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.
SHOWING NO ILL-EFFECTS
Ohio State landed a surprising commitment last night in the form of Orlando, Florida, Jones four-star cornerback Sevyn Banks. We detailed how defensive backs coach Kerry Coombs likes Banks' blend of size and speed, but what impact makes with the Buckeyes truly depends a lot on how he recovers from a devastating knee injury he suffered last April that caused him to miss his entire junior season.
“I was training, just working on speed training and I was running and I stepped in a hole,” Banks told the Orlando Sentinel. “I tried to get up and I just fell back down and once I looked at my knee, I knew something happened. Then once they sat me down and took the X-ray and the doctors came in and told me what I had, that’s when it hit me.”
Banks has seemingly come back stronger than ever, though, as he recently posted the third-best performance of the more than 300 prospects at Nike Football's The Opening Orlando Regional with a SPARQ score of 128.58. Videos posted to his Twitter account also speak to the health of his knee.
Look at the way life work, it'll eat u alive if you don't bite first.... pic.twitter.com/LhvUsdfVI4
— Sevyn Banks7 (@BanksNiko) March 8, 2017
“It just made me mature more and to just keep working and not taking anything for granted,” Banks said.
DOUBLE TROUBLE
Shortly after Stockbridge, Georgia, four-star defensive end Brenton Cox committed to Ohio State, I placed a 247Sports Crystal Ball prediction in favor of his teammate, four-star athlete Marquez Ezzard.
Why? Well, for starters, the two have had significant conversations about playing together in college and that can only happen in Columbus. It should also come as no surprise the latter included Ohio State in his Top 8 on Thursday evening alongside Auburn, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Ole Miss, South Carolina and USC.
Top 8... pic.twitter.com/iDQHCR92hx
— Marquez Ezzard (@Solid_Quez) April 27, 2017
The 6-foot-2, 213-pound Ezzard is considered the 19th-best athlete and the No. 273 prospect overall in the Class of 2018. He primarily plays wide receiver for the Tigers and has hauled in a team-high 129 catches for 2,279 yards and 29 touchdowns in two years at the varsity level.
The staff may have prospects like Kamryn Babb, Brennan Eagles and C.J. Moore higher on its board, but Ohio State certainly wouldn't turn down a pledge from someone as talented as Ezzard in this year's less-than-stellar wideout class.
ALWAYS BE CROOTIN'
Ohio State this afternoon announced the rescheduling of its home-and-home series with TCU, which will now take place in a one-game meeting at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, in September 2018.
One prominent recruit who may be on hand for that matchup is Fort Bend Travis four-star wide receiver Arjei Henderson, who included the Buckeyes in his Top 10 on Wednesday night alongside Alabama, LSU, Michigan, Oklahoma, Oregon, Penn State, Texas, Texas A&M and USC.
Big 10 pic.twitter.com/JpmJRc4gIr
— Hendi (@king_hendi) April 27, 2017
The 6-foot-1, 179-pound Henderson is considered the ninth-best wideout and No. 37 prospect overall in the Class of 2019. A one-time Sooner pledge, he reopened his recruitment earlier this month because he felt he committed too early.
Henderson caught 100 passes for 1,401 yards and 18 touchdowns last season to lead the Tigers to the district playoffs.
GATEWAY TO ANOTHER CHAMPIONSHIP
I certainly don't need to remind you of the last time Ohio State played at Jerry World, as running back Ezekiel Elliott rushed 246 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Buckeyes to a win in the inaugural College Football Playoff National Championship game against Oregon.
That win created a whole new batch of fans, though, and that includes St. Louis, Missouri, Trinity Catholic four-star linebacker Shammond Cooper, to whom the staff offered a scholarship on Thursday afternoon.
Blessed to receive an offer from my dream school Ohio State #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/jxm1UVlqgb
— Shammond Cooper (@Shammond07) April 27, 2017
"It's my dream school, so I really like the school. It's crazy, really, because I didn't think I would have this many [offers] and one of them be my dream school as a sophomore," Cooper told Eleven Warriors, acknowledging Elliott's role. "Seeing a St. Louis guy go down there and do well has a lot to do with it."
The 6-foot-2, 190-pound Cooper is considered the 11th-best outside linebacker and No. 128 prospect overall in the Class of 2019, as he led the Titans with 140 tackles, eight tackles for a loss and four sacks last season. He holds nearly 20 offers from programs such as Illinois, LSU, Notre Dame, Oklahoma and Wisconsin.
So with an offer in hand, why not commit?
"I have to make sure it's the right fit for me," Cooper said. "I'm not trying to think about anything like that until around my junior year."
The same likely goes for his teammate, four-star wide receiver Marcus Washington, too. He became the third prospect from Trinity Catholic to earn an offer from Ohio State this offseason, joining Cooper and four-star sophomore quarterback Isaiah Williams.
Blessed to receive an offer from Ohio State #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/G0IABYV1IJ
— Marcus Washington (@_MarcusW11) April 27, 2017
The 6-foot-2, 170-pound Washington is considered the 13th-best wideout and No. 57 prospect overall in the Class of 2019, as he caught 33 passes for 676 yards and nine touchdowns to be named first-team all-metro. He holds 15 offers from programs such as Illinois, Indiana, Michigan State, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina and Wisconsin.
TREKKING THROUGH TENNESSEE
We mentioned in yesterday's edition of The Hurry Up how Ohio State running backs coach Tony Alford was set to spend the next few days touring Tennessee.
He was in Murfreesboro on Thursday morning, at which time he extended an offer to Siegel four-star defensive end Joseph Anderson.
So thankful to receive an offer from THE Ohio State university!!!@BuckFitz @CoachTonyAlford @Coach_Wyant @CoachCopley10 pic.twitter.com/aetg5jywyq
— Joseph Anderson (@BirdAnderson_18) April 27, 2017
The 6-foot-4, 253-pound Anderson is considered the seventh-best strong-side defensive end and No. 56 prospect overall in the Class of 2019, having recorded more than 100 tackles in his two-year varsity career with the Stars. He holds 16 offers from programs such as Alabama, Georgia, LSU, Notre Dame, North Carolina and Penn State.
