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.
JUST GETTING WARMED UP
Though it's been only 20 days, it feels more like an eternity since Ohio State last hosted a football game.
Consecutive road games — at night, no less — have seemingly left recruits talking more about the atmosphere at Camp Randall and Happy Valley than about the Buckeyes. And with last weekend's loss, there's good reason.
But that all changes with three home dates over the next five weeks, beginning with tomorrow's 3:30 p.m. game against Northwestern.
As mentioned in yesterday's edition of The Hurry Up, Ohio State will officially host a pair of 2017 commits in Bellflower, California, St. John Bosco five-star offensive lineman Wyatt Davis and Las Vegas, Nevada, Bishop Gorman four-star defensive tackle Haskell Garrett.
They represent only the second and third official visitors of the season, as Detroit, Michigan, Cass Tech five-star wide receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones was on campus for the Oct. 8 win over Indiana.
Though the total number of visitors will be much higher, some notable prospects to attend tomorrow's game include:
- 2018 Bishop Gorman five-star linebacker Palaie Gaoteote;
- 2018 Indianapolis, Indiana, North Central three-star cornerback Donald "D.J." Johnson;
- 2018 Buffalo, New York, Canisius wide receiver Paul Woods;
- 2018 Murfreesboro, Tennessee, Blackman four-star running back Master Teague; and
- 2019 Blackman four-star wide receiver Trey Knox.
Seeing as there are no undecided recruits from the Class of 2017 set to attend the game, don't expect an 18th member to pull the trigger this weekend. Keep Nov. 5 circled on your calendar, though, as the game against Nebraska is arguably the biggest recruiting weekend of the season.
We'll have a complete list of attendees next Friday.
WAR PAINT
The atmosphere in Columbus will undoubtedly pale in comparison to the premier game of the weekend, when No. 3 Clemson travels to Tallahassee to take on 12th-ranked Florida State. It's a huge weekend for the Seminoles, who can not only jump back into the ACC title race with a win, but also impress some of the country's top prospects in the process.
OV to FSU This weekend with my bruddas ! #GoNoles #713 #817 pic.twitter.com/PCnHVMa6eG
— Baron Browning (@baronbrwnng) October 26, 2016
Nearly one dozen Ohio State targets are expected to be among the 40-plus recruits in attendance, including:
- 2017 Clinton, Mississippi, five-star running back Cam Akers;
- 2017 Bellaire, Texas, Episcopal five-star defensive tackle Marvin Wilson;
- 2017 Kennedale, Texas, five-star linebacker Baron Browning;
- 2017 Grand Prairie, Texas, five-star cornerback Jeffrey Okudah;
- 2018 Orange City, Florida, five-star running back Lorenzo Lingard;
- 2018 Virginia Beach, Virginia, Bishop Sullivan five-star linebacker Teradja Mitchell;
- 2018 Fort Lauderdale, Florida, American Heritage five-star cornerback Patrick Surtain Jr.;
- 2018 Tampa, Florida, Cambridge Christian four-star offensive tackle Richard Gouraige;
- 2018 American Heritage four-star cornerback Tyson Campbell;
- 2018 Tampa, Florida, Jefferson four-star cornerback Jermaine Eskridge; and
- 2018 American Heritage three-star defensive end Andrew Chatfield.
Why does it matter who is visiting Tallahassee this weekend, you ask?
Well, for starters, three of the four above-mentioned seniors listed both Florida State and Ohio State among their top schools. Though it seems like a long shot Wilson chooses the Seminoles — or even the Buckeyes for that matter — Akers and Okudah have at one time or another shown legitimate interest in playing for the Garnet and Gold.
Browning, meanwhile, did not include Florida State in his Top 10.
Many prognosticators believe it's a three-horse race between Florida State, Ohio State and Ole Miss for Akers. But that said, he hasn't set an official visit to Columbus and has been to Tallahassee three times since his last trip north in March. It certainly looks as if things are trending away from the Buckeyes and in favor of the Seminoles.
Rumors have surfaced in recent weeks Okudah, meanwhile, has already silently committed to Ohio State. The top-rated cornerback in the class has always spoken highly of Florida State's ability to put defensive backs into the National Football League, but the Seminoles are pretty much playing for second place at this point.
The game likely marks Okudah's last official visit before the Nov. 26 game against Michigan.
THE SILENCER
The bond between the Ohio State football program and its professional counterparts in Cleveland has been prominently put on display in the last few months, as head coach Urban Meyer and the Buckeyes publicly backed the Cavaliers on their way to the NBA title and have done the same for the Indians as they made a run to the World Series.
Sadly, the Browns don't offer much in terms of recruiting propaganda — though Joey Bosa was right there for the taking at No. 2 overall — so Ohio State's graphics department is always thinking of ways to use two of the best professional sports teams in the country to its advantage.
The result? A photo of Ohio State target Alphonso Blades Jr., a Miami legacy, hitting LeBron James' signature celebration, The Silencer. You may recall former quarterback-turned-wide receiver Braxton Miller doing it after his legendary spin move at Virginia Tech.
hio pic.twitter.com/yDHZQKV1RJ
— Al Blades (@AlBlades_Jr) October 28, 2016
“Our overall goal when we develop content is to create the compelling narrative,” Ohio State Athletics Graphic Designer Samuel Silverman told Eleven Warriors. “We definitely try to stay on top of pop culture and the latest trends to appeal to that generation. It would be stupid not to. We just try to think of different ways to creatively incorporate and promote that information.”
You can probably already imagine what the graphics department has in store if Cleveland is able to bring home its second title in less than six months.
