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.
SOMETHING YOU NEVER WANT TO HEAR
St. Louis Christian Brothers College four-star wide receiver Kamryn Babb — no doubt Ohio State's top target at the position — has reportedly suffered a significant knee injury and will be sidelined for his entire season.
The news was first reported by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and sources have since confirmed to Eleven Warriors that the 6-foot-1, 189-pound Babb did indeed suffer an injury during practice late last week.
We're unwilling to speculate on the severity, though details will undoubtedly be revealed in the coming days. I just feel it's something that should come from him and his family.
This would mark the second-consecutive year Babb has sustained a significant injury, as he missed five games last season. The type of injury was never revealed, but Babb — who caught 45 passes for 784 yards and 14 touchdowns for the Cadets last season — returned for a few plays in the state semifinals. He was at full strength this spring and helped Christian Brothers' 400-meter relay track team to the state title in early June.
Babb was invited to Nike Football's The Opening Finals later that month, at which time he staked his claim as the best wide receiver in the country by scoring a pair of touchdowns to help Team Mach Speed to the event's 7-versus-7 championship.
If the injury is serious, it certainly hurts Christian Brothers' bid for a state title this fall. But there's no doubt in my mind he'd be back to full strength by the time he arrives on campus — that is, if he commits the Buckeyes by the end of the summer as widely anticipated.
Ohio State watched a pair of highly decorated commits go down over the last two seasons when defensive end Nick Bosa and wide receiver Trevon Grimes each tore an ACL in the opening weeks of their senior campaigns. Bosa earned significant playing time as a freshman only 10 months later, while Grimes is expected to compete for a starting spot out wide this fall.
GOING IN CIRCLES
As expected, Babb's teammate at Christian Brothers College, four-star wide receiver Cameron Brown committed to Nebraska this afternoon over finalists Alabama, Georgia, Missouri and Ohio State.
Its Official... #Committed @wideouts pic.twitter.com/dQoX4gur9u
— Cameron Brown (@luh_cam_) August 7, 2017
The 6-foot-1, 175-pound Brown is considered the 55th-best receiver and No. 311 prospect overall in the Class of 2018, as he racked up a team-leading 1,023 yards and 11 touchdowns in Babb's absence last season. He actually committed to the Cornhuskers in early May, but reopened his recruitment shortly after he earned a scholarship offer from the Buckeyes during a one-day camp in early June.
Time passed, and although wide receivers coach Zach Smith attempted to forge a relationship with Brown, it was never enough to suggest Ohio State had a chance to land his pledge. He instead pulled the rare commit, decommit and recommit after taking the time to reconsider his options.
Also, for my sake, please don't look too hard into Babb donning a Nebraska T-shirt. As we've seen before — ahem, Darnay Holmes — he's just helping a friend out.
PEACH STATE OF MIND
As the 2017 Ohio State football team was moving in to the Hyatt Place in Grandview Yard to officially begin training camp, Lawrenceville, Georgia, Archer cornerback Andrew Booth Jr. announced he had received a scholarship offer from the staff.
Very blessed and excited to have received an offer from THE Ohio State University #Buckeyes #DBU #GGG pic.twitter.com/Y7wm7AoUlR
— Andrew Booth Jr. (@andrewbooth21) August 6, 2017
"It was great [to find out]," Booth told Eleven Warriors. "Knowing that I could potentially play for the great Urban Meyer is a huge blessing and exciting. One of my favorite defensive backs came out of Ohio State, plus [they're] DBU. It's a huge blessing."
The 6-foot, 180-pound Booth is not yet ranked by any major recruiting sites, but will certainly be among the top-rated cornerbacks in the Class of 2019 after he hauled in a team and county-high seven interception for the Tigers last season.
Booth is the teammate of 2019 safety Jalyn Phillips, who — sans offer — included the Buckeyes in his Top 10 back in late May. The two will likely make their first visit to campus this fall.
FRESH BATCH OF RANKINGS
Rivals updated its rankings for the Class of 2019 on Monday morning, and Ohio State's lone commit and a handful of targets were included among the Top 100 prospects.
NEW & UPDATED 2019 #Rivals100: https://t.co/RCRxBbbZEw
— Rivals.com (@Rivals) August 7, 2017
Who are the NEW 5-Stars? @RivalsMike Spotlights: https://t.co/MKZ0zLDWYH pic.twitter.com/c1bb06BmkJ
They are listed as follows:
- No. 6 - Texas wide receiver Theo Wease Jr.
- No. 9 - Olentangy Orange defensive end Zach Harrison
- No. 12 - West Virginia offensive lineman Darnell Wright
- No. 14 - Tennessee wide receiver Trey Knox
- No. 17 - IMG Academy running back Noah Cain
- No. 19 - Georgia linebacker Owen Pappoe
- No. 20 - Georgia wide receiver Ja'shawn Sheffield
- No. 21 - Texas linebacker Marcel Brooks
- No. 25 - Michigan offensive lineman Devontae Dobbs
- No. 29 - Baltimore linebacker Shane Lee
- No. 49 - Florida running back Kenny McIntosh
- No. 59 - New Jersey offensive lineman John Olmstead
- No. 64 - Florida offensive lineman Will Putnam
- No. 69 - Cincinnati Walnut Hills defensive tackle Jowon Briggs
- No. 70 - Indianapolis wide receiver David Bell
- No. 71 - Minnesota offensive lineman Quinn Carroll
- No. 82 - Michigan quarterback Dwan Mathis
- No. 89 - Ohio State offensive tackle commit Doug Nester
- No. 96 - Lexington linebacker Cade Stover
- No. 100 - Virginia defensive end Brandon Smith
I imagine rankings for the Class of 2018 will follow shortly, which means Ohio State running back commit Master Teague III is surely about to see his composite score rise to a four-star prospect.
