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.
MACK, MCCALL HOPING TO RETURN TONIGHT
Two of Ohio State's top-ranked 2016 commitments, wide receiver Austin Mack and athlete Demario McCall, are expected back on their respective fields tonight.
Mack suffered a concussion two weeks ago and missed his team's game last week against rival Wayne, but he's doing well and is full go tonight against Northrop.
As for McCall, the country's second-ranked running back has not yet played for North Ridgeville this season. The Rangers are 2-0, but McCall's high ankle sprain has sidelined him thus far. He's expected to try and give it a go tonight against Berea Midpark. It's not likely that McCall carries the full load for Luke Durbin's team, but any opportunity for him to be in the game changes the way teams will try to defend North Ridgeville.
WKYC.com has a nice game preview video of the key Northeast Ohio matchup.
BIG WEEKEND IN EAST LANSING HAS MANY OHIOANS ON TAP
While the Buckeyes are opening their home schedule this weekend against the Rainbow Warriors of Hawai'i, Michigan State is preparing to host Oregon in East Lansing in one of the season's biggest games. With a game of this magnitude happening only hours away from Columbus, it stands to reason that a host of the region's best recruits – and Ohio State-level prospects – will be on hand to check out what Mark Dantonio and the Spartans have going on.
Who is expected in East Lansing?
In the 2017 class from Ohio, the Spartans are eager to make an impression on Olentangy Liberty's Brendon White, a Buckeye legacy that they offered last week. Joining White will be Cincinnati offensive lineman Matt Bockhorst and Cleveland wide receiver Javonte Richardson. Michigan State has offered both, and with the way things are shaking out for the Buckeyes at wide receiver, expect Sparty to have a better-than-average shot at Richardson, who is versatile enough to play a number of other positions. Mansfield's Tyrell Ajian, who visited Notre Dame last weekend, will also travel to East Lansing. The country's second-ranked center, Sam Gerak from Avon, Ohio, will also be on-hand.
In Ohio's 2018 class, offer Jaelen Gill and rising-sophomore L'Christian "Blue" Smith are expected at the game as well.
As for non-Ohioans with Buckeye interest? That's not a short list either.
Donnie Corley, the four-star 2016 wide receiver from Detroit, will be in East Lansing again. Corley visited Notre Dame last weekend with 2017 teammate Ambry Thomas and 2017 Detroit Cass Tech defensive back Jaylen Kelly-Powell, each of whom has a Buckeye offer and each of whom will be at Michigan State tomorrow.
2017 Michigan prospects, Donovan Peoples-Jones and Corey Malone-Hatcher each have Buckeye offers and they'll also be there watching the Spartans take on the Ducks.
Two of the top 2017 national prospects that will be in attendance are very high on Ohio State's list: Lawrenceville, Georgia's Jamyest Williams and Princeton, New Jersey's Fred Hansard. Williams was one of the first prospects in the 2017 class that Ohio State contacted on September 1st and is a teammate of Isaiah Pryor, one of the top-ranked Buckeye commits for 2017. Williams is making his fourth visit to Michigan State, so there's clearly a lot of interest between the two parties.
With nearly 600 tickets requested for recruits, their families and their coaches, this is the defining weekend of the year for Michigan State, who currently has the country's 12th-ranked 2016 class.
NEW 2017 OFFER GOES OUT
Ohio State has the top-ranked 2017 recruiting class currently and with ten commitments already in the fold, they've been able to move a bit slower on filling things out. Still, when they see a player they want, the offers are moving quickly and yesterday it was Hyattsville, Maryland (DeMatha Catholic) defensive end Chase Young who added the Buckeyes to his rapidly growing offer list.
4th of the day, tremendously honored to receive a offer from,The Ohio State Buckeyes!!!#gobuckeyes #blessed pic.twitter.com/DdRwM0fevz
— Chase Young (@youngchase907) September 11, 2015
Young also picked up offers in the last day from Alabama, Georgia, Boston College and Iowa and the 6-foot-5, 220-pounder is one of the country's fastest-rising prospects. His impressive highlight tape helps shed some light on why.
Ohio State's 2016 defensive end commitments are two of the country's best and they'll look to refill the cupboard in 2017. Young saw the Buckeyes up close and personal on Monday night when he took a visit to Virginia Tech.
WHO COULD 2016 SURPRISE BE?
In 2013 it was Marcus Baugh, in 2014 it was Jalyn Holmes and Johnnie Dixon and in 2015 it was Isaiah Prince and KJ Hill. The guys that Ohio State signs come February aren't always the guys people expect, and it's become reasonable to expect one "surprise" guy every recruiting cycle.
Last week, I was talking with BuckeyeGrove.com analyst Marc Givler during the Westerville South and Gahanna Lincoln game and we were discussing this very topic. We both felt that with so few spots left in the 2016 class, any "surprise" would need to be a big-time national kid and the name we both came back to was Nigel Warrior.
Warrior has not yet visited Ohio State, but has consistently listed the Buckeyes as one of his top teams and has stated repeatedly they will definitely receive one of his official visits. The Buckeyes were the first team to offer Warrior last year when he was at Westlake (Atlanta) and have stayed in regular contact with him since his move to Peachtree Ridge in Suwanee. The country's 62nd-ranked overall prospect, Warrior has close ties to two different SEC schools (Georgia and Tennessee, where his father, Dale Carter, played college football) and for Ohio State to land him would truly be a steal and a surprise.
Kerry Coombs and Chris Ash have been recruiting Warrior, and in recent weeks he's been more receptive and responsive to Ohio State. Still, until he visits, it's a pipe-dream, but an interesting one nonetheless.
