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.
OUT OF NOWHERE
As we recently saw with Dayton Dunbar three-star running back Tavion Thomas, a recruit can go from virtually unknown to the hottest commodity on the market almost overnight. That's also been the case for West Chester Lakota West four-star linebacker Xavier Peters, who will visit Ohio State on Friday.
Going up to OSUfriday!! An UK Saturday!! great weekend #thankful
— xavier peters#1 (@xavierpeters22) March 2, 2017
The 6-foot-4, 220-pound Peters was not ranked by any major recruiting sites after switching from wide receiver to linebacker prior to his junior season. But after recording an impressive 54 tackles and one sack last season, he now finds himself considered the 16th-best outside linebacker and No. 247 prospect overall in the Class of 2018.
Peters has earned offers from Louisville, Oklahoma, Oregon, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Tennessee, UCLA, Virginia Tech and Wisconsin all within the last month. Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer and linebackers coach Bill Davis have also been in contact.
Peters — who will be joined on the visit by teammate Tyler Bentley, a three-star defensive tackle — doesn't plan to make a decision until after his senior year, but he's repeatedly called Ohio State his dream school and should be on commit watch if an offer is extended.
The 6-foot-3, 295-pound Bentley has also recently made a splash on the recruiting scene, earning offers from Louisville, Minnesota, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin. He said defensive line coach Larry Johnson reached out and invited him to campus.
"I hope [to get] an offer, but meeting the staff and some players and seeing the facilities would be pretty nice, as well," Bentley told Eleven Warriors.
Bentley is considered the 50th-best defensive tackle and No. 764 prospect overall in the Class of 2018. He said Ohio State would jump to the top of his list if the Buckeyes were to offer this weekend.
"Lord willing," Bentley said. "It would open my recruitment nationwide."
STORM'S A-BREWIN'
Ohio State will look to add roughly three wide receivers in its 2018 recruiting class, but you can probably cross Bradenton, Florida, IMG Academy four-star wideout Brian Hightower from the offer list after he committed to Miami (FL) on Wednesday night. He becomes the second Ascender to pledge his services to the Hurricanes in the last week, joining four-star quarterback Artur Sitkowski.
305, Here I Come #Storm18
— Brian Hightower (@longlivee14) March 2, 2017
"Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer." pic.twitter.com/534N4AXfAo
The Buckeyes offered the 6-foot-3, 202-pound California native — who played alongside Nebraska signee Keyshawn Johnson Jr. and UCLA signee Darnay Holmes in Calabasas before transferring — last March. It was thought his move to IMG would increase Ohio State's chances, but his relationship with the staff never progressed and he never made a trip to campus.
The focus has instead been on Hightower's teammate, four-star wide receiver Joshua Moore, who transferred from Yoakum, Texas, last month. Moore recently included the Buckeyes in his Top 14 and plans to take an official visit this fall.
With Hightower in the fold, Miami leapfrogged Penn State for the top-rated recruiting class in the country. Ohio State, meanwhile, sits at No. 9.
TRIP TO PARADISE
Ohio State four-star running back commit Jaelen Gill said on Wednesday following his college announcement he's already trying to flip other prospects, and it's not hard to figure out one of them is Penn State five-star defensive end pledge Micah Parsons. I mean, the two were almost connected at the hip during their unofficial visit for last season's win over Nebraska.
If Parson's eventually does change his mind, he'll become the first Ohio State commit to play in the Polynesian Bowl, which takes place in Honolulu, Hawaii, in January 2018.
Blessed to say I'm taking my talents to Hawaii for the Polynesian bowl next year @polynesiabowl pic.twitter.com/kwHurSUci3
— #blessedMVP (@Micah_parsons23) March 2, 2017
Ninety nationally ranked prospects will participate in the game, but only 75 percent will have Polynesian ancestry. Ohio State four-star linebacker target Solomon Tuliaupupu, of Claremont, California, and four-star defensive tackle Tommy Togiai, of Pocatello, Idaho, will also play in the all-star game.
“The Polynesian Bowl provides a bridge between all cultures to learn more about Polynesia,” said vice chairman and co-founder Ma’a Tanuvasa. “This is what makes our game unique and special.”
Each player receives travel accommodations, lodging, meals and the coolest helmets ever. So why wouldn't you play in this game if you're one of the top-rated recruits in the country?
