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.
OHIO'S BEST
The visitor list for Saturday's primetime matchup with Nebraska continues to grow, as Toledo St. John's Jesuit four-star linebacker Dallas Gant told Eleven Warriors he'll also be in attendance.
“I'm looking forward to watching them play for the first time in person this year and being in the atmosphere once again,” he said.
The 6-foot-3, 201-pounder took an unofficial visit for last season's win over Minnesota, but this marks his first game since he earning an offer from Ohio State following a one-day instructional camp in June.
“I have a good relationship with coach [Greg] Stud[rawa], coach [Luke] Fick[ell] and coach [Urban] Meyer,” Gant said. “They're all great people and great coaches, obviously.”
Considered the the fourth-best player in the state and the No. 6 outside linebacker in the Class of 2018, Gant currently holds more than a dozen offers from schools such as Cincinnati, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Penn State, Pittsburgh and UCLA.
Because he attends a Catholic school, many prognosticators believe his decision will ultimately come down to the Buckeyes and Fighting Irish.
“I think just whatever place I feel most comfortable at and get that home feeling at,” Gant said. “The relationship with coaches, academics and opportunity to play early will also impact my decision.”
ON THE RIGHT TRACK
Claremont, California, four-star linebacker Solomon Nokeakua-Stroud Tuliaupupu currently holds more than 20 scholarship offers from programs such as Arizona, Boise State, BYU, Michigan, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Oregon, Tennessee, USC and Washington. But few show as much interest as Ohio State, which extended an offer in September.
“My recruitment is going great. It's a huge blessing,” Tuliaupupu told Eleven Warriors. “I speak with Urban Meyer weekly. He coaches me up on the tradition of the school.”
The 6-foot-3, 230-pounder is considered the third-best outside linebacker and the No. 12 player in the state for the Class of 2018. He acknowledges the distance from California to Ohio, he said it ultimately won't matter when he makes a decision.
“I don't want to rule anyone out because of distance,” Tuliaupupu said. “I want to find a way to get there with an unofficial [visit] this offseason, actually.”
LOT'S OF COMPETITION
Ohio State most likely won't have a tight end in this year's recruiting cycle, so getting ahead on the Class of 2018 is important. Offers have already been extended to offers to four-stars Zack Kuntz of Camp Hill, Pennsylvania; Jeremy Ruckert of Lindenhurst, New York; Mustapha Muhammad of Missouri City, Texas; Malcolm Epps of Houston, Texas; Leonard Taylor of Springfield; and Will Mallory of Jacksonville, Florida.
Another name to pay attention to in the coming months is Mishawaka, Indiana, tight end Anthony Torres, who was invited by coaches to attend this past weekend's game against Northwestern.
“It was awesome,” Torres told Eleven Warriors. “Definitely one of the most impressive visits I've been on. Going into the meeting before the game and the locker room after the game stood out to me.”
The 6-foot-6, 230-pound junior impressed the staff during a one-day camp in June and again at Friday Night Lights, but hasn't been extended an offer just yet. He used to live in the same neighborhood as Ohio State running backs coach Tony Alford, though, and the pair have a good, long-standing relationship.
“I've gotten a good amount of attention from the staff,” he said. “They are always glad to see me. I hear from coach Alford a lot.”
Indiana is the only school that has offered thus far, but Iowa, Louisville, Michigan State, Northwestern, Notre Dame and Toledo have all shown interest in recent months. The lack of offers isn't surprising to Torres, though.
“I think I need more film of me running routes and catching passes,” he said. “I come from a school [Penn] that runs the ball a majority of the time, which we have great success doing, but I don't have as much opportunity to show my receiving skills as other players do.”
POTTERMORE
If Ohio State were to offer Mentor sophomore defensive end Noah Potter, there's no doubt in my mind he'd commit on the spot.
“It's my dream school,” Potter told Eleven Warriors, “[but] Ohio State said they usually offer guys in my position later [in the process] to see how we develop.”
The 6-foot-6, 240-pounder is not yet ranked by any major recruiting websites, but was invited to campus for an unofficial visit this past weekend. Potter's brother, Micah, is expected to be a key contributor on this year's basketball team, so the trip offered him a chance to do two things simultaneously.
“It was awesome,” he said. “I watched Micah's scrimmage before the game, so it was a great weekend.”
Potter doesn't currently hold any scholarship offers, but schools like Michigan State and Louisville have also invited him for unofficial visits.
