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.
THE RECRUITING WEEK THAT WAS
- THE HURRY UP: 07/27 | 07/28 | 07/29 | 07/30 | 07/31
- ISAIAH PRYOR COMMITMENT: Number 10 for 2017 | Impact on 2017's class
- NEXT: Are Jake Hausmann and Luke Farrell the next Heuerman/Vannett duo?
- KAREEM WALKER: Tony Alford working to keep Ohio State commitment in the class.
- DANCING SLOB: Future Buckeye Jack Wohlabaugh's touchdown dance needs work.
- REFINING THE PROTOTYPE: Danny Clark keeps grinding with Buckeyes on his mind.
- 11W MAILBAG: Lots of thoughts, discussion and more.
- BRINGING OUT THE BEST: Ohio State's 2017 class isn't afraid of competition
- TAKING HIS TIME: Lamont Wade could very well end up a Buckeye, but he's in no hurry.
- CUPP RUNNETH OVER: Gavin Cupp receives big offer from Ohio State
- BKAB: Isaiah Prince took an interesting path to becoming a Buckeye
STRITZINGER ENJOYS SECOND BUCKEYE VISIT
With dozens of big-time prospects on hand at defensive back, it could have been easy to get lost in the crowd at Friday Night Lights, especially as a defensive back. Still, Warren (Michigan) De La Salle's Allen Stritzinger found a way to get himself noticed by Kerry Coombs and the Buckeyes during his second visit to Columbus in a four-week stretch. This visit was just for camp, a bit less extensive than his previous trip.
"I was there in June," Stritzinger said. "I had a tour of the football facility when I was down there that time, not this time around."
According to the three-star athlete, who has offers from Michigan and Cincinnati among his five, the camp in Columbus was all he'd hoped.
"It was amazing," Stritzinger said of FNL. "It was a great camp, and I learned a lot. I really like how (Ohio State) runs their program. Everything is set in stone. They want people who can contribute and handle any situation."
Working with Kerry Coombs, who recruits the Detroit area for the Buckeyes, was the highlight of the night for the 6-foot-tall, 180-pounder.
"He's a very demanding coach," the De La Salle standout shared. "That's good though. He expects nothing but the best out of you and that's very relatable to me because I never give anything but my best. He told me to keep working and that (I might hear about an offer) soon."
IRISH EYES SMILING FOR HAMLIN?
Late last week, we mentioned that three Buckeye targets – Damar Hamlin, Paris Ford and David Adams – would make a visit to Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish have been a threat for Hamlin in the past, despite many believing Ohio State was the team to beat for his services. Following this visit, there's some rumblings from the 247Sports.com Notre Dame that that the Irish are confident that not only will they land Ford if they want to – his brother, NFL Jet Darrin Walls played in South Bend – but Hamlin as well. The pair of defensive backs have openly talked about their preference to attend the same college, and with a handful of common colleges on their lists, it's very possible that could happen. Hamlin must've heard the rumblings because he took to the internet to voice his displeasure with them.
I barely do interviews so how 247 saying who I like and i don't like?
— DAMAR HAMLIN (@HamlinIsland) August 2, 2015
As a rule, I generally ignore the "package deal" talk because at the end of the day, kids have to do what is best for themselves and their families and not worry about where their buddy is going to school. However, with Hamlin and Ford, the odds are higher than most because they're in different classes and have so many shared schools of interest. Ohio State feels they've done pretty well in recruiting Hamlin – he's been to campus seven times in the last year – but Ford's recruitment seems to be moving away from them.
If these two end up sticking to their guns about a package deal, it's not likely to be at Ohio State, at least not at this point.
SUSPENSION BLOWBACK ON RECRUITING
There's an old rule of thumb in politics, and recruiting, that goes something like this: "Never let a good crisis go to waste."
This past Thursday, the Buckeyes encountered their first mini-crisis of the 2015 football season when it was announced that four starters would be suspended for the season opener against Virginia Tech. Naturally, as we cover recruiting in this column, I wanted to know how other schools would use this bit of news against the Buckeyes. So, minutes after the suspensions were public I asked one high-ranking commitment if schools were already using that against the Buckeyes. His answer should not surprise you.
"(Other schools) have already been using it," the commitment said "Saying that kind of thing will happen to me, or that the coaching staff isn't really looking out for the best interest of their players."
That sort of discussion, that thought process, is expected in recruiting because literally anything you can say about your opponents – especially one cruising at the Buckeyes' altitude right now – is fair game. Sometimes, though, coaches don't give the kids they're recruiting enough credit. College coaches are not babysitters. College coaches are not running a day care. If a college student makes a poor decision that impacts the rest of his teammates, that doesn't mean every other kid is going to make the same poor decision.
"They don't really think we can make our own choices," the commit added. "I don't need someone watching me 24 hours a day to make sure I do the right things, that's not what college is about. They're trying to throw that stuff in my face."
B1G ADDITIONS
It was a good weekend for a pair of Big Ten programs.
Wisconsin added a commitment from Kansas City 2016 running back AJ Taylor, a four-star prospect that chose the Badgers over offers from Kansas State, Missouri, Nebraska and others. He's the second four-star running back in Paul Chryst's class, joining North Carolina's Antonio Williams.
Not to be outdone by their neighbor, Jerry Kill and the Minnesota Golden Gophers reeled in a surprise commitment from Dredrick Snelson, a former Top 100 player from Fort Lauderdale's American Heritage, where he was a favorite target of Buckeye freshman quarterback Torrance Gibson. Physically, Snelson is one of the country's most athletic and dynamic playmakers, but concerns about his maturity haunted him during the early part of his recruitment. He was a former Miami commit.
PRYOR CHOOSING OHIO STATE
The fine folks over at BuckeyeGrove.com had incredible connections into the Isaiah Pryor recruitment and that yielded this pretty awesome bit of insight into his commitment.
It's not often you get to see the exact moment a player commits to Urban Meyer. Kudos to Kevin Noon and Marc Givler for this glimpse into the process.
