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.
LET'S KEEP THIS THING ROLLING
In case you missed it, today marks my one-year anniversary with Eleven Warriors. Looking forward to being here as long as you'll have me!
Now, onto The Hurry Up...
HOUSTON ON MY BACK
Just a few weeks after playing with eight Ohio State commits on Team Vapor Speed at The Opening, Houston Heights four-star cornerback Jalen Green included the Buckeyes in his Top 5 alongside LSU, Oregon, Penn State and Texas.
TOP 5 TOP 5 TOP 5 pic.twitter.com/CF1nXj48bB
— Jay Green (@jaygreen__) July 18, 2017
The 6-foot, 171-pound Green is considered the eighth-best cornerback and No. 53 prospect overall in the Class of 2018, as he was second among all defensive backs at The Opening with five interceptions — trailing only Ohio State cornerback commit Sevyn Banks with six. The Buckeyes offered him a scholarship in late May, but he's yet to make it to campus.
Texas, meanwhile, is the prohibitive favorite in his recruitment. The Longhorns' staff, led by head coach Tom Herman, has made him a priority from the very beginning. He's been to Austin several times and is close friends with a number of Texas commits, including four-star wide receiver Al'vonte Woodard.
Green hasn't set a decision date, though, so Ohio State is still certainly in the running if the staff can get him on campus this fall. In addition to holding Banks' pledge, the Buckeyes also remain in the hunt for fellow Houston cornerback Anthony Cook and American Heritage five-star Tyson Campbell.
GET YOUR BOOM.GIFS READY
Ohio State landed a pair of commitments at Friday Night Light last year in the form of 2017 five-star defensive end Chase Young and 2018 four-star running back Brian Snead, but only time will tell if this year's event will have the same impact. One prospect I'd wager becomes a Buckeye by weekend's end, though, is Huntington, West Virginia, Spring Valley five-star offensive tackle Doug Nester.
The 6-foot-6, 295-pound Nester, who is listed as the third-best offensive tackle and No. 39 prospect overall in the Class of 2019, will be making his fourth trip to Columbus this spring. He recently included Ohio State in his Top 5 alongside Alabama, Florida, Virginia Tech and West Virginia, but acknowledged a decision could come at any time this summer.
While most prospects seem to enjoy the recruiting process, that's certainly not the case for Nester. He admitted as much when eight or so reporters shoved their camera phones in his face following the Buckeyes' one-day camp in early June.
“It’s alright,” Nester said. “It’s not the best thing, but it’s kind of hard sometimes with all the traveling and everything. But I’ll make it work.”
Nester and his family are taking a week-long vacation in Cincinnati, with trips to a Reds game and Kings Island planned before heading to Columbus for Friday Night Lights. If the staff, including offensive line coach Greg Studrawa, push for his pledge, I think it happens. The two have grown quite close, and landing a prospect of Nester's caliber would be a great way to get things started for the Class of 2019 — though I anticipate a move to guard might be in his future.
Either way, Ohio State would be landing one of the country's best at either position.
“It was a really great experience getting to work with coach Stud and working with all of the coaches," Nester said. “[He likes my] quick feet, being strong and being able to move well.”
In addition to Nester, I'll have a full list of expected attendees in the next few days. My colleague, Andrew Ellis, will then let you know if any of them are on commitment watch.
FROM A MILE AWAY
Though he included Ohio State in his Top 6 last month, Philadelphia Imhotep Charter four-star safety Isheem Young committed to Penn State on Tuesday afternoon. He becomes the sixth prospect to commit to the Nittany Lions is the last five days.
I am officially committed to...... pic.twitter.com/eiGtkZAjlq
— 3k (@Isheemyoung) July 18, 2017
The Buckeyes offered the 5-foot-10, 201-pound Young — considered the 12-best safety and No. 116 prospect overall in the Class of 2018 — in early September, but he never made a trip to campus. This weekend's trip to State College was his fourth this offseason, however, so it was easy to see from afar which way this was trending.
Ohio State holds commitments from four-stars Josh Proctor and Jaiden Woodbey, both of which are ranked among the Top 10 players at the safety position, anyway.
