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.
NO REST FOR THE WHACK JOB
Ohio State assistant coordinator Kerry Coombs spent the beginning of the Buckeyes' open week planting flags among a forest of peach trees in the state of Georgia. One of his stops was in Marietta, where he offered a scholarship to four-star wide receiver Ramel Keyton.
Very blessed to receive an offer from THE Ohio State University #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/fCkWPIVYFj
— Ramel Keyton (@Wlmel10) October 17, 2017
The 6-foot-2, 180-pound Keyton is considered the 30th-best wideout and No. 172 prospect overall in a Class of 2019 loaded with wide receivers, as he's hauled in 1,992 yards and 15 touchdowns in his two-year varsity career with the Blue Devils. He holds nearly two dozen offers from programs such as Auburn, Clemson, Florida, Georgia, Miami, North Carolina, Ole Miss, South Carolina and Tennessee.
The Buckeyes are currently among the leaders for four-star wide receivers Trey Knox, Theo Wease Jr. and Lance Wilhoite, and are projected to once again take two or three wideouts in next year's cycle. It's clear, though, they not only see potential in Keyton, but also the opportunity to go back to the Peach State and land a premier prospect.
He's highly coveted, however, and the Bulldogs' recent success might make that difficult, though they already hold commitments from two wideouts themselves.
BACK TO THE LOU
Wide receivers coach Zach Smith, meanwhile, was in St. Louis Thursday morning to check on Christian Brothers College four-star wide receiver Kamryn Babb, who is on the mend after tearing his ACL in a practice prior to the season.
— Zach Smith #Zone6 (@CoachZachSmith) October 19, 2017
The visit is important, as the 6-foot-1, 189-pound Babb — who narrowed down his list of 30 scholarship offers this summer to Alabama, LSU, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Ole Miss and USC — is set to return to campus for the Penn State game next weekend. It'll mark his first time in Columbus since he attended (but did not participate in) a one-day camp back in June.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch wrote a wonderful article on Babb Wednesday, detailing his lost senior season and rehab. It also mentioned how Babb called coaches from each one of his top nine schools the moment he found out the extent of the injury to make sure his scholarship was still on the table.
For what it's worth, he placed the first call to Ohio State.
Not surprisingly, the heavyweights of college football are still interested in the speedster the Post-Dispatch ranks as the top football prospect in the 2018 class. He plans to start taking official visits soon.
“It’s been pretty good, no change or anything like that,” he said of recruiting. “All the same schools that were talking to me before the injury are still talking to me, so I’m just taking one day at a time, giving them an update on my rehab. It’s going pretty good. Nothing’s changed.”
Kamryn is focusing on rehabbing his knee and helping his teammates from the sidelines these days.
He has also drawn inspiration from his father’s vow to go through the same running exercises with him once he’s cleared to do agility drills.
I've been fortunate in getting to know Babb's parents through this process, so it's no suprise to hear how helpful they've been in getting him back to 100 percent. Here's to hoping the Cadets can finish out the season strong and bookend Babb's high school career with a pair of state championships.
NOT DONE YET
Last but not least, Ohio State linebackers coach Bill Davis was in California on Tuesday to watch Santa Ana Mater Dei four-star linebacker Solomon Tuliaupupu practice.
It’s really the first time in a few months we’ve discussed the 6-foot-2, 220-pound Tuliaupupu this fall, as he’s put his recruitment on the backburner to focus solely on the football season. And that’s proved to be a good idea, as he leads the undefeated and top-ranked Monarchs in tackles.
Tuliaupupu will take his first official visit this weekend to Notre Dame, with trips to Alabama, Oregon and USC likely. His father, Turnbull, recently told Eleven Warriors another trip to Columbus is certain, too.
The Trojans have long been considered the favorite in Tuliaupupu’s recruitment, I've always believed the Buckeyes are the only ones that could pull him out of Southern California. Whether or not the numbers work in the their favor is another story — especially given Ohio State already holds commitments from three linebackers in Teradja Mitchell, Dallas Gant and K’Vaughan Pope — but neither that nor distance from home is something that would disuade him from choosing to further his academic and athletic career in Columbus.
An official visit would be Tuliaupupu’s second trip to Columbus, as he attended the Spring Game with his uncle back in April.
“When I went out there, they showed me a lot of love,” Tuliaupupu told Eleven Warriors at Nike Football's The Opening Finals in July. “The thing that caught my eye was what happens after football. You make a lot of networking connections. [There are] a lot of ways to be successful after football ends, but at the same time using football to your advantage.”
Though the Buckeyes hit the visit out of the park, this would also give the staff an opportunity to impress his parents ahead of his decision at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl in January.
WHAT AN HONOR
Ohio State already has seven commits set to play in the aforementioned Army Bowl, a number that could grow to eight if Pocatello, Idaho, Highland four-star defensive tackle Tommy Togiai eventually chooses the Buckeyes.
Surrounded by family, friends, teammates and coaches, he received his honorary jersey for the game on Thursday morning.
DL Tommy Togiai welcome to the 2018 #ArmyBowl ! pic.twitter.com/KkEp9W8VLt
— #ArmyBowl (@ArmyAllAmerican) October 19, 2017
What appeared just a few weeks ago to be a battle between Ohio State and USC actually includes Washington instead, as the 6-foot-3, 290-pound Togiai recently trimmed his list to the Buckeyes and Huskies following an official visit to Seattle earlier this month.
Togiai, you’ll recall, took an official visit to Ohio State for the aforementioned loss to Oklahoma last month, his second trip to Columbus this summer. He was reportedly blown away by both and contemplated committing following his most recent visit.
The same could be said about his trip to Washington, however, which is why Togiai eyes a December announcement date, giving him time to step back from the visit and weigh each opportunity without the emotional high.
So long as he doesn’t adjust that schedule, I continue to feel as if he’ll choose Ohio State. He and his family aren’t concerned with distance, and that certainly favors the Buckeyes when comparing the two programs.
“I just think what Ohio State has to offer and the way they're selling it is the right way,” Highland head coach Gino Mariani recently told Eleven Warriors. “At the end of the day, at least in my opinion, is the best fit for him.”
