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.
WILLIAMS PREPARES FOR THE NEXT STEP
Although he's the most recent commitment in Ohio State's 2016 class, there may be no one taking on more of a leadership role–and certainly no one being more openly enthusiastic about the future–than Antonio Williams. A quick perusal of Williams' Twitter account in recent weeks should provide a handful of warm and fuzzy, Buckeye-loving feelings.
What I'm spending my day doing pic.twitter.com/bsp7iP6P21
— Antonio Williams (@A_B_Williams34) December 20, 2015
That was yesterday, three weeks after the Buckeyes annihilated Michigan in Ann Arbor, but a week after Williams' last trip to Columbus. He was part of the large contingent of commits who made their official visits during the Dec. 12 weekend and says the trip was an unabashed success.
"It was better than I expected," Williams told Eleven Warriors. "I can't wait to get there. It's going to be great. All the commits got along immediately. The connections we made with the current players, future players and with the coaching staff. Seeing how intense practices are. Seeing and going in depth with the campus. Everything was great."
Now Williams, who will be back on campus in three weeks as one of the Buckeyes' early-enrollees, is turning his attention to the next step of his life. Done with high school, he says it's time to look to the future.
"The biggest thing I took away (from the visit) is what to expect (when I get on campus)," Williams said. "I know what I have to do, to do what I want to do. I have to just to come in and compete."
Williams says that his relationship with his future position coach, Tony Alford, has made the coming transition much easier.
"My relationship with Coach Alford is great," the four-star tailback said. "I talk to him about everything. Whether it's football, family, religion, relationships, you name it and I can talk to him about it. He's enabled me to be so far ahead of the game; it's like I've already been there for three months as far as understanding what they do offensively."
CARLOS BECKER HAS OFFICIAL VISIT PLANNED
Earlier Tuesday the name Carlos Becker was mentioned in The Heat Check, bringing him back into the mix discussion-wise for the first time since basically, well, ever. Becker was offered by the Buckeyes in February.
From The Hurry Up:
"Coach (Tony) Alford offered," Becker told 11W. "It was kind of out of the blue. I like them, and I like their defense."
As Ohio State's defensive back pursuits have continued, new names (like Jahsen Wint, Rodjay Burns) have popped up, but perhaps it's this older name we should be paying more attention to.
Becker, 6-foot-2 and 185-pounder from Kissimmee, Florida, is the country's 44th-ranked cornerback but his game fits the Buckeyes' defensive scheme very well. He's long, runs very well and hits like a safety.
Becker has only made one official visit thus far (North Carolina State in October) but has a very busy January scheduled with trips to Florida State, Kentucky, Ohio State and Ole Miss on the docket. Each of those schools have been reported as an offer.
Sources close to the Buckeyes have confirmed that Becker is a legitimate target, so the challenge now is getting through that Florida State visit without him committing to the 'Noles. As always, if he visits, anything can happen.
CRAIG-MYERS BACK ON THE BLOCK?
While Binjimen Victor and Donnie Corley have been the primary targets at wide receiver for Ohio State for the majority of the last six months, the Buckeyes–spearheaded by Tony Alford–are still in the mix for Tampa's Nate Craig-Myers.
Craig-Myers, the country's third-ranked wide receiver in the 2016 class and former Auburn commitment, doesn't appear to be any closer to a final college decision than he was six months ago, which–for Ohio State–is a pretty good thing. In fact, Craig-Myers went out of his way to refute a Monday report that he had any favorites at all.
In January, the 6-foot-2, 205-pounder will resume school visits and as of Tuesday, he's got a couple planned. On Jan. 15, he'll visit Auburn and on Jan. 29, he'll head to Ole Miss, leaving an important Jan. 22 date wide open for one lucky program to attempt to sway him in their direction. Can Ohio State be that school?
Well, that depends.
If the Buckeyes can sway Dwayne Haskins, I think there's a well-above average chance that Craig-Myers makes his way to Columbus in late January. The pair have gotten very close and, like Donnie Corley, the chance to line up with Haskins is an exciting opportunity for Craig-Myers. Of course, the "rub" here is that Craig-Myers will make a signing day decision while both Corley and Victor are expected to make their announcements prior to that.
Bottom line? It's going to be a wild few weeks.
HOW TO WIN RECRUITS AND INFLUENCE PEOPLE
Speaking of Maryland, we've spent a bit of time talking lately about its efforts to retain Haskins, most of which has centered around coaching changes and and personnel adjustments designed to the help ease the quarterback's mind.
First it was the hiring of Aazaar Abdul-Rahim, a prominent DC-area trainer who was working for Alabama and helped the Tide as they worked to get Terrell Hall to decommit from the Buckeyes. Then, it was the "any way we can" attempt to keep former Terps offensive coordinator Mike Locksley, who Haskins is very close to, on the staff in College Park; although the odds of him being retained seem to be decreasing by the day. The hiring of Walt Bell from Arkansas State has immediately been followed by a push from folks all around the Maryland program trying to show Haskins why he'd be a fit in the new system.
Of course, in the DMV, it's not just about Haskins if Maryland wants to make a splash. Prior to the start of the 2015 season, former coach Randy Edsall hired former St. Frances Academy (Baltimore) assistant and Next Level Nation trainer Cory Robinson. He hoped Robinson's relationships in Baltimore could help with four-star linebacker Shaq Smith, who just dropped the Terps from consideration as Robinson departed to take a coaching position at Toledo. Last week, D.J. Durkin's program attempted to hire Bill Poggi, a legend at Baltimore's Gilman High School, in an administrative role but he declined, and since then rumors are that Maryland will turn their focus to two other area high school coaches: DeMatha's Elijah Brooks or–you guessed it–Dwayne Haskins' coach at The Bullis School, Pat Cilento.
Obviously this kind of tit-for-tat system isn't new. When it comes to recruiting, you take whatever advantage you can, especially when it comes to relationships that are already well-established. Michigan is rumored to be considering hiring Devin Bush Sr., the father of a recent four-star commit of the same name and the head coach at Flanagan High School in Florida. The Wolverines also hired Paramus (N.J.) coach Chris Partridge last year to help with relationships in New Jersey, and it's paid off handsomely for them in the Garden State. Heck, Kerry Coombs' reputation in Cincinnati was a factor in Urban Meyer's decision to hire him, and it'd be silly to think it wasn't.
Recruiting is the lifeblood of any college football program, but some schools seem more eager than others to accept a high school transfusion.
