The Hurry Up: Wide Receiver Target Sets Announcement Date While Michigan Corner Will Attend Friday Night Lights With Hopes of Landing Offer

By Andrew Lind on July 19, 2017 at 6:50 pm
Kearis Jackson
Kearis Jackson
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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.

IN EVERYONE'S TOP LIST

Just a little under a month after he included Ohio State in his Top 8 alongside Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, LSU and Michigan, Fort Valley, Georgia, Peach County four-star wide receiver Kearis Jackson announced he'll make his college decision on August 19.

The 6-foot, 203-pound Jackson is considered the 24th-best receiver and No. 121 prospect overall in the Class of 2018, as he hauled in 52 passes for 739 yards and nine scores for the Trojans last season. Wide receivers coach Zach Smith offered him a scholarship following a practice during the spring evaluation period.

“Me and Ohio State have a great bond together,” Jackson told Eleven Warriors at The Opening Finals earlier this month. “I talk to coach Smith, coach Meyer and coach [Ryan] Day all the time. I see myself in their type of offense, they put guys in the league and I just feel comfortable talking to the coaches.”

Unfortunately, Jackson has never been to Columbus, and his trip to Alabama this weekend will be his last unofficial visit before he makes his decision. He could take an official visit this fall, of course, but that seems unlikely. 

Georgia is the overwhelming favorite to land his pledge. Ohio State, meanwhile, remains the favorite to land both St. Louis four-star Kamryn Babb and Huber Heights Wayne four-star L'Christian "Blue" Smith, so the staff never really made Jackson a priority.

AT A LOSS FOR WORDS

Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer offered a scholarship on Wednesday afternoon to Santa Ana, California, Mater Dei five-star athlete Horace "Bru" McCoy.

“Right now, not at all,” McCoy told Eleven Warriors when asked if he could put into words how much the offer means. “I'm just beyond happy, and somewhat in shock.”

The 6-foot-3, 215-pound McCoy is considered the top-rated athlete and No. 20 prospect overall in the Class of 2019, as he made 28 receptions for 407 yards and five touchdowns as a receiver and recorded 13 tackles, seven tackles for a loss and six sacks for the Monarchs last season. He holds nearly two dozen offers from programs such as Alabama, Georgia, Michigan, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Oregon, UCLA and USC, but Ohio State's is one he'd been waiting on.

“It's one of those big schools,” McCoy said. “They carry a lot of respect in their name, and you know in being offered by them that the hard work is paying off.”

The Buckeyes are also recruiting his teammates, 2018 five-star receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown and four-star linebacker Solomon Tuliaupupu. And though St. Brown has yet to make it to Columbus, Tuliaupupu raved about his trip in mid-April.

“Me and him talked about it, and he just told me how much he enjoyed it,” McCoy said. “How it felt like home and how welcoming of a school it was.”

With camp about to begin next week, McCoy doesn't anticipate he'll visit until sometime after the season.

LET'S TRY THIS AGAIN

Detroit Cass Tech four-star cornerback Kalon Gervin was supposed to attend Ohio State's one-day camp in mid-June, but was unable to make it for unspecified reasons. He told Eleven Warriors he'll return to campus for Friday Night Lights, though, hoping to land an offer from the Buckeyes.

“[I] can't wait,” Gervin said.

The 5-foot-11, 180-pound Gervin is considered the 21st-best cornerback and No. 200 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 in early May to explore his options.

Gervin recently released a Top 5 of Louisville, Michigan State, Oklahoma, Oregon and Virginia Tech, but an offer from Ohio State would undoubtedly change the course of his recruitment.

“[It would be] big time,” he said. “I've been talking to [assistant coordinator Kerry] Coombs and Urban for like a month now.”

Gervin has camped at Ohio State before, as he attended Friday Night Lights with a contingent of other Technicians last July. But this trip, which he'll make with his mother, should give him more time with Coombs — and a clear understanding of where he stands with the staff. 

I anticipate an offer will be extended, and maybe even a chance to become a Buckeye, too.

ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER UPDATE

The various recruiting outlets continue to roll out their post-Opening rankings, with Scout being the latest to do so. As you'll see, Scout seems to view Ohio State's 15 commits a bit differently than the other three.

They are as follows (as compared to their composite ranking):

Now if Rivals would only update its rankings for the first time since March, maybe then Teague would finally be higher than a three-star composite. But I digress.

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