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.
WADING THROUGH THE BULL
Lindenhurst, New York, four-star tight end Jeremy Ruckert returned to campus for Friday Night Lights, marking his first trip to Columbus since he committed to Ohio State one week ago this afternoon. He spoke about his decision following the event.
“I'm really comfortable with being here for the next four years,” Ruckert told the more than 20 reporters surrounding him. “I'm 100 percent committed. There's a reason I made this choice. It's the best place to propel me after football, and I'm all in. I'm excited to be a Buckeye, and I can't wait to get to know Buckeye Nation even better.
“I thought the coaches would kind of lay off me, and let me do my own thing,” he continued. “It's not like they were recruiting me, but they really were making sure I had a great time with my family. I had an awesome time here.”
The 6-foot-6, 238-pound Ruckert picked Ohio State over finalists Michigan, Notre Dame and Wisconsin. And he admitted the schools were generally on the same footing in terms of academics and on-field success, it was his relationship with head coach Urban Meyer and the rest of the staff that gave the Buckeyes the advantage in his recruitment.
"The four schools I had as my finalists are all kind of similar in a way. They're all in the north, smash mouth football and all have great football and a great education,” Ruckert said. “But what really put them ahead was how they dealt with myself and my family off the field. They always went out of their way to make sure I was doing my best and getting all my schoolwork done. You could really tell they cared a lot about my family, where I came from and they really cared about me as a person and not a football player.”
Ohio State was long considered the favorite in Ruckert's recruitment, so his decision certainly wasn't a surprise. But given the tight end position's perceived lack of involvement in the Buckeyes' offense, the other programs reminded him of that narrative at every chance they got.
“That was their main recruiting tactic," Ruckert said. "No disrespect to Michigan, but they kept giving me Jake Butt's numbers. Wisconsin gave me [Troy] Fumagalli's numbers. Wherever they go, they're going to put up the same numbers. They're just great talents. I feel like I'm up there. I'm obviously talents. I'm trying to put in all the work I can.. But wherever I go, I feel like I'm going to be able to excel and make plays.
“I haven't been looking at the numbers they've been putting up at tight end,” he continued. “[Instead, I've] been looking at their background at the position and how I can see myself fitting in. I feel like I'm the best tight end I'm the country, and wherever I go, they'll get me the ball."
Though Ruckert was close to making a decision when Ed Warriner was Ohio State's co-offensive coordinator and tight ends coach, Kevin Wilson's arrival only cemented his thoughts. Wilson, helped turn Jermaine Gresham into a first-round pick at Oklahoma, will be around through at least Ruckert's freshman year.
"What he's excited about is that they haven't had a guy as versatile as I am,” Ruckert said. “They're excited to get me off the ball, attached to the ball and in the backfield. They think I can pretty much do all of it. So once I get here, we're going to get to work and hopefully make an impact early."
MAYBE ANOTHER TIME
Earlier this spring, it seemed like only a matter of time before Tucker, Georgia, four-star linebacker Michael Harris committed to Ohio State — all he needed was the necessary test scores. But the Buckeyes have since landed Teradja Mitchell and Dallas Gant, are on the verge of accepting K'Vaughan Pope's pledge and remain in the hunt for Solomon Tuliaupupu, which leaves Harris on the outside looking in.
The 6-foot-2, 213-pound Harris came to campus in early June, hoping to find out exactly where he fits into Ohio State's plans at the position. But seeing the writing on the wall, he committed to Auburn on Monday afternoon.
Committed !!! @CoachGusMalzahn pic.twitter.com/hlcMWEUEPK
— Money Mike (@Illionairemike) July 24, 2017
Harris, who recorded 122 tackles, 12 tackles for a loss and five pass break ups to be named the Region 4-AAAAAA Defensive Player of the Year last season, is a big-time pickup for Auburn. He's a versatily linebacker, who can play both the inside and outside positions. There just wasn't any room left for him at Ohio State.
Harris has been to Auburn four times this spring, including an overnight trip on Sunday that led to his pledge. His bond with linebackers coach Travis Williams is what ultimately gave the Tigers the edge over the Buckeyes and home-state Bulldogs.
FINDING A SPOT
Similarly, Cincinnati Winton Woods four-star linebacker Christopher Oats was widely considered a top priority for Ohio State from the time it switched its focus to the Class of 2018. But the aforementioned factors seemingly have significantly diminished the chances of him ending up in Columbus.
Even so, Oats returned to campus for Friday Night Lights, and a conversation with Meyer revealed the Buckeyes may still — in fact — have a spot for him.
“He just told me keep on doing what I'm doing, and he'll accept me whenever I'm ready,” Oats said. “He tells me he sees a lot of potential in me. He tells me I remind him of [former Buckeye and current New York Jets linebacker] Darron Lee. But he also tells me the negative and what I need to work on. That's what I like about coach Meyer, he's straight up with you.”
The 6-foot-4, 215-pound Oats, who is considered the third-best linebacker and No. 10 prospect in the state, was a favorite of former defensive coordinator Luke Fickell. His departure to Cincinnati has not only made the Bearcats the perceived favorite in his recruitment — at least to recruiting analysts nationwide — but also put new linebackers coach Bill Davis a bit behind the 8-ball.
“It's getting stronger,” Oats said when asked about his relationship with Davis. “We talk on a regular basis. He's a really good coach. I really like how he coached me today. It's been hard [getting to know him since Fickell left], but it's a business. I had to call coach Davis and see how he coaches and what position he's got me at. Ever since he's been on the job, we've been in touch on a regular basis. He's a good dude. I like him.”
All that said, ask Oats, and he'll say Ohio State remains at the top of his list. It's no surprise, as you'd expect every kid growing up in Ohio to say the same thing. The good news, of course, is that Oats doesn't plan to make a decision on his future until after his senior season. He'll take official visits to Florida State, Miami, Michigan State, Ohio State and Ole Miss, and the Buckeyes' linebacker situation should have itself settled by then.
FUTURE BUCKEYES ON THE RISE?
The four major recruiting services seem to take a lot of flack for how it ranks Ohio State's 15 commits, and it is sometimes well-deserved — especially when it comes to ranking Tennessee running back Master Teague III, who is somehow still a three-star prospect.
On occasion, though, they'll bump a future Buckeye up to a five-star prospect, giving you all something to rejoice about. Such is the case for Westerville South running back Jaelen Gill, who has seen his stock rise following a stellar performance at The Opening Finals and a 7-versus-7 tournament at Dublin Coffman on Saturday.
Ohio State's pledge have the following rankings in 247Sports Composite Rankings, which were updated on Sunday night.
- No. 12 – Taron Vincent
- No. 19 – Brenton Cox
- No. 25 – Jaelen Gill
- No. 32 – Emory Jones
- No. 34 – Jaiden Woodbey
- No. 41 – Teradja Mitchell
- No. 47 – Jeremy Ruckert
- No. 57 – Matthew Jones
- No. 83 – Brian Snead
- No. 85 – Max Wray
- No. 90 – Josh Proctor
- No. 139 – Dallas Gant
- No. 249 – Sevyn Banks
- No. 300 – Andrew Chatfield
- No. 385 – Master Teague III
For what it's worth, I've been told Rivals — which has not updated its rankings since March — will do so again in August. Expect Teague to finally get his bump then.
