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.
MCCALL HONORED WITH ARMY ALL-AMERICAN JERSEY
Demario McCall became the latest member of the 2016 US Army All-American team to have his jersey presentation when North Ridgeville got the big visit today.
The Midwest team is excited to officially invite RB @DemarioMccall to the @ArmyAllAmerican today at North Ridgeville H.S.! #ArmyBowlTour
— USAAAB Tour (@SelectionTour) September 24, 2015
McCall, who missed the first two weeks of his senior season with an ankle injury, is back and playing at 90-percent for the Rangers according to his head coach Luke Durbin.
GERALD LEAVING IMG
According to multiple sources today, Ohio State 2016 commitment Tyler Gerald is leaving the IMG Academy and coming back to Ohio where he intends to have a procedure to repair a labrum injury and finalize his academic requirements before enrolling early with the Buckeyes.
The 6-foot-5, 300-pound Gerald injured his shoulder almost two months ago. He had been playing through the injury but will no longer risk exacerbating the issue and instead will get the medical attention he needs in order to be healthy for his freshman year at Ohio State.
Fellow 2016 commitment Austin Mack had a similar procedure last November and was competing at 100-percent by the end of this past June.
BOSA TO UNDER-ARMOUR ALL-AMERICAN GAME
Nick Bosa didn't participate in summer recruiting combines, he didn't shill for attention on the circuit in order to raise his already lofty rankings and he didn't lobby for a shot to play in one of the two premier All-American games because he's not the type of kid who really cares that much about the attention. Still, he's honored today to be chosen for the Under-Armour All-American game where he'll play alongside Ohio State commit Kareem Walker.
Extremely happy to announce that I will be playing in the Under Armor All American Game! @HamiltonESPN @UnderArmour #stapride
— Nick Bosa (@nbsmallerbear) September 24, 2015
News surfaced yesterday that Bosa's Ohio State official – which was scheduled for the Penn State game – would have to be pushed back due to his senior prom. This evening Bill Kurelic and 247sports.com confirmed that he will be skipping prom and the Penn State official visit is back on ($$). That is some serious dedication.
AUBURN CONTINUES TO CHASE OTHER DEFENSIVE TACKLES
Ohio State defensive tackle target Antwuan Jackson will be visiting Auburn again this weekend, two weeks after his most recent visit to Columbus and a week after a key visit to Georgia. Jackson was rumored to be making a college choice this week, but that proved to be false and at present there's no plan for a decision anytime soon.
This weekend, Rashan Gary is officially visiting Michigan, and Gary is another of the big targets for Auburn. Interesting to note is that right now Auburn is selling "early playing time" as something they can offer Jackson that Ohio State can't, which anyone who watches Buckeye football knows isn't true.
Auburn has also recently been linked to Travonte Valentine, a former LSU Tiger who transferred to Arizona Western Community College. He's a 6-foot-3, 325-pound defensive tackle who ranks as the country's top JUCO prospect. For their part though, reports from Auburn are that the Tigers are still very confident in their standing with Antwuan Jackson, despite their efforts to land other defensive tackles.
RECRUITING SLOWDOWN IS A GOOD THING
In the last few weeks, I've seen a number of comments from folks expressing the need for a "boom." The Buckeyes haven't had a 2016 commitment since the first week of August (Gavin Cupp) and with 19 verbal pledges in the mix and only a few spots left, it's a good time to mention that folks should take a deep breath and enjoy the current situation rather than lamenting the slowdown.
As it stands, Ohio State sits at the top of the national recruiting rankings in 2016 and 2017, so it's hard to voice too loudly any complaints about the status of recruiting, isn't it? In the 2016 class, as noted, there's only a handful of spots left and the spotlighted names – Antwuan Jackson, Jordan Fuller, Damar Hamlin, Binjimen Victor, Donnie Corley and a few others – are very well known and discussed. The good news is that none of these players have committed elsewhere and are still highly considering Ohio State, the bad news is that none of them seem to be imminently committing to the Buckeyes and are likely to have their recruitment drag towards the end of the fall.
There's no panic at Ohio State. The coaching staff is incredibly confident where they stand with the guys they're pursuing, they aren't worried about a slowdown in commitments and you shouldn't be either. They'd rather have more time with their few remaining targets than see them committing elsewhere now, because players who commit during the season are far less likely to flip come signing day.
Bottom line? Patience folks, there's good things coming.
