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.
UNDER THE KNIFE
A little over two weeks after he suffered a torn ACL in practice, St. Louis Christian Brothers College four-star wide receiver Kamryn Babb — Ohio State's top target at the position for the Class of 2018 — underwent surgery to repair the damage on Tuesday.
Surgery was a BREEEEZE!!! Thank God for all his blessings and everyones support. #Step1 #PositiveVibes
— Kamryn Babb (@kamm_o) August 23, 2017
The 6-foot-1, 190-pound Babb suffered the injury running drills against defensive backs in practice.
"Perfect ball, just went up and got it and just came down wrong," he said. "Heard a pop."
Babb will be sidelined for the entirety of his senior season, marking the second-consecutive year he'll miss a notable amount of time. He suffered an undisclosed injury that cost him five games as a junior, as well.
Now that surgery is out of the way, Babb will focus on rehabilitating his knee. As we've seen with then-Ohio State commits Nick Bosa and Trevon Grimes, who both suffered a season-ending ACL injury in the opening weeks of their respective senior campagins, he should be back to full strength by the time he arrives on campus next summer — that is, so long as he commits to the Buckeyes as widely anticipated.
Christian Brothers College, meanwhile, moved to 1-0 on the season with a 69-28 win over Miller Career Academy on Friday night. The Cadets are expected to compete for their second state title in four years, even with Babb's absense.
CLICK CLACK
ESPN announced on Wednesday morning the 10th annual Under Armour All-America Game will be held on Thursday, Jan. 4, at Camping World Stadium in Orlando. It will be televised on ESPN2 at 6 p.m. ET.
1-4-18
— All-America Game (@AllAmericaGame) August 23, 2017
It's official! The 2018 Under Armour All-America Game will take place on January 4, 2018 at Camping World Stadium! #UAALLAMERICA pic.twitter.com/w9OUt23P7e
Defensive backs Isaiah Pryor and Marcus Williamson represented Ohio State in last year's game, while wide receiver Trevon Grimes was selected, but did not participate as he recovered from a torn ACL. So far, commits Brian Snead, Brenton Cox and Sevyn Banks have announced their intentions to play in the game this January.
Organizers also announced through a press release the addition of the Under Armour Next All-America Game, which will be played in January, as well. It will feature top middle school players — which, to be honest, might be a little too advantageous.
“The top eighth-grade student-athletes are determined in conjuction with the Under Armour All-America Middle School Camp Series and are comprised of players who have proven their worth on the gridiron and in the classroom. These accomplished athletes represent the next generation of Under Armour All-Americans.”
The game featuring seniors, meanwhile, will directly compete with the U.S. Army All-American Bowl, which will be played in San Antonio the following Saturday, Jan. 6. It will be broadcast live at 1 p.m. ET on NBC, and feature Ohio State pledges Emory Jones, Jaelen Gill, Max Wray, Josh Proctor, Jeremy Ruckert and Jaiden Woodbey.
TWO IN A ROW?
Several Ohio State commits among the 100 players named to the Maxwell Football Club's National High School Player of the Year watch list on Wednesday afternoon, including:
- Five-star defensive end Brenton Cox
- Five-star running back Jaelen Gill
- Five-star tight end Jeremy Ruckert
- Five-star defensive tackle Taron Vincent
- Four-star linebacker Dallas Gant
- Four-star quarterback Emory Jones
- Four-star offensive guard Matthew Jones
- Four-star linebacker Teradja Mitchell
- Four-star safety Josh Proctor
- Four-star safety Jaiden Woodbey
- Three-star running back Master Teague III
The award, which was first presented in 2007, is given annually to the nation's best scholastic football player. Former winners include Ohio State quarterback Tate Martell (2016 season) and former Buckeyes Noah Spence (2011) and DeVier Posey (2007).
Sixteen semifinalists will be announced on Nov. 14, and six finalists will be revealed exactly one month later. The winner will be declared on Jan. 17, 2018, and they'll be presented with the award during the Maxwell Football Club's National Awards Gala at the Tropicana Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey, on March 9.
Players can be added and subtracted throughout the season, meaning the winner could potentially be a someone who is not yet listed. Other notable names listed include the following Ohio State targets:
- Fairfield five-star offensive tackle Jackson Carman
- Houston five-star cornerback Anthony Cook
- Pennsylvania five-star defensive end Micah Parsons
- IMG Academy four-star cornerback Houston Griffith
- Florida four-star offensive tackle Nicholas Petit-Frere
- Cleveland Heights four-star defensive end Tyreke Smith
- Idaho four-star defensive tackle Tommy Togiai
- California four-star linebacker Solomon Tuliaupupu
FILLING OUT THE REST
Rivals wrapped up its post-summer update on Wednesday morning with position rankings, which listed the four Ohio State commits not included among the Top 250 players in the country.
NEW: Updated 2018 Position Rankings are LIVE!@JoshHelmholdt tracks CHANGES: https://t.co/aQsx0tGmkI
— Rivals.com (@Rivals) August 23, 2017
FULL RANKINGS: https://t.co/OJSj2RArmc pic.twitter.com/eyjijAPdDN
Running back Master Teague III, who racked up 343 all-purpose yards and four touchdowns in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, Blackman's 63-28 win over Hendersonville on Friday night, remains a three-star prospect. He is considered the 32nd-best running back in the Class of 2018.
Additionally, Dallas Gant is listed as the 21st-best outside linebacker; Marcus Hooker is considered the 38th-best athlete; and Sevyn Banks is listed as the 38th-best cornerback in the country.
ONE OF TWO TRUE BUCKEYES IN THE CLASS
Speaking of Gant, it as announced today that he will be the cover athlete for the Toledo Blade's High School Football Preview.
Ohio State commit Dallas Gant is our cover boy for the 2017 Blade HS football preview. https://t.co/uXnrllhQ2D
— Nick Piotrowicz (@NickPiotrowicz) August 23, 2017
In May, the 6-foot-3, 225-pound Gant became Toledo native to commit to Ohio State since Central Catholic's Jayme Thompson in 2013.
“That was the place that I thought would develop me the most as a person and as a player,” Gant said. “And also it just felt like home staying in Ohio. It was good for me, and I knew the coaches very well.”
It also doesn’t hurt that the Buckeyes have hovered among the nation’s top few elite programs for much of the past 15 years.
Ohio State, which won college football’s first playoff championship at the end of the 2014 season, returned to the four-team playoffs last season and is ranked No. 2 in the 2017 preseason poll.
“Obviously, playing [varsity] football as a freshman got me a ton of looks from different colleges, and as I went into my sophomore and junior years, I started to narrow it down,” Gant said of his list of options. “ I knew I didn’t want to go too far away from my parents so that they could see the games.
“I knew I wanted to go to a big-time school that would develop me as a man and as a football player. That narrowed it down even more, and then it got down to Ohio State.”
Gant hopes to cap his high school career by leading the Titans to their first league championship since 1996 and subsequent appearance in the state playoffs for the first time since 2010.
