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.
DEFENSIVE BACKFIELD BACK-UP?
Today, in an interview with 247Sports.com analyst Tom Loy, Pittsburgh's Paris Ford, a 2017 standout safety, shared something interesting about his interest in Ohio State.
Ford isn’t ready to name a leader or even a list of favorites. However, when asked about which schools are standing out and which programs have grabbed his attention, he listed five.
“I’d say Notre Dame, Penn State, Virginia Tech Arizona State and Pittsburgh,” said Ford. “I feel comfortable with the coaches and the schools and those are probably the ones recruiting me the hardest.”
One glaring omission is Ohio State. When asked about his trip to Columbus for Friday Night Lights and where the Buckeyes stand, Ford said “I really don’t know.”
“They are picking up all of these four-star and five-star recruits, especially in the secondary,” said Ford. “I mean, it’s Ohio State and they’re a great program and I like the staff a lot. But to be honest, I’m not feeling them as much as I once was. I just think they have others they are higher on and have taken a lot of defensive backs.”
As a reminder, Ford's brother, Darrin Walls, played at Notre Dame, but the interesting thing here is that, with nearly 18 months to signing day 2017, schools and recruiters are already holding Ohio State's success in that class against the Buckeyes. Nevermind that literally anything can happen in recruiting these days, nevermind that Shaun Wade's commitment could flip any point, nevermind that Isaiah Pryor likely ends up linebacker in college if he keeps growing; nevermind all that.
Success breeds envy and envy breeds ugliness and the Buckeyes are certainly going to be in the crosshairs for most teams and that will bring with it a lot of misinformation and discussion aimed at knocking them from their perch. As for Ford, he's one of handful of offers in the 2017 class, one that could number up to six in the defensive backfield, and the Buckeyes absolutely do not have many others higher on their board. The interview previews Ford's upcoming visit to Notre Dame – with his good friend Damar Hamlin – and certainly poses an interesting question. Is too much early success a bad thing come signing day?
Ford's a top-flight national talent, ranked as the country's 90th-overall prospect so his opinions – whether justifiable or not – matter. Is he alone in that concern? Here's what another top 2017 Pennsylvania defensive back – Lamont Wade – told BuckeyeGrove.com guru Marc Givler.
"It's really nothing to me," he said. "I don't have any problems with how many (defensive backs) they are bringing in for 2017 because I'm always going to work for my spot. I think it's a good thing and I think that if I were to get on board, it would be one of the best defensive back classes ever."
In fact, in some ways, Wade looks at the talented crop of defensive backs already in the fold as a positive.
"I look at it as a good thing, as a challenge," he said. "I'd go in there and I wouldn't be able to take any days off or be able to slack at all. I've got to work one-hundred percent every single day, and I love that, so I wouldn't shy away from it."
#curious
HANSFORD SCHEDULES OFFICIAL VISIT TO OHIO STATE
The Buckeyes are not going to turn down top talent – ever – so when Aaron Hanford, one of the country's top athletes at linebacker, wants to schedule an official visit, you welcome him. Even if you're not actively pursuing linebackers at this point in 2016's class because, as noted above, anything can happen.
According to Scout.com East Coast analyst Brian Dohn, Hansford, a 6-foot-2, 210-pound teammate of Terrell Hall at St. John's College in D.C., will visit Ohio State officially on September 12th for their home game against Hawaii.
Hansford, who participated in Nike's The Opening, also scheduled officials to Florida (September 5th) and Notre Dame (September 19th).
KICKING IT INTO HIGH GEAR
When Jim Tressel made a scholarship offer to long-snapper Bryce Haynes in 2011, there were a lot of folks who thought that The Senator must've been going crazy. Offering a long-snapper a scholarship? That's bananas.
Fast forward to 2015, and the next scholarship long-snapper, incoming freshman Liam McCullough is making his way into the program and guys like him all over the country have become integral to the success of football teams from coast to coast. McCullough joined the 2015 class, a year after 2014 yielded kicker Sean Nuernberger, one of the country's best kickers. In 2016's top-ranked class, the Buckeyes have a commitment from the country's top-ranked punter (Drue Chrisman) and last week they added a verbal pledge from 2017 place kicker Blake Haubeil, a New Yorker who impressed the Ohio State staff during Friday Night Lights.
See a trend? Special teams isn't passé even though the Buckeyes are one of the country's most explosive offensive units. Urban Meyer and his coaching staff, spearheaded by Kerry Coombs, continue to make it a priority to recruit a complete football team.
NIGEL WARRIOR RELEASES TOP 10
The Buckeyes were the first team to offer Peachtree Ridge (Suwanee, Georgia) 2016 defensive back Nigel Warrior, extending a scholarship offer to the four-star Tennessee legacy last year. Now the country's 65th-ranked player and one of the most sought-after players in the country, Warrior is starting to break down his now 30 offers and cut his list of potential schools to 10.
TP 10 pic.twitter.com/CkV8tzrHei
— WARRIORSZN (@CHECK_UP_) July 28, 2015
Warrior has stated previously that the Buckeyes were likely to receive one of his five official visits, but it doesn't appear that a date for that has been set at this time. He's one of a handful of big-time defensive prospects that Ohio State is still recruiting.
