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.
PILING ON THE ACCOLADES
Ohio State this morning became the first school since USC in 2012 to sweep USA TODAY's national high school honors when quarterback commit Tate Martell was named the publication's offensive player of the year.
He and cornerback pledge Shaun Wade, named the defensive player of the year on Wednesday, are the first Ohio State commits to win one of the awards since Terrelle Pryor in 2007.
While the pair rightfully received most of the spotlight, offensive guard Wyatt Davis, offensive tackle Josh Myers and placekicker Blake Haubeil were also named to the All-USA first-team offense.
Davis helped Bellflower, California, St. John Bosco average more than 500 yards of total offense on its way to a state title, while Myers played an integral part of Miamisburg recording its first 10-win season in school history. Haubeil, meanwhile, kicked a school-record 56 extra points and made a 47-yard field goal to lift Canisius to the New York Catholic championship.
"It means a lot to me," Haubeil told Eleven Warriors. "I think it shows what hard work can accomplish. I didn't even think I'd be going to pursue a D1 career my sophomore year of high school. I couldn't have done it without a number of people. My coaches and teammates made it our mission to be one of the best special teams in the nation. Dedication goes a long way."
In total, seven of Ohio State's 17 commits were named either first- or second-team All-Americans, giving the Buckeyes two more than second place Alabama.
WAIT AND SEE
Though several of Ohio State's top remaining targets will announce their college decisions at the Under Armour or U.S. Army All-American games next month, South Jordan, Utah, Bingham four-star defensive tackle Jay Tufele is one of the few who will wait until National Signing Day.
The 6-foot-3, 297-pounder listed BYU, Michigan, Ohio State, UCLA, USC, Utah and Washington in his Top 7 in late September, but only took official visits to Columbus and Ann Arbor this fall.
A source close to Tufele told Eleven Warriors he thoroughly enjoyed his visit, but acknowledged the distance may ultimately be too much for the Buckeyes to overcome.
That same source has told us Tufele has set official visits to USC on Jan. 20 and Utah on Jan. 27, which gives the home-state Utes the final on-campus chance to impress.
Of course Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer and Michigan's Jim Harbaugh will use their in-home visits with Tufele in the days following, but I expect the nation's second-ranked defensive tackle to stay home when it's all said and done.
A TANGLED WEB WE WEAVE
Nothing should come as a surprise in the ever-changing world of recruiting, but this summer was quite bizarre for Tampa, Florida, Jefferson four-star athlete Jermaine Eskridge.
The 6-foot-3, 185-pounder included Ohio State in his Top 3 alongside Alabama and Miami (FL) in late July, but added Florida and Oregon at his mother's insistence the next day. He was then scheduled to take an unofficial visit to Columbus just one week later, but called off the trip and instead committed to South Florida out of the blue.
Eskridge — the 14th-best athlete and the No. 215 prospect in the Class of 2018 — reopened his recruitment in August, citing an emotional decision based on the fact that several other recruits from the Tampa area pledged their services to the Bulls that week.
Now that he's had several months to reassess the situation, Eskridge has begun to narrow things down once again.
Top 9 for one of the best WR in the class of 2018 @Iam_Jermaine4 #FollowMEforEdits #Roadto8k pic.twitter.com/JAOafQTMAi
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) December 19, 2016
As you can see, Eskridge listed Alabama, Florida State, LSU, Michigan, Ohio State, Ole Miss, USC, West Virginia and Wisconsin in his Top 9. And while I don't expect him to ultimately pick the Buckeyes, there are certainly plenty of fireworks yet to come.
SMALL SCHOOL STRUGGLE
There are several reasons an athlete may opt to spend a year at junior college, including but not limited to academic or financial difficulties. For others, like safety Leandro DeBrito, it's an overall lack of exposure.
“I came from a small state and schools don't look at us as a football town, so I got overlooked,” DeBrito told Eleven Warriors.
The 6-foot-2, 200-pounder from Ely, Minnesota, Vermilion Community College by way of Pawtucket, Rhode Island, recorded 56 tackles and 4 interceptions as a true freshman. He led the country with two pick-sixes this season.
“When I got to Vermilion, they said I wasn't supposed to play JUCO because I've got the talent to play at a big-time school,” DeBrito said.
Now he's hoping to catch the eye of a Division I program like Ohio State.
“I would love to go there,” DeBrito said. “My mother loves Ohio State, and I'll definitely fit there.”
