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.
BACK TO THE WELL
Ohio State offered a scholarship of Tuesday morning to Richmond, Texas, Fort Bend Travis four-star wide receiver Arjei Henderson.
Truly Blessed to receive an offer from the prestigious University of Ohio State #Gobuckeyes pic.twitter.com/v97z7ZlhEH
— Hendi (@king_hendi) February 28, 2017
The 6-foot-1, 179-pound Henderson is considered one of the top wideouts in the Class of 2019, though he's not ranked by any recruiting sites other than 247Sports. He committed to Oklahoma earlier this month over offers from Baylor, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Texas A&M, TCU, Texas Tech, USC and Washington, among others.
Henderson caught 100 passes for 1,401 yards and 18 touchdowns last season to lead the Tigers to the district playoffs.
WILL BE A TOUGH SELL
Apopka, Florida, four-star offense tackle William Barnes has never been to Columbus, but looks at Ohio State in the same light as Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Florida State, Miami and North Carolina, his other top schools.
A big reason, he said, is the picture running backs coach Tony Alford has painted during their frequent phone conversations.
"I've heard about the people and campus, and awesome it is," Barnes told Eleven Warriors. "I do plan on visiting the school."
The 6-foot-4, 312-pound Barnes is considered the eighth-best offensive tackle and No. 67 prospect overall in the Class of 2018. He was recently invited to both the U.S. Army All-American Bowl and Under Armour All-America Game.
Barnes said he has no reservations about playing far from home or in colder weather, and plans to make a decision whenever he finds a place that feels like home.
TWO FOR ONE?
Though he once coveted an offer from Ohio State above all else, Huber Heights Wayne three-star athlete Alex Reigelsperger committed to Kentucky while on an unofficial visit last weekend.
It's been a dream since I was 4 to play college football, I'm proud and blessed to say I've committed to THE University of Kentucky! #BBN pic.twitter.com/DthhZk36Iq
— Alex Reigelsperger (@a_reigelsperger) February 25, 2017
The Buckeyes hosted him on several occasions last season, but never offered and the process was wearing him out.
"It was just time to end it, and I get a good feel of a home [in Lexington]," Reigelsperger told Eleven Warriors. "That and I wanted to get ready and focus on my senior season so I can ball out."
Now Reigelsperger will try and recruit his teammate and Ohio State target L'Christian "Blue" Smith to join him in Big Blue Nation. Seeing as Smith, the third-best prospect in Ohio, has an offer to play basketball for the Wildcats, as well, the idea doesn't seem so far-fetched.
MAKING THE GAME SAFER
The National Federation of State High Schools Associations, the governing body which oversees high school sports across the country, established two new rules on Wednesday in order minimize the risk of injuries in football. The new regulations will eliminate blindside blocks and pop-up onside kicks.
"The NFHS Football Rules Committee’s actions this year once again addressed risk minimization, officiating, competitive balance and game administration," director of sports and sports medicine Bob Colgate said in a press release.
A blindside block is defined as "a block against an opponent other than the runner who does not see the blocker approaching." It now results in a 15-yard penalty.
A pop-up kick, meanwhile, is defined as "- kick in which the kicker drives the ball immediately to the ground, the ball strikes the ground inches and goes into the air in the manner of a ball kicked directly off the tee." The penalty for that is a dead-ball free-kick infraction.
The NFHS Football Rules Committee also expended the definition of a defenseless player and implemented a rule requiring the designated home team to wear a dark color jersey.
