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.
WILLIAMSON PREPARES FOR JUNIOR YEAR, REFLECTS ON FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS
Ohio State 2017 commitment Marcus Williamson was one of a handful of great players in the stadium for last week's Friday Night Lights. The country's 5th-ranked 2017 cornerback and 51st-ranked overall prospect reflected on his performance and, as usual, is his own harshest critic.
"It was a good learning experience, but I've got a lot to work on before I compete on that level again," Williamson told Eleven Warriors. "Physically, I felt good until the end, and I don't want to say my quadricep hindered me or anything, but besides the Jaelen rep, I didn't do too terribly considering it was my first camp in over a year."
Williamson has been nursing a leg injury for a few months and the "Jaelen rep" he's referencing was one specific instance where he was burnt badly by his high school teammate Jaelen Gill. For Williamson, who competes in other sports, the chance to show up and show out in front of the Buckeye coaching staff was important. He was spotted talking to Kerry Coombs a couple of times and said the Ohio State cornerbacks' coach was talking to him about how to improve his game.
"(We talked about) technique stuff at the top of the route," he said. "I've got a bad habit of looking for the ball too soon and that lost me a considerable amount of reps."
The camp portion of Friday Night Lights is one element of the event for the Buckeyes, and recruiting is another. Williamson is a member of the country's top-ranked 2017 class but says he's not really interested in trying to recruit other players too aggressively. He says everyone has their decision to make for themselves and that Ohio State doesn't need much help.
"I haven't been too involved in recruiting other guys honestly," Williamson said. "The program speaks for itself. I think people understand how amazing of a program we have in Columbus."
With the first camp in over a year out of the way, Williamson and his Westerville South teammates turn their focus to the real camp and he's excited to do that feeling healthy.
"I literally got cleared that morning (of Friday Night Lights)," he added. "I probably rushed things a bit and set myself back. Overall, it's close to 100-percent and Saturday we start two-a-days. I think we're closer as a team than ever and our realistic goal is to win every game. We've got too much talent (to lose)."
JERRON CAGE SHARES THOUGHTS ON COMMITMENT
It was not a surprise that Cincinnati Winton Woods' defensive tackle Jerron Cage committed to Ohio State. It was a surprise that he did it three days prior to Friday Night Lights, which is when the Buckeyes expected it to happen. Fortunately for Cage, the premature commitment went down when it did, because he did not make it to Friday Night Lights as expected. The 6-foot-3, 275-pound defensive tackle talked briefly with 11W about his decision to commit when he did.
"I kind of knew," Cage said when asked if he had decided to commit to Ohio State when they offered him in mid-June. "It was kind of the plan to commit early but when (Ohio State) offered I knew it was the right choice. The chance to work with Larry Johnson, Sr. is something special."
Since he committed, the Cincinnati native – whose brother is a sophomore to be at Notre Dame – says he's enjoyed the quiet.
"It's been good," Cage added. "Calm."
NO IMMEDIATE VISITS PLANNED FOR GRIMES
One player who was noticeably absent from Ohio State this entire summer was Fort Lauderdale's Trevon Grimes, the country's top-ranked 2017 wide receiver. Yes, Grimes saw the Ohio State staff during their satellite camp in Florida, but despite repeated innuendo about a potential visit to Ohio and/or a summertime commitment, neither of those things happened.
Last week, rather than heading to Columbus, rumors had Grimes heading to Florida for their version of FNL but that too, didn't happen. According to his father, Lebron, the family wanted to focus on spending more time together and less time traveling, an understandable and noble aspiration considering how much time and energy a big-time recruit expends on the camp circuit these days.
As for the upcoming season, there's no plans for any visits then, either.
"We're not sure yet," the elder Grimes shared. "We're just concentrating on this season and bringing STA another state championship."
Kudos, Grimes family. Focus on the family, the football team and the experience of being a kid. Recruiting isn't going anywhere and none of these football programs recruiting your son are, either.
BUCKEYES REMAIN ACTIVE AT CASS TECH
Last night the Buckeyes offered 2017 Detroit Cass Tech defensive back Jaylen Kelly-Powell. The 6-foot-tall, 185-pound safety already has offers from Michigan, Duke, Northwestern, Iowa, West Virginia and Wisconsin to his credit, but the Buckeyes were a team he's been waiting to hear from. He camped last week at Friday Night Lights and the Ohio State offer is something special.
"It feels great (to finally get the offer)," Kelly-Powell told Eleven Warriors. "But I know I need to work twice as hard to maintain it. I know there's a lot of great players getting better."
The Buckeyes have been recruiting Kelly-Powell for a while now and although he and his family are life-long Michigan fans, he's made it no secret that Ohio State is very high on his list.
"My family is in full support of whatever I want to do," he said. "But education is the first priority."
To that end, Kelly-Powell says a decision could come this fall and he's got a few schools near at the front of his mind.
"Ohio State, Michigan, Duke and Vanderbilt," he said of the schools he's really thinking hard about. "(I hope to decide) by the end of my junior year, but maybe during the season.
ADAMS BUCKEYE VISIT POSTPONED
The Buckeyes were expecting a visit today from Pittsburgh Central Catholic 2017 linebacker David Adams but the four-star prospect has postponed his trip.
"This visit is actually off," Adams, the country's 96th-ranked 2017 prospect told 11W. "(Urban) Meyer isn't going to be in town so (Luke) Fickell and I talked and we're going to do the visit another time."
Rather than heading to Columbus, Adams accompanied his 2016 teammate Damar Hamlin and fellow 2017 four-star Paris Ford to Notre Dame where he's checking out the Irish.
