.com/KXcMrnslvp
— James Hudson III (@__BallisLife2) July 28, 2015
Although none of this trio currently holds a Buckeye offer, getting a commitment now is big for the Wildcats chances of keeping them in tow later if Ohio State comes calling.
