The Hurry Up: Ohio State Goes Back to Texas in Search of Another Quarterback and Offers Pair of Already Committed Prospects

By Andrew Lind on May 10, 2017 at 7:15 pm
Grant Tisdale
Grant Tisdale
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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.

LOADING UP

If you follow Ohio State Football on Twitter, you may have noticed the account shared a graphic Tuesday touting its recent success in recruiting Texas. It includes three of the top six players and the No. 1 junior college prospect in the state for the Class of 2017. 

So, then, you should know by now it wasn't a coincidence for that graphic to make an appearance on the same the Buckeyes offered a scholarship to Allen four-star quarterback Grant Tisdale.

“It was a surprise because it's coming from one of the best, if not the best college program in America,” Tisdale told Eleven Warriors, explaining how he found out about the offer during a phone conversation with quarterbacks Ryan Day. "For him to tell me that meant a lot to me and shows all the hard work has paid off for me.

“It was a dream come true.”

The 6-foot-1, 204-pound Tisdale is considered the fourth-best dual-threat quarterback and No. 167 prospect overall in the Class of 2019, also holding offers from Mississippi State, SMU, Texas Tech and Utah. He threw for 522 yards and six touchdowns and rushed for 185 yards and three touchdowns as the backup to Mitchell Jonke, who graduated and will play at Brown next fall.

Tisdale's recruitment will certainly take off once he's under center full-time, but the offer from Ohio State obviously speaks to Day's ability to evaluate and identify top prospects early. 

“Coach Day said he saw a lot of J.T. [Barrett] in me,” Tisdale said. “Since I knew he came from Texas, that's a great compliment because J.T. is a great quarterback and has done a lot for Ohio State.”

Tisdale plans to visit campus for the first time this summer, most likely for Friday Night Lights in July. And while he's in no hurry to make a commitment, his recruitment could take a similar path to that of 2018 pledge Emory Jones, whom the Buckeyes offered last May and committed shortly after his second trip to Columbus for the aforementioned recruiting camp.  

“[I'm looking forward to] just building a relationship with the coaching staff,” Tisdale said. “Get a chance to meet everyone — even the big dog, coach [Urban] Meyer — and just see what Ohio looks like.”

DESTINED TO BE A RIVAL

That said, things aren't always so cut and dried on the recruiting trail. Ohio State seems set at quarterback for the foreseeable future and Tisdale could potentially land a more enticing offer down the line. 

That's why the staff also has to do its due diligence and offer scholarships to other quarterbacks like Littleton, Colorado, Valor Christian four-star Luke McCaffrey.

The 6-foot-1, 180-pound McCaffrey, you may have pieced together, is the youngest brother of Carolina Panthers running back Christian and Michigan quarterback signee, Dylan. He is considered the 24th-best athlete and No. 200 prospect overall in the Class of 2019, having racked up 1,345 all-purpose yards and 11 touchdowns primarily at running back and wide receiver for the Eagles last season.

McCaffrey — who also holds scholarship offers from Colorado, Colorado State, Duke, Michigan, UCLA and Washington — will take the reigns at quarterback from Dylan next season. 

The general consensus is that McCaffrey will follow his older brother to Ann Arbor in 2019, but it sure would be fun to add a little sibling rivalry to The Game.

TOO LITTLE TOO LATE

Meyer and Penn State head coach James Franklin have had some fierce recruiting battles in recent years, which will seemingly culminate when five-star defensive end Micah Parsons chooses between the two schools later this fall.

But to add a bit more intrigue to the budding rivalry, the Buckeyes recently offered a scholarship to Nittany Lions four-star tight end commit Pat Freiermuth.

The 6-foot-5, 250-pound Massachusetts native is considered the sixth-best tight end and No. 130 prospect overall in the Class of 2018. He committed to Penn State last August and remains firm in his plans to team up with four-star tight end Zack Kuntz. 

“Obviously receiving an offer from Ohio State is an amazing feeling,” Freiermuth told Eleven Warriors, “but I chose Penn State for a reason, and I'm sticking with them. They are a perfect fit for me.”

The offer doesn't really mean a whole lot in the grand scheme of things, as four-star tight end Jeremy Ruckert and Mustapha Muhammad are higher on Ohio State's board anyway.

TRYING TO TAKE THE DOG'S TREATS

The Buckeyes also extended a scholarship offer Tuesday night to IMG Academy four-star defensive end Nolan Smith II. 

The 6-foot-3, 223-pound Smith is considered the third-best weak-side defensive end and No. 5 prospect overall in the Class of 2019, as he recorded 75 tackles, 27 quarterback hurries, 16 tackles for a loss and 12 sacks at Savannah, Georgia, Calvary Day last season. He also led the Cavaliers with 712 yards rushing and 12 touchdowns but transferred to IMG in January to play against better competition at the high school level.

Smith committed to Georgia later that month and said he remains 100 percent committed to the Bulldogs.

LOTS OF OPTIONS

It goes without saying Ohio State's wide receivers woefully underperformed last season and the staff continues to look for an influx of talent as a result.

Among the options, Texas Tech wide receiver Jonathan Giles, who announced his intent to transfer last month and included Ohio State in his Top 10 alongside Florida State, Georgia, Louisville, LSU, Oregon, Purdue, SMU, Tennessee and Wisconsin.

The 5-foot-11, 185-pound Giles led the Red Raiders with 1,158 yards and 13 touchdowns as a sophomore. He was benched in the second-to-last game of the season for a reported lack of effort, though the program never gave a reason for him being taken out of the lineup. 

Giles would be forced to sit out this season due to NCAA transfer rules, so he wouldn't make an impact until 2018. But that said, he'll still have two years of eligibility remaining because he hasn't redshirted.

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