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.
BALL HAWKINS
Recruiting rankings aside, Cincinnati Archbishop Moeller defensive tackle Aeneas Hawkins is one of the top players in the state from the Class of 2018. Turn on some of his tape and you'll see he's explosive off the snap and has a knack for finding the ball carrier.
So it was no surprise when Hawkins announced on Twitter Monday night that he had received a scholarship offer from Ohio State.
Praise God!! I've been blessed to receive and offer from THE Ohio Stare University pic.twitter.com/M0k6viXTfO
— Aeneas Hawkins (@King_Hawk92) September 6, 2016
“It's a big deal man,” Hawkins told Eleven Warriors. “It's been a big goal of mine to try and earn an offer from them, and to be blessed with this opportunity means a lot.”
The 6-foot-3, 265-pounder has offers from Cincinnati, Florida, Florida State, Notre Dame, Penn State, Pittsburgh and Tennessee.
“Ohio State is right up there with anyone right now,” Hawkins said.
A three-star recruit, Hawkins is considered the 16th-best player in the state and No. 35 overall defensive tackle in his recruiting class. He's eyeing a trip to campus for the Oct. 1 game against Rutgers, where he hopes to catch up with defensive line coach Larry Johnson.
“He has to be one of the best — if not the best — defensive line coaches in the game,” Hawkins said.
FOUR'S A CROWD?
Ohio State already has three pledges from Las Vegas, Nevada, Bishop Gorman in its current recruiting cycle in quarterback Tate Martell, wide receiver Tyjon Lindsey and defensive tackle Haskell Garrett ... so why not try to make it four? Four-star safety Bubba Bolden — a former USC commit — announced early Tuesday morning that he received a scholarship offer from the Buckeyes.
Blessed to be offered by The Ohio State Buckeyes This is Bigtime right here! @TheTateMartell @tyjonlindsey pic.twitter.com/CH60b1b4YV
— BUBBA BOLDEN (@BubbBolden) September 6, 2016
Before you ask, there are no signs that point to Bolden's offer having anything to do with commit Shaun Wade or target Jeffrey Okudauh. The 6-foot-3, 190-pounder is a star in his own right.
Bolden, who is considered the fourth-best player in Nevada and 11th-best safety in the Class of 2017, has offers from Arizona State, Colorado, Florida, Louisville, Ole Miss, Oklahoma State, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas A&M, UCLA and USC.
#WELLACTUALLY
It was reported late last week that Ohio State chose to cut off its pursuit of Kennedale, Texas, five-star prospect Baron Browning. However, the second-ranked linebacker in the Class of 2017 told SEC Country's Chris Kirchner that wasn't the case.
“That's not even true. The dude who tweeted that out really needs to delete his account,” Browning said. “They just need to be banned from Twitter. I don't even know why that came up. People just tweet whatever and everyone starts believing it.
“I talked to [Urban] Meyer the same day and he told me they want me to commit ASAP,” he continued. “It was a guy from Texas who tweeted that [the Buckeyes were dropping out], so it wasn't like it was one of the [Ohio State] guys.”
The 6-foot-3, 230-pounder added that social media allows for rumors like this to start, which is why the Ohio State staff got in touch with his family right away.
“My dad talked to Coach Meyer and everything is all squared away."
Browning, who announced a Top 10 list of Alabama, LSU, Michigan, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Ohio State, TCU, Texas, UCLA and USC in early April, is set to visit Columbus on Nov. 26 when the Buckeyes host the Wolverines.
He took the first of his official visits this past weekend for Texas' double-overtime win over Notre Dame.
#HookEm pic.twitter.com/aR4JGvqm7M
— Baron Browning (@baronbrwnng) September 5, 2016
AT HOME IN THE GLASS CITY
Baltimore three-star cornerback Kareem Felder signed his letter of intent to Ohio State earlier this year, but academic issues ultimately prevented him from enrolling. It was believed he would go the prep school route to straighten out those issues before ending up in Columbus, but WTOL's Jordan Strack reported Felder has enrolled at Toledo.
Ohio State transfer Kareem Felder is enrolled at classes at Toledo & will join the football program. He was a 3-star DB coming out of HS.
— Jordan Strack (@JordanStrack) September 5, 2016
Felder — considered the 77th-best corner in the Class of 2016 by 247Sports — was one of four defensive backs in that recruiting class, joining Rodjay Burns, Wayne Davis and Jahsen Wint.
He was once committed to Virginia Tech but eventually chose Ohio State over offers from Alabama, Clemson, Miami and North Carolina, among others.
