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.
HOTBED FOR TALENT
Having lived in Virginia Beach for two years, I can emphatically say Hampton Roads produces some of the top high school football talent in the country. You'll find current FBS rosters with players from Ocean Lakes to Southampton — including Ohio State's Jalyn Holmes of Lake Taylor — so it's no surprise the Buckeyes have expanded their reach into the 757 in recent years.
I mentioned yesterday that Ohio State had been in contact with Bishop Sullivan linebacker Teradja Mitchell, the top-inside linebacker in the commonwealth for the Class of 2018, hoping he'd take a visit soon. Of course, he announced later that evening that he'll do just that for the Michigan game on Nov. 26.
I'll be visiting OSU soon #BuckeyeNation
— Teradja Mitchell (@WhosThatNumber7) October 17, 2016
The Buckeyes offered the 6-foot-2, 225-pounder in May 2015, but he hasn't made the roughly eight-hour trip to Columbus in the year and a half since.
Mitchell holds 30 offers from some of the top programs in the country like Alabama, Michigan, Notre Dame and Tennessee, but like most prospects from the region, he'll be rather difficult to pull away from Florida State, Virginia or Virginia Tech.
INVADING THE 757
Another Virginia standout receiving significant interest from Ohio State is Bayside wide receiver Armani Chatman. The 6-foot, 180-pounder is considered the 11th-best prospect in the commonwealth for the Class of 2018.
“My recruitment is going pretty well,” Chatman told Recruit757.com. “I've picked up a lot of interest lately. Hopefully I'll see some more offers come in soon.”
Chatman currently holds offers from North Carolina State, Rutgers and Virginia Tech, but will get a close look at Ohio State over the next few weeks. He'll take an unofficial visit to Penn State for this weekend's game and then travel to Columbus on Nov. 5 for the matchup with Nebraska.
“Education will be a big part of my decision,” Chatman said. “I want to make sure I'm being taken care of at whatever school I decide to attend because my mom is really big on that. I also want to be a part of a winning atmosphere. I need coaches that will push me.”
PUTTING OUT FEELERS
Hopkinsville, Kentucky, Christian County teammates Cory Trice and Kolbe Langhi took an unofficial visit to Ohio State on Monday morning.
Christian County High School (KY) 2018 QB Kolbe Langhi and 2018 FS/WR Cory Trice on an unofficial visit to Ohio State today. #Buckeyes pic.twitter.com/G7k9UrV80h
— Chris Jung (@ChrisJungKNE) October 17, 2016
“I loved it,” Trice told Eleven Warriors. “I like the field and all the trophies they have. It also seems really fun.”
Neither prospect from the Class of 2018 has an offer from Ohio State at this time, but the 6-foot-2, 163-pound safety said they'll return to Columbus for a camp next summer.
“If I do good in front of [the coaches], I would probably get an offer from them,” Trice said. “It would mean a lot because I would love to be a Buckeye.”
Trice is not yet ranked by any major recruiting services, but the 6-foot-5, 220-pound Langhi is considered the fifth-best prospect in Kentucky and the No. 28 pro-style quarterback in his cycle.
LOUDEST GAME I'VE BEEN TO IN YEARS
Ohio State may have walked away from Camp Randall Stadium with a 30-23 overtime win on Saturday night, but it was Wisconsin that impressed a number of top prospects from Detroit, Michigan, Cass Tech.
That includes 2017 four-star safety Jaylen Kelly-Powell, 2018 four-star athlete Kalon Gervin, 2018 four-star safety DeAndre Square, 2019 running back Jaren Mangham and 2019 cornerback Xavier Goldsmith.
“I had a great time,” Mangham told Eleven Warriors. “The atmosphere was my favorite. I've never seen so many fans that love their team like that. It was awesome.”
The 6-foot-1, 212-pounder is considered the third-best prospect in the state of Michigan and the No. 9 athlete in the Class of 2019. He has offers from Central Michigan, Cincinnati, Kentucky and Missouri, while Michigan, Michigan State and Ohio State have all shown significant interest.
"The game was great. It was a great game to watch," Mangham said. "Wisconsin came out strong, scored a couple of times, then Ohio state made adjustments, and came out on top."
The Badgers pulled out all of the stops for Kelly-Powell, meanwhile, setting up a meeting with legendary coach and current athletic director Barry Alvarez.
With The Man, The Myth, The Legend #Badgers #OnWisconsin pic.twitter.com/3dyTzeXBQe
— Jaylen Kelly-Powell (@JKellypowell) October 16, 2016
The 6-foot, 175-pounder was in Madison because he plans on using all of his official visits on schools he's never been to.
Kelly-Powell has been to Columbus several times and admits he's seen everything about Ohio State that he needs to make a decision, but Michigan is considered overwhelming favorite to land the fourth-best player in the state. As I've said before, it's highly unlikely he ultimately picks the Buckeyes.
