The Hurry Up: Five-Star Offensive Tackle Cade Mays Eyes Official Visit While Ohio State Lands Commitment From Missouri Kicker Transfer Dominic DiMaccio

By Andrew Lind on October 18, 2017 at 6:50 pm
Dominic DiMaccio
Dominic DiMaccio
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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.

TAKING ADVANTAGE OF TENNESSEE

Though his dad was a captain at Tennessee in the early '90s and he's been committed to the Volunteers for more than two years, Ohio State hasn't given up its pursuit of Knoxville Catholic five-star offensive tackle Cade Mays. And why would they, especially given the speculation surrounding head coach Butch Jones?

That's exactly why a source close to the program confirmed to Eleven Warriors running backs coach and area recruiter Tony Alford was in Tennessee earlier this week to watch Mays practice and meet with his coaches.

Do the Buckeyes have a chance to flip the 6-foot-6, 318-pound Mays? It's highly unlikely, as he's been instrumental in helping the Volunteers land other recruits, and is pretty much holding the class together at its seems at this point in time.

In addition to his father playing at Tennessee, his uncle also played for the Volunteers. Mays has lived and breathed Tennessee football from the time he was born. But that doesn't mean he's not entertaining offers from other schools like Alabama, Clemson and Notre Dame, among others. The more the Volunteers struggle this season, the more likely it is he changes his mind.

After all, why waste your talent as arguably the best offensive tackle prospect in the Class of 2018 at a program that's surely not going to turn things around any time soon?

With that, Mays told 247Sports on Tuesday he plans to take an official visit to Ohio State this fall. It hasn't been scheduled yet, and it's likely to come after the season. He's set to enroll early, however, which means the Buckeyes are going to have to build a strong case in the months leading up to that visit to have a chance.

Then again, Mays fell in love with the Tennessee football program long before Jones' arrival, and I have a hard time imagining that changes because of his departure.

YOU'VE GOT MAIL

With the battle for Houston Lamar five-star cornerback Anthony Cook winding down, Ohio State and Texas each sent out graphics on social media Wednesday afternoon laying claim to the acronym “DBU” — Defensive Back University.

Of course neither program can mention Cook by name or tag him in the tweets, but it's obvious who is being targeted.

While the Longhorns have the quality of depth over the last decade — having produced produced Pro Bowlers Earl Thomas and Michael Griffin, as well as Michael Huff, Aaron Williams, Quentin Jammer, Aaron Ross, Adrian Phillips, Kenny Vaccaro, Quandre Diggs — but only four are still in the National Football League. And some of them played safety.

The Buckeyes, meanwhile, responded with a graphic that only included recent first-round picks at cornerback, Marshon Lattimore, Gareon Conley, Eli Apple and Bradley Roby, all of whom are still in the league.

Now this public back-and-forth isn't likely to have an impact on Cook's decision, as relationships, playing time and distance from home are also factors he'll consider. But neither program is going to let him forget their long history of sending defensive backs to the next level, nor will they let the other get a leg-up in his recruitment as a result.

Nevertheless, this is just the beginning. Expect many more targeted graphics to fill up your timelines as we head toward Cook's Oct. 30 announcement.

I'M COMING HOME

Ohio State's kicking game has been a target of much criticism this season from head coach Urban Meyer. The Buckeyes took a step toward addressing those issues on Tuesday night when they accepted a commitment from Missouri transfer Dominic DiMaccio.

The 5-foot-9, 160-pound DiMaccio played his prep ball at Columbus' St. Francis De Sales, where he was recognized as a second-team All-Ohio selection both his junior and senior seasons. After Ohio State landed a commitment from kicker Blake Haubeil, he chose to walk-on at Missouri this past February.

DiMaccio asked for his release from the Tigers last Wednesday, however.

“Over the course of about four months, I watched things fall apart down here,” DiMaccio told Eleven Warriors. “I asked for my release to transfer and got in contact with Ohio State, and within one phone call, I decided to join the Bucks.

“I always dreamed of being a Buckeye, so the decision was pretty easy,” he added. “My godfather [Tom Skladany] was an All-American punter here, so I grew up bleeding Scarlet and Gray.”

With the aforementioned Haubeil and junior Sean Nuernberger struggling on kickoffs this season, there will be even more competition moving forward.

“They said they need a kickoff guy and a competitor for field goals, and I told them I can get the job done,” DiMaccio said.

DiMaccio will be eligible to play beginning in 2018 as a walk-on.

“I look forward to eventually earning a scholarship,” he said.

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