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.
CALIFORNIA DREAMING
Though many on the East Coast were sound asleep, Claremont, California, four-star linebacker Solomon Nokeakua-Stroud Tuliaupupu announced on Twitter late Thursday evening he had received a scholarship offer from Ohio State. This comes as no surprise, as the 6-foot-3, 220-pounder said just last month the Buckeyes had been showing a lot of interest.
Blessed to receive an offer from The Ohio State University pic.twitter.com/7Rf2Wp8PDZ
— Solomon Tuliaupupu (@nokeakua) September 9, 2016
Considered the sixth-best outside linebacker and the No. 128 overall prospect in the Class of 2018, Tuliaupupu has offers from programs like Arizona, Boise State, Michigan, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Oregon, Tennessee, UCLA and USC.
POURS ONE OUT
I caught up with Tulsa, Oklahoma, Union wide receiver C.J. Moore late Thursday evening after the 6-foot-5, 175-pounder announced that he had received a scholarship offer from Ohio State.
“Man, it's out of this world,” he told Eleven Warriors. “I've always had my eye on them. When I was little, I played NCAA with them.”
Man, I miss that game.
Anyway... Moore said he will catch the Buckeyes in person when they travel to Oklahoma next Saturday. The Sooners have not offered, but will host him for an unofficial visit.
Considered the 17th-best wideout and No. 100 overall player in the Class of 2018, Moore has offers from schools such as Georgia, Missouri, Oklahoma State, Texas A&M, TCU and Texas Tech. The prevailing thought, though, is that he ends up at Oklahoma, whom I would expect to offer following his visit.
Nevertheless, Moore — who had 27 receptions for 526 yards as a sophomore — plans on making a huge impact wherever he goes.
“They'd be getting a hardworking playmaker,” he said.
PRESS RESET
Michigan lost its third pledge from the Class of 2018 in the past three weeks on Friday morning when Dayton Dunbar linebacker Antwuan Johnson decommitted.
I look forward to getting back into this recruiting process pic.twitter.com/j8tdxIbcwS
— Antwuan Johnson (@Antwuan21) September 9, 2016
What factors played a role?
“Just the lack of reaching out by my position coaches,” Johnson told Eleven Warriors. “Like on Sept. 1, recruiting opened up for [juniors to receive] texts and everything, and those guys at Michigan never reached out to me. Made me feel like I wasn't a priority.”
The same could be said of Ohio State, who Johnson said came into his recruitment early but never offered. The Buckeyes still have plenty of time to woo the 6-foot-1, 210-pounder, however.
“I'm just focusing on playing ball and I'm letting the recruiting happen,” the sixth-best inside linebacker in the country and the No. 14 overall player in the state said. “I'll be committing on signing day.”
Michigan lost a second recruit just six hours later in three-star tight end Carter Dunaway, whose father and brother both played for the Maize and Blue.
Re-opening my recruitment: pic.twitter.com/UtfxgKVvzz
— Carter Dunaway (@c_dunaway50) September 9, 2016
THA CARTER II
I mentioned a few weeks back that one local prospect to keep an eye on this fall is Pickerington Central lineman DeWayne Carter Jr. The 6-foot-3, 270-pound sophomore didn't have a 247Sports recruiting profile at the time, but his stellar play for the Tigers this season has forced teams — and media outlets — to take notice.
“I had the game I wanted to have the first game [20-14 win over Cincinnati Elder], and a lot was because of my coaches putting me in a position to make plays and my teammates executing on all the different sets we run,” Carter told Eleven Warriors. “The second [game, a 43-0 win over Independence], I played decent. And, of course, there's always room for improvement.”
Carter, the son of former Ohio State receiver DeWayne Sr. (1993-95) made it to campus for his first unofficial visit last Saturday.
“It went really well. It was a great experience,” he said. “I spoke with coach [Luke] Fickell and coach [Larry] Johnson briefly, and I talked to coach [Ed] Terwilliger. Coach Terwilliger told me they wanted to build a relationship with me, but there was no talk of an offer.”
Carter's only offer is from Kentucky, but there is still a long way to go in his recruitment. Expect more teams to take notice the further the Tigers go this season.
ALREADY IN THE RAFTERS
Every time Ohio State goes after a kid from Michigan, you can bet that defensive backs coach Kerry Coombs has had a hand in his recruitment.
“He's a funny guy, but he's serious about his defensive backs,” Belleville cornerback M.J. Griffin told Eleven Warriors. “He told me they all go pro.”
Seeing as the Buckeyes have had more corners drafted in the first round than any other program in the last 25 years (9), you can see why that would be enticing to a young prospect.
The 5-foot-11, 165-pound Griffin currently holds offers Ball State, Bowling Green, Central Michigan, Iowa State and Toledo, but can envision himself as the next great Ohio State corner. That's why he'll be on campus Saturday for an unofficial visit.
“I'm excited. It's Ohio State,” he said.
Though there may be no better recruiting pitch than seeing "his name" on the facade of Ohio Stadium, it should be noted that Griffin is of no relation to Ohio State's two-time Heisman winner.
