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.
GARRETT, OHIO STATE AND THE DREAM SCHOOL
Do you remember when, while playing NCAA Football on Xbox, when you'd see a big-time recruit that had your team first on his list? You knew that if you offered him, early in the process, there was that chance he'd commit instantly and it'd set up your class for a big run through the recruiting rankings?
Welcome to Ohio State's 2017 class. Further evidence that they're playing a different game than most came Tuesday when Haskell Garrett committed just seven days after receiving an offer from the Buckeyes and without ever visiting the school. Garrett, the country's fourth-ranked defensive tackle, is an explosive, exciting prospect that is just beginning to develop into the physical lineman he's capable of being.
As for his recruitment? Yes, Garrett has said that Ohio State is his "dream school," a label that oftentimes is a death knell for the leading school.
From Scout.com:
Though he's at Bishop Gorman in Las Vegas, the 6-foot-2, 280-pounder is originally from Vermont, and because of that he's probably more likely to stick with this commitment than the average West Coast star who makes an early pledge. In December, Garrett listed Notre Dame as his leader and it'd not be entirely surprising to see visits to a few schools — he mentioned Penn State as well to Scout — but the Buckeyes are in good shape.
Not that they were really expecting a commitment Tuesday, mind you.
"How often do you assume you're 'in' with a Las Vegas kid with no Ohio ties?" one source said. "He's got every offer in the country, so you have to offer right? We had no idea the kid was going to commit."
The challenge from here on out for the Ohio State staff is to keep Garrett committed. He's a potential five-star talent but he's not exactly next door and the Buckeyes haven't spent too much time flying west in recent years, though Zach Smith is certainly not going to let this one get away easily.
ZACH SMITH, KERRY COOMBS AMONG NATION'S ELITE RECRUITERS PER RIVALS
Speaking of Smith, he the Buckeyes' wide receiver coach is one of two Ohio State assistants named to Rivals.com's Top 25 Recruiters for the 2016 cycle.
Smith was the principle party in the recruitment of Austin Mack, Binjimen Victor, Wayne Davis and also helped maintain the relationship at St. Thomas Aquinas with Nick Bosa and the entire Raiders' program.
From Rivals.com:
The highlight of Smith’s haul for the fourth-ranked Ohio State recruiting class was getting Rivals100 wide receiver Binjimen Victor out of South Florida and away from the in-state programs and pretty much the rest of the country. Smith also kicked off the recruitment of five-star defensive end Nick Bosa and gets a solid assist in that recruitment. Smith is often assigned the difficult areas to recruit and comes away with big steals year after year for the Buckeyes.
Kerry Coombs' frenetic recruiting style paid off handsomely once more for Urban Meyer's Buckeyes. The defensive back specialist was the primary recruiter for Michael Jordan, Jake Hausmann, Rodjay Burns, Drue Chrisman and assisted on Jordan Fuller, Kareem Felder and others.
Again, from Rivals.com:
Coombs handles both the Cincinnati and Detroit recruiting territories, two regions that have been fruitful for the Buckeyes under his leadership. He took Rivals100 offensive tackle Michael Jordan away from in-state schools Michigan and Michigan State, while also securing a commitment from Rivals100 tight end Jake Hausmann early in the process. Coombs finished by flipping three-star Rodjay Burns from Louisville in January and assisted on several more four-star signings.
Only two other Big Ten recruiters made the cut: Michigan's Chris Partridge, who brought in Rashan Gary and most of New Jersey, and Jedd Fisch, who landed Brandon Peters and a host of future Wolverine pass-catchers.
247SPORTS UPDATES 2017 COMPOSITE, TWO BUCKEYES SEE A DIP
As the major recruiting services update their 2017 rankings, you're going to see some changes in the 247 composite rankings and the first update happened Monday night. A handful of Buckeye targets — as well as two commitments — were on the move.
Isaiah Pryor and Marcus Williamson, now teammates at the IMG Academy, each dipped in the rankings. Pryor, the country's second-ranked safety, fell from No. 31 overall to No. 43, while Williamson dropped from No. 59 to No. 77.
Other Ohio State targets that made significant moves:
- Chase Young • DE • Maryland: Up 26 spots from No. 95 to No. 69
- Tony Gray • OT • Georgia: Up 9 spots from No. 97 to No. 88
- Luiji Vilain • DE • Virginia: Up 26 spots from No. 149 to No. 123
- Fred Hansard • DT • New Jersey: Down 22 spots from No. 111 to No. 133
The Buckeyes 2017 class, as currently constructed, is the nation's top-ranked group and it's not a surprise if you look at the rankings of the players committed as of today.
- Josh Myers • No. 3
- Shaun Wade • No. 12
- Isaiah Pryor • No. 43
- Jake Moretti • No. 73
- Marcus Williamson • No. 76
- Haskell Garrett • No. 78
- Todd Sibley • No. 185
- Brendon White • No. 188
- Jerron Cage • No. 218
- Danny Clark • No. 264
And the nation's top-ranked kicker, Blake Haubeil, who can do stuff like this:
This dude... @BlakeHaubeil pic.twitter.com/mfxutJ8agp
— Jason Hwang (@JasonHwang7) February 8, 2016
TYJON LINDSEY CRYSTAL BALL EXPLANATION
Let's stay out west and talk about my decision Tuesday to place a 247Sports.com "crystal ball" in Ohio State's favor for Centennial (Corona, California) five-star wide receiver Tyjon Lindsey. Lindsey, as you recall, was at Bishop Gorman High School until the end of last week, transferring back to California to be closer to his family.
So, what gives?
Lindsey has a lot of family in Ohio, that's a key component here, although he's not lived in the Buckeye state himself. As a wide receiver, if there's any player in the country that "fits" the slot position as Ohio State uses it better than Lindsey, I've yet to see him and the 5-foot-9, 165-pounder knows that the Buckeyes offense would develop him as a complete receiver as their recent NFL success helps attest.
Lindsey was offered by the Buckeyes last August and it's an offer he worked very hard to make happen. He personally made repeated efforts to contact Ohio State's staff and since his first meeting with Zach Smith, the two have quickly developed a strong relationship, better — at this point — than any other relationship Lindsey has with any other coach.
After the commitment of Haskell Garrett, I spoke to multiple sources about the potential impact of Garrett on Lindsey–the two are very close–and the common thread was this: Ohio State is in great shape with Tyjon Lindsey.
A star at last summer's The Opening in Oregon, Lindsey is expected to make a trip to Ohio State this spring, which will be his first visit to campus, and although going back home to California may help one of his old favorites, USC, stay in the mix, right now the Buckeyes are the team to beat in my opinion.
