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.
RIEP HAS A DECISION DATE IN MIND
One of the country's hottest 2017 prospects, Cincinnati Colerain's Amir Riep, has a tentative date scheduled for a decision.
Per Cleveland.com's Ari Wasserman:
Riep said he plans on making his decision on July 23, his birthday. And July is coming fast.
"A lot of these schools aren't really far, it's cool, but they all have different feels and different coaches and the way they talk. It's just different," Riep said. "That's why I am getting around to other places, to get a feel for them.
Riep, who was offered by Ohio State on the last day of January, has seen his recruitment take off in the last two months. He's added scholarships from a who's who of college programs including Notre Dame, Oregon, Michigan, Michigan State, Auburn and others while skyrocketing up the national recruiting rankings; he's now the sixth-best cornerback according to 247Sports.com.
Typically, when a player sets a decision date, that's a pretty good indicator that a decision, at least internally, has already been made, though setting one for four months from now means a lot of things could happen between today and D-day.
Ohio State is the runaway leader on the 247 Crystal Ball.
The Buckeyes, led by Kerry Coombs, are in a great position to land Ohio's sixth-best player in 2017.
PRYOR ADDS BAMA
It's been a busy, and good, last two weeks for Ohio State 2017 commitment Isaiah Pryor.
First, he was invited to Nike's The Opening. Then he won the MVP award among defensive backs at the Rivals Camp Series.
Last night Pryor added the offer that every kid in the country, committed or not, wants: Alabama.
Pryor has said repeatedly that he's 100-percent committed to the Buckeyes, and to his point he's not made any other college visits since he verballed to Ohio State last summer.
Whether or not he'll end up taking a trip to Tuscaloosa at some point remains to be seen, but there's no doubt that the Tide will make a push for that to happen as they did with Shaun Wade.
BUCKEYES OFFER POTENTIAL 2018 FIVE-STAR
It's been a busy week for new offers, especially in the 2018 class and the Buckeyes extended one yesterday to a player who may end up being a five-star in his class.
Xavier Thomas, a 6-foot-3, 242-pound defensive end from Florence, South Carolina added Ohio State to his list that already included many national heavyweights. The country's fourth-ranked overall prospect in 2018 right now, Thomas has offers from Alabama, Clemson, Florida State and Georgia among his early opportunities.
The tape doesn't lie: this is a big-time player at a position that will be a major need for the Buckeyes in the 2018 class. He visited South Carolina and Clemson during the 2015 football season and is a player that Ohio State would love to see make a trip to campus this summer.
SIMMONS ON HIS COMMITMENT
As noted the day of his commitment, Ann Arbor Pioneer's Antjuan Simmons may be the first ever player from the city of Ann Arbor to commit to and–if he does–sign with Ohio State's football program.
The decision to not only commit to Ohio State, the rival of the college directly across the street from his high school–but to do it so early–means that there are months of frustration and in some cases, anger, that will be thrown his way. He told TheDZone.net, one of the Southeast Michigan's most in-tune recruiting outlets, that he's prepared for it.
From TheDZone.net:
"You know it really didn't matter what school I picked. If I didn't pick Michigan it would've been a problem to people so I prepared myself and I don't really care about what people think. I know it's the best decision for me."
One thing is for sure, Simmons will have no problem finding people in Columbus who don't have a problem with his decision. He says the Buckeyes' coaching staff sees a bit of Darron Lee in his game.
"They feel we have a very similar body type and play very similar, how fast to the ball I am and how I love to hit." Antjuan Simmons feels good about the comparison as he continued, "I think it's an honor that they feel that way about me. We saw what he was able to do in college and in the combine. He dominated, so it really means a lot that they feel I can be kinda like him in college."
Check out the rest of the story as it's got more interesting insight from the newest Ohio State commitment.
