The Hurry Up: Feud Continues Between Five-Star Offensive Tackle and ESPN Analyst While Local Running Back Discusses Visit

TWITTER FINGERS

Fairfield five-star offensive tackle Jackson Carman has been the topic of much discussion this week, as he — along with five-star defensive end target Micah Parsons and four-star safety commit Jaiden Woodbey — publicly advocated for Ohio State to make a change at the quarterback position following the Buckeyes' 31-16 loss to Oklahoma.

On Thursday, the 6-foot-6, 330-pound Carman was asked to elaborate.

#OSU target @Jackthejiant on beef w/ @KirkHerbstreit why he wanted Haskins' to play & why OSU isn't a lock in recruitment @SpecSportsOH pic.twitter.com/FhkMeaXhnD

— Harrison D. Sanford (@HarrisonSanford) September 14, 2017

“My tweet, originally, was not to bash J.T. Barrett’s play,” Carman told Spectrum Sports' Harrison D. Sanford. “It was simply to say, I have a friend in Dwayne Haskins and I’d like to see him play in the game. Nothing dirty toward J.T.”

In the days since, though, the tweet has morphed into a very public fued between Carman and former Ohio State quarterback and current ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit.

“What bothered me about his response was that he automatically assumed that I was going to be in Ohio State’s locker room and that me making a comment on Ohio State’s quarterback decisions were going to affect me in the future,” Carman said. “My comment back to him was to say that Ohio State isn’t necessarily the only place in my future. I still have other options to be able to go, and it’s wrong for him to assume that so easily.”

Herbstreit, meanwhile, was on the Ryen Russillo Show on ESPN Radio on Thursday afternoon, at which time he was asked about the back-and-forth exchange.

“For me, I’m a big respect guy. I know that's probably old school, [but] I think some of these five-star guys, they get a little full of themselves because nobody talks real to them,” Herbstreit said. “Everybody plays pretend because they live in a world where everyone pats them on the back, whether it's a teacher, coach or recruiter. Some of them — if they don't have a coach or a mom or a dad or a grandma or somebody to kind of give them a reality check — they kind of lose their way. They think they really matter. And the reality is that they don't. At all. They're all very replaceable.

“I don’t even know that kid. I don’t follow recruiting, I have no idea who he is,” he continued. “I just didn’t like that he thought he had an opinion about a guy who was a three-time captain — the only one in the history of a school — and was like 'get him out and get my boy in.'

“I just thought it was really inappropriate for a guy that's being recruited by a school to publicly say, 'Get that bozo out, get that guy in. Let him ball.' Like reality check, kid. Who are you,” Herbstreit asked. “And then he says he’s gonna go to Clemson or USC. Good, that would be a great decision for you. I think it’d be better for Urban Meyer to not have a guy like that on his roster. I just think the kid is full of himself.”

I'm willing to bet this isn't the last exchange between the two.

KEEP IT LOCAL

Wrapping up the weekend that was, Columbus Northland running back John Branham Jr. and his younger brother, Kalil, attended Saturday's game against Oklahoma. It was their second visit in the last two months, as they both participated in Friday Night Lights in late July.

“The biggest thing that stood out was the tailgating. Food everywhere. I loved it,” the elder Branham told Eleven Warriors. “The tailgaters knew who were were. They came up and said, 'Hi.' We gave out a ton of hugs. That was a good feeling.”

The 5-foot-10, 195-pound Branham is still among the many prospects from the Class of 2019 that haven't been ranked by any major recruiting sites, but he holds offers from Cincinnati, Kent State, Ohio, Pittsburgh and Toledo, nonetheless. Programs such as Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Penn State and USC have also started to take notice, especially after he rushed for 284 yards and three touchdowns and returned a kickoff 72 yards for a score in a recent win.

Branham — who regularly works out with former Buckeyes Braxton Miller and Mike Thomas, as well as Pittsburgh Steelers defensive end James Harrison — spent time with offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson while on campus.

“He said he watches my [highlight] videos when he can,” Branham said. “Then, Monday morning at 6:30 a.m., he texts me right when I finished working out, thanking me for coming and said he wants us to come back. And he knew I was working out.

“He said keep doing what I do,” Branham continued. “He explained the process about how a college sometimes has to recruit 15 [players] to get one and how Ohio State usually doesn't just throw offers out there. They vet the player to see if they will fit the program. He said with my work ethic and ability, any coach would love to have me on their roster.”

THIS WEEKEND'S LINEUP

It's once again Friday night — where does the time go? — which means most of Ohio State's 19 commitments are back in action this evening. 

It's a well-deserved off week for four-star safety commit Josh Proctor and a much-needed day of rest for four-star linebacker pledge K'Vaughan Pope, who suffered a sprained ankle a few weeks back. 

Four-star linebacker commit Teradja Mitchell, meanwhile, plays a rare Friday game, and he'll be able to attend tomorrow's game against Army as a result. 

As always, several games will be broadcast online tonight and tomorrow. Make sure to follow me on Twitter at @AndrewMLind, and I'll share the links as they come in. And stay tuned to Eleven Warriors dot com on Sunday morning for the Supreme '18 Tracker.