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.
HYPE MACHINE
Claremont, California, four-star linebacker Solomon Nokeakua-Stroud Tuliaupupu announced late last week that he had received a scholarship offer from Ohio State, so I caught up with him over the weekend.
“It was a great feeling,” he told Eleven Warriors. “It got me really excited and hyped up.”
The 6-foot-3, 220-pounder has offers from programs like Arizona, Boise State, Michigan, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Oregon, Tennessee, UCLA and USC, but cited his relationship with defensive coordinator Luke Fickell as to why the Buckeyes stand out. And though California is quite the flight from Ohio, he added that distance doesn't matter.
“It would definitely be nice to have all my family at my games, but I ultimately just want to choose the college best for me,” he said.
Tuliapupu is considered the sixth-best outside linebacker and the No. 128 overall prospect in the Class of 2018. He hopes to take an unofficial visit to Columbus when his schedule allows.
“I want to visit more schools and discuss things with my family before I make [a list of top schools].”
ROAR LIONS ROAR
Plano, Texas, four-star linebacker Anthony Hines is set to take an official visit to Penn State this weekend, Scout.com's Greg Powers reports. This comes as a surprise, as the Nittany Lions were not listed among the Top 10 schools Hines listed in July.
5* LB Anthony Hines plans official visit No. 2 to Penn State this weekend #HappyValley - https://t.co/BvVPowv1Q8 pic.twitter.com/lZJeDVoDiu
— Greg Powers (@GPowersScout) September 12, 2016
The top-ranked linebacker in the Class of 2017 was at Texas A&M last weekend, and will have three official visits remaining. Hines has Auburn, Florida, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, SMU, Texas, TCU and UCLA all under consideration for the final visits.
Hines will announce his college decision on Nov. 29, the same day that Kennedale, Texas, five-star linebacker Baron Browning will decide. It remains to be seen whether the pair announcing their decisions on the same day are related, but it should be noted that Ohio State seemingly only has room for one.
I wouldn't expect the 6-foot-2, 222-pounder to ultimately pick Penn State, and this may just be a case of using official visits as a chance to see schools that he hasn't before. Hines took an unofficial visit to Ohio State in June.
SOPHOMORE TO WATCH
Mentor offensive lineman Ryan Jacoby was one of a handful of prospects on campus for Ohio State's 48-3 win over Tulsa this past weekend.
Great visit at Ohio State today! @noah_potter10 pic.twitter.com/Cup6iWJRGk
— Ryan Jacoby (@Ryan_Jacoby) September 10, 2016
“The trip was amazing,” he told Eleven Warriors. “They really gave me the wow factor.”
The 6-foot-4, 235-pound sophomore is not yet ranked by any major recruiting sites, and his recruitment is just getting ramped up.
“Ohio State is really the first visit I've gone on,” Jacoby said. “I mainly spoke with coach [Ed] Terwilliger, and we mostly talked about creating a relationship and keeping in touch with each other throughout this season.”
RISKY BUSINESS
Instead of putting all of its eggs in one basket when it comes to the recruitment of five-star safety Jeffrey Okudah, Ohio State has continued to maintain a dialogue with a number of other highly rated defensive backs.
The Buckeyes offered Las Vegas, Nevada, Bishop Gorman's Bubba Bolden last week and Roswell, Georgia's, Xavier McKinney late last month.
“Ohio State will be one of my officials,” McKinney told 247Sports ($). “I'll definitely be doing that. We've talked about the paperwork from my official. I'm not sure yet, but it will probably be during the season.”
The 6-foot-1, 192-pounder was once committed to Alabama, but won't make a final decision until he plays in the Under Armour All-American Game on Jan. 1. That bodes well for the Buckeyes, who would likely go all-in on McKinney if Okudah were to head elsewhere.
