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.
VIRGINIA BECOMING A PIPELINE STATE?
Mineral, Virginia, Louisa County four-star defensive end Brandon Smith told Eleven Warriors he'll attend Ohio State's game against Maryland on Saturday afternoon.
“I am looking forward to the visit,” Smith said.
The 6-foot-3, 210-pound Smith is considered the sixth-best weak-side defensive end and No. 79 prospect overall in the Class of 2019, as he recorded 40 tackles, seven tackles for a loss and two sacks to garner first-team all-conference honors last season. He holds nearly two dozen offers from programs such as Alabama, Clemson, Florida State, Georgia, Notre Dame, North Carolina, Oregon, Penn State, USC and Virginia Tech, but Ohio State is among those recruiting him the hardest.
“I speak with coach [Urban] Meyer via text daily and on the phone once a week,” Smith said. “Coach [Bill] Davis and coach [Larry] Johnson and I are in contact, as well.”
This will mark Smith's second trip to Columbus, as he made a brief stop by campus in late June. Most of the staff was on vacation at the time, but Davis actually postponed his to meet with Smith and offer him a scholarship that afternoon.
“My last visit was quick, so this time I will get a chance to see everything, including meeting all of the coaches,” Smith said. “Also, I hope to see more of the campus and meet coach Meyer, of course.”
While the Seminoles have long been considered the favorite to land Smith's pledge thanks to head coach Jimbo Fisher's knack for recruiting the commonwealth, the Nittany Lions have taken seemingly taken the lead following a pair of unofficial visits this summer. That means much like defensive end recruiting in the current cycle with Micah Parsons, Jayson Oweh and Tyreke Smith, Smith's recruitment is shaping up to be another battle between Meyer and James Franklin.
OFFER HIM OR PLAY AGAINST HIM
Reynoldsburg three-star linebacker Dezman Cooper will also be on the sidelines prior to Saturday's game against the Terrapins, his second unofficial visit this season.
The 6-foot-2, 215-pound Cooper is considered the 19th-best prospect in the state and No. 38 outside linebacker in the country, as he's recorded 26 tackles, three tackles for a loss, one pick-six and one sack for the Raiders this season. He holds an offer from Miami (Ohio), but is starting to see his recruitment take off this fall, as schools like Cincinnati, Kentucky, Indiana, Michigan, Michigan State, Northwestern, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Virginia and West Virginia have all shown sincere interest.
Ohio State offensive coordinator and area recruiter Kevin Wilson kept tabs on Cooper, and he was the one who invited him to attend the Buckeyes' 31-16 loss to Oklahoma earlier this year.
“They text him pretty much every day,” Cooper's father, Sam, told Eleven Warriors.
Growing up nearby, it goes without saying Cooper is a big Ohio State fan; an offer from the Buckeyes would be a dream come true. But like many in-state prospects, it seems like the staff is going to hold off on extending an offer until his senior year.
Cooper has the size and speed of a prototypical outside linebacker, so keeping tabs on him will be important. Otherwise, they run the risk of him losing interest in the program altogether.
There's a possibility he ends up playing against Ohio State in the future, too. Michigan State has expressed considerable interest in recent weeks and invited him to campus for the game against Notre Dame last month. Cooper's father said Spartans head coach Mark Dantonio recently told his son, “Young man, you're going to have some decisions to make,” anticipating the Buckeyes aren't going to let him leave the state without a fight.
QUITE THE TRAJECTORY
Ohio State offered a scholarship to West Lafayette, Indiana, four-star defensive end George Karlaftis III on Monday night.
BLESSED TO RECEIEVE AN OFFER FROM THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY! #gobuckeyes pic.twitter.com/yjl2XSrOG2
— George Karlaftis III (@TheGK88) October 3, 2017
The 6-foot-5, 260-pound Karlaftis is considered the 16th-best strong-side defensive end and No. 178 prospect overall in the Class of 2019, as he led the Red Devils with 113 tackles last season. He holds more than a dozen offers from programs such as Alabama, Miami, Michigan, Notre Dame, Penn State, Purdue and Tennessee.
Karlaftis' late father, Matt, was a football and track-and-field standout for the Hurricanes in the early 1990s, and holds the record for the longest javelin throw in school history. Shortly after meeting his wife, they moved to his homeland of Greece in 1998.
Karlaftis actually lived in Athens until he was 13 years old and didn't start playing football until late in his eighth-grade season. He won the bronze medal with Greece's 16-and-under water polo team in 2014 and won the state championship in shot put this spring.
Though Karlaftis took an unofficial visit to Columbus this summer, he narrowed down his list of offers to the Boilermakers, Hurricanes and Wolverines in August. It remains to be seen if the Buckeyes can close that gap.
