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 AT IT AGAIN
I'll let you in on a little secret.
In the wild world of recruiting, it's best to work ahead. Whether it's commitments, top lists or official visits, you don't want to get caught without at least the framework of a story done. Such was the case last night, when I was prepared to just plug in a few details into The Hurry Up about St. Louis, Missouri, Christian Brothers College four-star wide receiver Kamryn Babb when he released his top schools at 7 p.m.
Ohio State has long been considered the leader in his recruitment, and it was only a matter of typing out the names of the eight other schools to make the cut.
The only issue... he meant 7 p.m. Central Time. Whoops.
Unfortunately — and fortunately, depending on how you look at it — I realized at 7 o'clock on the East Coast that his list wasn't dropping for another hour. A few quick edits and you got a little taste of where the Buckeyes stand with the 6-foot-1, 189-pound Babb.
A little refresher:
Babb is without a doubt Ohio State's top wide receiver target, but Michigan and Missouri loom large in his recruitment. He visited Ann Arbor for the Wolverines' Spring Game last month and the Tigers have the home-state pull on their side.
Babb plans to take an official visit this fall, which will mark his second trip to Columbus in a year. He isn't expected to announce his college intentions until the U.S. Army All-American Bowl in January, however.
As expected, Babb — the seventh-best wide receiver and No. 41 prospect overall in the Class of 2018 — included Ohio State in his Top 9 alongside Alabama, LSU, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Ole Miss and USC.
Top 9@Hayesfawcett3 pic.twitter.com/WzGcnPwT7H
— Kamryn Babb (@kamm_o) May 30, 2017
BATTLE FOR THE PIPELINE
Though Ohio State currently has three players on its roster from Detroit Cass Tech in running back Mike Weber, safety Damon Webb and offensive tackle Josh Alabi, the pipeline has not been flowing as well since Jim Harbaugh arrived at Michigan. It's understandable, too, considering the Technicians' head coach, Thomas Wilcher, played alongside Harbaugh in Ann Arbor in the mid-1980s.
The Buckeyes remained in the hunt for Cass Tech five-star wide receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones and four-star safety Jaylen Kelly-Powell in the 2017 recruiting cycle, but the home-state draw — and a little bit of Wilcher's influence — helped the Wolverines land two of their top targets earlier this year.
The two teams will undoubtedly go to battle again for four-star cornerback Kalon Gervin, so long Ohio State offers him a scholarship during a visit to the Buckeyes' one-day positional camp on June 17.
“I’m going to work out for coach [Kerry] Coombs,” Gervin told 247Sports. “Coach Coombs stopped at our school twice [this spring]. He’s excited to get me down there, excited to work me out.”
The 5-foot-11, 180-pound Gervin is considered the 22nd-best cornerback and No. 190 prospect overall in the Class of 2018, as he recorded 23 tackles, 14 pass deflections and one interception to help the Technicians to the state championship last season. He committed to Notre Dame one week after the Fighting Irish offered him a scholarship in February, but reopened his recruitment earlier this month to explore his options.
Gervin has camped at Ohio State before, as he attended Friday Night Lights last July. But this trip, which he'll make with his mother, should give him more time with Coombs and head coach Urban Meyer. I fully expect an offer to be extended during the visit and for the Buckeyes to shoot to the top of Gervin's list as a result.
WE HARDLY KNEW YE
There was a point in time about two months ago when it seemed as if Butler, Pennsylvania, three-star offensive guard Jake Kradel would soon commit to Ohio State as a center. But following a subpar performance at Nike Football's The Opening Cleveland Regional in mid-April, the staff seemed to cool significantly on the 6-foot-4, 290-pounder.
Nevertheless, he forged ahead with a Top 7 of Maryland, Ohio State, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, UCLA, Virginia Tech and West Virginia earlier this month and set his college announcement for June 10 — just one day after he was set to attend the Buckeyes' one-day positional camp. But he then decided last week to throw away that commitment date in hopes of looking around at other schools, namely Iowa and Wisconsin... and that sound you hear is the window of opportunity to play for Ohio State closing.
This happens a lot. A prospect earns an offer and it seems like only a matter of time before he commits, but then time goes by and the two sides pull apart for various reasons. With IMG Academy four-star Verdis Brown's switch to center, the Buckeyes no longer looked at Kradel in the same way. And with that said, he may very well be on the verge of a commitment to Pittsburgh, a school he's extremely familiar with and visited this afternoon.
PITT IS IT!! #L1TS8URGH #H2P
— Pat Narduzzi (@CoachDuzzPittFB) May 30, 2017
That is the Panthers' version of #BOOM, which — much like Penn State's #WeAre...Better — I find to be a little disrespectful and ruin most kids' announcements. But I digress...
The same thing occurred with New Jersey four-star athlete Iverson Clement earlier this year before he committed to Florida. He was on the verge of making the call during a visit in late January, but Ohio State only had room for one H-Back and Jaelen Gill was inevitably going to pledge his services to the Buckeyes.
HAS THAT HAPPENED BEFORE?
Rivals.com updated its rankings for the Class of 2018 on Tuesday afternoon, and a number of Ohio State commits were included among the Top 100 players nationally. The network last released its rankings in late February, and the Buckeyes — as you know well — have added seven pledges since.
#Rivals100: NEW & UPDATED!@RivalsMike spotlights the 3 new 5-Stars: https://t.co/UMpJVmiwbU
— Mike Farrell (@rivalsmike) May 30, 2017
FULL RANKING: https://t.co/HeFkVcT8oA pic.twitter.com/s41wYKpBDN
Dual-threat quarterback Emory Jones remains Ohio State's highest rated commit at No. 17 overall, while defensive tackle Taron Vincent joins him as the only other five-star pledge at No. 18. The rest of the rankings are as follows:
- No. 28 – Seffner, Florida, four-star running back Brian Snead
- No. 32 – Stockbridge, Georgia, four-star defensive end Brenton Cox
- No. 49 – Westerville South four-star running back Jaelen Gill
- No. 51 – Bellflower, California, St. John Bosco four-star safety Jaiden Woodbey
Cox was actually the biggest mover in the rankings, jumping all the way from No. 156 overall. Rivals.com Recruiting Director Mike Farrell called Cox “a very imposing figure at defensive end” who is “only going to get bigger and better over time.” This update also moved Cox to a five-star prospect in the 247Sports Composite Rankings, giving the Buckeyes a nation-high three five-star commits.
Woodbey also improved his stock with stellar performances on the 7-versus-7 circuit this spring, while Gill and Snead somehow dropped five spots apiece from the last update.
Other notable Ohio State targets include:
- No. 2 – Fort Lauderdale, Florida, American Heritage five-star cornerback Patrick Surtain Jr.
- No. 5 – Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, five-star defensive end Micah Parsons
- No. 6 – Laurinburg, North Carolina, Scotland County five-star running back Zamir White
- No. 9 – Houston, Texas, Lamar five-star cornerback Anthony Cook
- No. 13 – Fairfield five-star offensive tackle Jackson Carman
- No. 31 – Huber Heights Wayne four-star wide receiver L'Christian “Blue” Smith
- No. 45 – Virginia Beach, Virginia, Bishop Sullivan four-star linebacker Teradja Mitchell
- No. 63 – American Heritage four-star cornerback Tyson Campbell
- No. 89 – St. Louis, Missouri, Christian Brothers College four-star wide receiver Kamryn Babb
