The Hurry Up: Louisiana Prospect Pranks Reporters, Coaches Retweet Everything and Pair of Ohio State Targets to Trim Lists Soon

By Andrew Lind on August 1, 2016 at 7:15 pm
Todd Harris
Todd Harris
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The Hurry Up is your nightly dose of updates from the Ohio State football recruiting trail, keeping tabs on the latest from commits and targets from around the country.

ELITE RECRUIT ANNOUNCES COMMITMENT TO... 

Plaquemine, Louisiana, head coach Paul Distefano posted on Twitter last week that Todd Harris, the seventh-ranked safety in the Class of 2017, would announce his commitment on Sunday afternoon. He even posted a photo of a table with hats on it from Alabama, LSU and Ole Miss.

When the moment of truth came, however, Harris didn't pick any of the hats off of the table. He instead put on a Plaquemine Green Devils hat and took off his jacket to reveal his high school jersey — Harris' announced he was committed to his high school team.

Members of the media were none too thrilled, though some people found the whole spectacle funny. I initially wondered Harris was poking fun at the whole recruiting process, but Distefano admitted that it was his idea.

“Please, I don't want anybody taking shots at Todd because I asked him to do it and he agreed," he said. "There's so much going on with social media and recruiting. It can overshadow everything. Our deal was this: We want our guys to understand how fortunate they are to go to a school like Plaquemine High, where they have opportunities academically and athletically.

“Todd is very committed to Plaquemine High, and always has been,” the coach continued. “Today was just a way to show that as we get focused on our season.”

With today marking the first day of practice at Plaquemine, Harris and the rest of the team then signed letters committing themselves to the Green Devils.

The 6-foot-1, 185-pounder is considered the third-best player in Louisiana by 247Sports Composite. He has 19 scholarship offers from schools like Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, LSU, Miami, Michigan, Ole Miss, Notre Dame and Tennessee.

“I didn't have a problem with [the ceremony],” Harris said. “I wanted to put the team in the spotlight. That's how I saw it.”

GO AHEAD AND TURN OFF RETWEETS NOW

If you woke up and started scrolling through Twitter like I did this morning, it's likely that Mark Pantoni and other members of the Ohio State football staff accounted for every other post. That's because new NCAA rules took effect on Monday allowing coaching staffs to favorite, like, retweet or share a recruit's post on social media. Coaches are still not allowed to directly comment or respond to a prospect's post, however.

Social media has become a huge part of college recruiting in recent years, as players announce visits, top schools and commitments via Twitter or Facebook. Traditionally, coaches had been allowed to follow and private message recruits, but now they can (sort of) acknowledge the recruit, as well.

Arizona State's compliance department shared an image that explains what kind of social media interactions are permissible, and I particularly like the Sun Devils' use of fictional television quarterback Matt Seracen.

I asked a couple of Ohio State targets for their thoughts on the change.

“I think it's great,” said Clearwater, Florida, four-star athlete Amari Burney. “I think it allows the coaches a little bit more interaction with the kids, so that's always good.”

Burney did point out that some unwarranted interactions may come of the rule change, however.

“[It may cause] a little bit of an issue because some fans love their schools really hard and sometimes they bring it to you the same way.”

Others, like Fairfield five-star offensive lineman Jackson Carman felt indifference.

“I don't feel as if it really affects or impacts me in a major way,” he said. “I mean, I guess you could say it's nice, but it doesn't have any real, substantial effects on me.”

Monday was also the first day on which Ohio State could officially send out scholarship offers to prospective members of the Class of 2017.

WARRICK DUNN AND WHO ELSE?

Ohio State is considered the favorite to land Clinton, Mississippi, five-star running back Cam Akers. That hasn't stopped teams like Florida State, who was listed among his Top 10 schools in May, from putting on the full-court press.

Akers spent the weekend in Tallahassee, his second visit in as many months. The 5-foot-11, 213-pounder told Noles247 ($) that the coaching staff was very direct with him.

“I heard they think I can come in and earn a starting spot right away if I come in and work hard,” he said. “This visit was great for me, but my pops hadn't been, so it was really for him to get up and see what it was like. He loved it a lot and said we will definitely be back.”

Akers also told The Clarion-Ledger (Jackson, Mississippi) that he will soon trim his list of top schools down to six or seven at some point before his senior year of high school starts. His Top 10 consists of Alabama, Auburn, Cal, Florida State, Georgia, LSU, Michigan, Ohio State, Ole Miss and Tennessee.

“It's not that difficult to trim it down because I know who will make the cut,” Akers said. “Most of the schools who will make the cut know that they will make it.”

Expect Ohio State to make the abbreviated list.

Akers made two unofficial visits to Columbus after he decommitted from Alabama in March. He also planned on attending Friday Night Lights last month, but did not make it, and will take an official visit instead this fall.

If Ohio State ultimately lands Akers, he would be the first player from the state of Mississippi to sign with the Buckeyes since former coach John Cooper landed tight end Craig Robinson in 1990.

BLOW OUT THE CANDLES AND MAKE A WISH

Speaking of trimming lists, Lindenhurst, New York, tight end Jeremy Ruckert took to Twitter on Monday to announce that he will be revealing his top 13 schools on his birthday, Aug. 11.

The 6-foot-5, 200-pounder is considered a four-star prospect and the No. 111 overall player in the Class of 2018, according to 247Sports. He holds a long list of scholarship offers from schools like Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Miami, Ohio State, Penn State and Tennessee.

Ruckert was among the most impressive athletes at Friday Night Lights last month, and it was even more spectacular considering Ohio State was his seventh college visit in as many days. Stops along his trip, which spanned from Florida to Michigan, included Mississippi State, Alabama, Florida State, Georgia and Tennessee.

Ruckert expects to return to Columbus for another unofficial visit when the Buckeyes host the Wolverines in late November.

IN THE TRENCHES

Ohio State offered a scholarship to Ramsey, New Jersey, Don Bosco Prep defensive tackle Tyler Friday back in December, and the 6-foot-3, 255-pounder was on campus for his first unofficial visit this weekend.

Considered by 247 Sports as the No. 5 overall player at his position for the Class of 2018, Friday holds offers from the likes of Alabama, Michigan, North Carolina, Penn State, Virginia Tech and Wisconsin.

Ohio State recently offered another defensive tackle for the 2018 class,Tennessee's Greg Emerson. The 6-foot-4, 275-pound prospect is considered the No. 73 overall player and has offers from 14 of the country's top schools.

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