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.
JUST AROUND THE CORNER
Texas played at Iowa State on Thursday evening, which allowed the Longhorns to then host Houston Lamar five-star cornerback Anthony Cook for an official visit over the weekend. It was his second trip to Austin this fall — as he also attended Texas’ season-opening loss to Maryland — and it couldn’t have gone any better for home-state Longhorns.
“Texas really showed me something,” Cook told 247Sports’ E.J. Holland. “I would give the visit the highest grade possible. On a 1-to-10 scale, it was a 10. I saw a lot of things that I liked and how I would fit on and off the field. I like the alumni base and connections. I also got to talk to Michael Huff and Aaron Ross. It’s great to see those players come back and support.”
It goes without saying how much head coach Tom Herman needed to knock the visit out of the park in order for Texas to have a shot at the 6-foot, 168-pound Cook, who is widely considered the top-rated cornerback in the Class of 2018. The Longhorns have long been looking up at Ohio State, as his relationship with the staff and the Buckeyes’ knack for putting defensive backs in the National Football League have put them ahead from the onset of his recruitment. That’s all changed following this weekend, though.
“I would say Ohio State and Texas are one now,” Cook said. “They are both tied at the top, so LSU is number two. I don’t know what it was about Texas. It was just one of those visits where you feel it. I loved everything about it.”
Cook will take his third and final official visit to Baton Rouge on Oct. 14, but it's highly unlikely to factor into his final decision. That means Ohio State must hope its above-mentioned resume and two years of pursuing Cook is able to withstand one visit. That’s part of the reason I'm surprised the staff didn't advocate for Cook to take his official visit for the Oct. 28 game against Penn State, which is only two days ahead of his decision, instead of last month.
On one hand, he'll probably already have his mind made up by that point. But on the other, last impressions carry a lot of weight.
When it comes to Cook, his last memory of Columbus is watching the Buckeyes walk off the field with their heads down in a 31-16 loss to Oklahoma.
Could this be that one loss change the entire trajectory of one player’s recruitment? I doubt it, and I still anticipate Cook chooses Ohio State when it’s all said and done.
Playing alongside his good friend Jeffrey Okudah and for a program that will surely turn him into a first-round pick will be too good to pass up. But Texas has made quite the push and should absolutely be taken as a serious threat.
QUARTERBACK OF THE FUTURE?
Ohio State will surely have another battle with Texas on its hands when it comes to Allen four-star quarterback Grant Tisdale, the fourth-best dual-threat quarterback in the Class of 2019. But with the Longhorns already holding a commitment from another player at the position and waiting to offer him as a result, the Buckeyes have become the favorite to eventually land his pledge.
The Buckeyes offered the 6-foot-1, 204-pound Tisdale back in May despite the fact that he's never started a game at the high school level, which speaks to quarterback coach Ryan Day's ability to evaluate and identify top prospects early in the process — Tisdale threw for 522 yards and six touchdowns and rushed for 185 yards and three touchdowns as a backup. He attended a one-day camp in June, and has maintained constant contact with the staff every since.
“They have [reached out] a lot,” Tisdale told Eleven Warriors. “I talk to coach [Urban] Meyer and coach Day every day.”
Day was very impressed with Tisdale's overall talent, likening his ability to throw and run the ball to fellow Texan and current Ohio State starting quarterback J.T. Barrett. The staff wanted to see him start a few games before pushing for his pledge, however.
Tisdale has since led state power Allen to a 4-0 record and has racked up more than 800 all-purpose yards and 10 touchdowns despite watching several quarters from the bench with the Eagles holding big leads. Day has been keeping tabs every step of the way, too.
“He said I manage the game well,” Tisdale said. “Just keep doing what I have been doing and everything is good.”
The distance and his schedule has made it hard for Tisdale to get to Columbus for a game this fall, but he hopes to return to campus for the highly anticipated game against Penn State later this month.
HOW THE CHAMPIONS OF LIFE HAVE FALLEN
With Ohio State planning to take only one true wide receiver in this year's class — all due respect to Huber Heights Wayne four-star L'Christian “Blue” Smith, whose primary position at the next level is still to be determined — the position will be one of great need in next year's recuriting cycle.
Good thing there are seemingly a dozen junior wideouts with interest in the Buckeyes, including Thompson's Station, Tennessee, Independence four-star Kendrell Scurry. He included Ohio State in his Top 5 on Sunday night alongside Louisville, Miami, Penn State and Tennessee.
Top 5 (This May Change) #Elite3
— Kendrell Scurry (@D1Scurry) October 2, 2017
Penn state
Tennessee
Louisville
Ohio state
Miami
The 6-foot-3, 185-pound Scurry is considered the 27th-best wide receiver and No. 150 prospect overall in the Class of 2019, as he's hauled in 78 catches for 1,214 yards and 17 touchdowns in his two-year varsity career.
Scurry committed to the Volunteers in August 2016, just five days before the Buckeyes offered. He reopened his recruitment in May, however, citing a desire to check out other programs. And that, he did, as Scurry made his first and only unofficial visit to Ohio State for Friday Night Lights in July.
Whether or not Scurry's interest is reciprocated by the Buckeyes is to be determined, as the staff has circled fellow Tennessean Trey Knox and Texan Theo Wease Jr. — teammate of the aforementioned Tisdale — as their top targets at the position. Nevertheless, he's a prospect to keep an eye on, even if he's most likely to re-up with the Volunteers when it's all said and done.
#NICE
Just a few days after he hauled in six catches for 69 yards and three touchdowns — and added a 12-yard pick-six — in Lindenhurst, New York's, 45-12 win over Connetquot, Ohio State five-star tight end commit Jeremy Ruckert received his honorary U.S. Army All-American Bowl jersey.
Big thank you for everyone that made this happen. Honored to be a U.S. Army All American !! #ArmyBowl pic.twitter.com/hN4dgvqRW5
— Ruck (@Jeremy_Ruckert1) October 2, 2017
The 6-foot-6, 238-pound Ruckert is one of seven future Buckeyes who will play in the Army Bowl, which will take place on Jan. 6, 2018, in San Antonio.
He'll be joined by five-star defensive tackle Taron Vincent, five-star running back Jaelen Gill, four-star offensive guard Max Wray and four-star linebacker Dallas Gant on the East squad, while four-star safeties Josh Proctor and Jaiden Woodbey will represent the West.
