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.
SPEAKING FROM EXPERIENCE
Ohio State center Billy Price was among the handful of players to meet with the media following Tuesday afternoon's practice, and — naturally — he was asked several questions about starting quarterback J.T. Barrett.
He was also asked to share his thoughts on safety commit Jaiden Woodbey and five-star targets Micah Parsons and Jackson Carman publicly advocating for a change at the position.
"Everybody’s kind of got an opinion and entitled to their opinion," Price said. "[You've] just got to understand that again, you’re being recruited, you’re a high school athlete, you’re not a part of the program right now. You’re an extension of this program and you represent this program.
"The opinions and things, leave that to the coaches and the team players," he continued. "Until you are a part of this program and you put the work in just as much as these other guys have, your opinion and sometimes some of your voices don’t need to be heard."
Players were reportedly "pissed" about Parsons' tweet, which came just moments after No. 5 Oklahoma knocked off the second-ranked Buckeyes, 31-16, on Saturday night. Woodbey and Carman have followed with their thoughts on the matter in the days since.
The situation dragged into Wednesday, too, when Carman responded to a tweet from former Ohio State quarterback and current ESPN analysts Kirk Herbstreit, who seemingly echoed Price's statements.
Pretty sure I wouldn't have any problems in Dabo Swinney's or Clay Helton's locker room for my OPINION on OSU's qb issues. https://t.co/FMVwGpAJ2J
— T H E J I A N T (@Jackthejiant) September 13, 2017
I agree, Swinney and Helton wouldn't have an issue with Carman criticizing the quarterback situation at another school. But if he and Clemson five-star defensive end commit Xavier Thomas publicly clamor for starter Kelly Bryant to be benched following a loss to Louisville this weekend, you bet Swinney wouldn't be too happy.
As I said in yesterday's edition of The Hurry Up, everyone — coaches, players, recruits, fans and so forth — are entitled to their opinion. But using this platform to publicly disagree with their future (or potential) head coach's decision isn't ever going to end well.
I'm sure Urban Meyer isn't too thrilled with it either, and he's most likely already let each of them know his thoughts. After all, he did say on Monday he was "made aware" of Parsons' tweet.
What happens from here will be very interesting to see. Meyer surely won't be pressured into making a quarterback change just because a handful of recruits believe he should. But, then again, recruiting is a fickle business.
If Meyer doesn't at least address the matter — behind closed doors, of course — then it will continue. It's bound to rub at least one of them the wrong way, too. But it's something that can't continue, and may even force Ohio State to move in a different direction altogether.
It's a mess all around.
757✈️614
Earlier this week, Virginia Beach Bishop Sullivan four-star linebacker Teradja Mitchell hinted at a possible official visit for Saturday's game against Army. He confirmed the visit on Tuesday night.
"I'll be there this weekend," Mitchell told Eleven Warriors.
It's not the ideal game for the 6-foot-2, 243-pound Mitchell — or any prospect, for that matter — to attend, as the atmosphere will be nowhere near what it was against Oklahoma or will be next month versus Penn State. But it's what Mitchell's schedule permits.
Bishop Sullivan plays a national schedule with travel days or games on Saturday afternoons, but the Crusaders have a rare Friday game this weekend. The 4:30 p.m. kick against the Black Knights allows him to catch a flight or make the nine-hour drive from Hampton Roads the morning of, too.
This marks Mitchell's first visit since he committed to Ohio State over Florida State in early June.
AN EMOTIONAL WEEK
Ocala, Florida, Belleview four-star offensive tackle Michael Tarquin is just one of millions to be affected by Hurricane Irma this week. In fact, he's not able to return home from his unofficial visit to Ohio State until Wednesday morning.
The 6-foot-5, 290-pound Tarquin, who is considered the 19th-best offensive tackle and No. 153 prospect overall in the Class of 2019, was among the dozens of recruits on campus for Saturday's game. This was his second visit, but first-ever game day experience.
"[It was] amazing," Tarquin told Eleven Warriors. "The amount of people that were there, and just how much the fans love Buckeye football [really stood out]."
There, he spoke with Meyer and offensive line coach Greg Studrawa. The two have becomes especially close since the Buckeyes offered in May.
"Our relationship is really good," Tarquin said. "I love Ohio State."
Like any underclassman, Tarquin wants to see a number of other schools before he makes a decision on his future this winter or next spring, including Clemson, Miami and Michigan. And when that time comes, what will be the biggest factor?
"[My relationship with] coaches and players," Tarquin said.
Sounds like the Buckeyes are in a great spot.
