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.
MICHIGAN MAKING MOVES ON MORETTI?
Last week, it was reported that Michigan had sent a coach out to Pomona High School in Arvada, Colorado, to check in on 2017 Ohio State commitment Jake Moretti. The four-star offensive lineman, who committed to the Buckeyes July 4, said he wasn't even aware of the visit.
"Honestly," Moretti told Eleven Warriors on Saturday morning, "I didn't even know they were there last night."
As you'd expect with any highly-ranked prospect with a year-plus before he can sign a letter of intent, there are a number of schools still pursuing Moretti. He's not worried about anything other than getting better every week. That and talking with his future coaches.
"I give (Ohio State) a buzz about once a week," Moretti said. "Everything is going well. I haven't asked them if they'll be out here yet during their off week, but it'd be awesome if they came out."
Bottom line: there's no reason to worry about Moretti. He's 100 percent committed to Ohio State and not looking at other options. However — and I say this only because it's always necessary to add a disclaimer when it comes to proclamations of absolutes in recruiting — if Ed Warinner ends up taking a job somewhere as a head coach next year, it'd not be a surprise to see Moretti (or any offensive lineman committed to Ohio State) perk up their ears a bit.
Recruiting: where you can be 100 percent committed and 0 percent committed all at once.
BREAKING DOWN THE LINEBACKER PURSUITS
If you read The Hurry Up then you're aware that in the last month or so, the Buckeyes have ramped up their efforts to land another linebacker in the 2016 recruiting class. Yes, tackling machine Tuf Borland is in the mix and not going anywhere, but depth on the current roster has fallen off a bit and needs to be replenished.
The Buckeyes have recently offered a number of the country's premier linebackers and they're working hard to get a couple of them on campus for an official visit next month. Who are the names to really pay attention to?
As it stands, the most likely to visit Ohio State – and subsequently the most likely to end up a Buckeye – appears to be California's Mique Juarez. He's not finalized an official visit date yet, but Nov. 21 seems to be shaping up as the date he'll get a look at Ohio State. He's a five-star prospect and former USC commit who was looking around even before Steve Sarkisian's dismissal.
Another former Trojan pledge, Ann Arbor four-star Daelin Hayes, will make his official visit to Ohio State Nov. 7. The Buckeyes are working hard to get involved in his recruitment, but it appears that Notre Dame or Michigan State are the most likely spots for him to land at this point.
A number of other names, like Oklahoma commit Bryce Youngquist, Texas' Jeffrey McCulloch and Washington, D.C. standout Aaron Hansford all seem like lost causes at this point. One name that is worth watching moving forward could be Maryland commitment Keandre Jones, a four-star Terrapins' commit from Olney, Maryland.
The recruitment of 4-star OLB Keandre Jones is open. #UK, #UF, #FSU, #OhioState and #USC expected to get officials - https://t.co/3RkVeiYBso
— Josh Edwards (@JEdwar247) October 26, 2015
Jones has started to explore his options following the staff changes in College Park and he's a player that Ohio State had a lot of interest in previously, but there were some classroom concerns that prevented them from going in too hard on Jones. If that's been cleared up, or at least appears to be moving towards resolution, he could be worth paying attention to. He's absolutely talented enough to play at Ohio State.
CORLEY VISIT STILL UP IN THE AIR
Another position in 2016 with at least one more spot open is wide receiver, and although he's a guy we've talked about less in recent months, Detroit's Donnie Corley remains a viable option for the Buckeyes.
Corley, who was very close to committing to Ohio State in January, has backed way off his recruiting plans since the summer and is taking his time to get his ducks in a row. He's visited Notre Dame, Michigan (twice), Michigan State and Tennessee in the last two months – but not the Buckeyes – and continues to insist he'll take his three remaining official visits. One of those trips is expected to be Ohio State, according to his father.
"He was asked to take one to Ohio State," Donny Corley Sr. told 11W. "He said 'absolutely' but there's no definite date yet."
The mostly likely scenario is a visit for the game against Michigan State on Nov. 21. Corley is an early-enrollee and a college choice will come soon after that trip, you'd imagine.
BRUCE BETTER SHOT THAN NOT?
The commitment status of Sam Bruce and Miami remains "solid" according to his Twitter account, but according to one 11W source there might be more going on than is publicly visible.
"Hey, don't count out (Ohio State) with Sam Bruce," a source shared this morning. "It's not a run away he goes to Florida. It will go to the wire on him."
Bruce made his official visit to Ohio State before Al Golden's firing and there was some feeling from people inside the Buckeyes' program that things might be tighter than was being let on.
Could the Buckeyes end up with two more wide receivers in 2016? If Sam Bruce is one of them, I think they would be more than happy to do so.
