The Hurry Up: Georgia Cornerback Jalen Perry Among This Weekend's Visitors While Ohio State Starts Forming Contingency Plan For Anthony Cook

TIME TO MAKE A LASTING IMPRESSION

As Ohio State’s highly anticipated matchup with Penn State grows closer, top-rated prospects from all over the country continue to announce their intentions to attend. Among the latest, Dacula, Georgia, four-star cornerback Jalen Perry.

Ohio State vs Penn state game Saturday in Columbus! #Buckeyes #CollegeGameday @ChadSimmons_ @Mansell247 @OSUCoachMeyer @OsuCoachCoombs

— Jalen Perry (@Jayworld05) October 23, 2017

The 6-foot, 170-pound Perry is considered the 14th-best cornerback and No. 185 in the Class of 2019, as he recorded 11 pass breakups and five interceptions for the Falcons last season. He holds more than a dozen offers, from programs such as Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, Notre Dame, Ole Miss, Stanford and Tennessee.

Ohio State offered Perry back in May, and he made his first visit to campus in late July. He was accompanied on the trip by his parents. 

“[They have] a very rich tradition of winning and great players and coaches that have been a part of Ohio State football,” Perry told Eleven Warriors. “Very nice facilities. Coaching staff [is] very good. I enjoyed talking with them, and also, the campus atmosphere was very cool.”

With head coach Urban Meyer in Chicago for Big Ten Media Days, Perry spent most of the afternoon with defensive coordinator Greg Schiano.

“It was great,” Perry said. “We had a really good conversation and not just about football, but about life. I really enjoy the way he can relate to most of his players. Also, obviously, he has a great defensive mind, as well, so he will put the Buckeyes in the best position to be successful on defense.”

Perry, who has no reservations about playing far from home, added Ohio State was among his top schools after the visit. This weekend gives the staff another opportunity to build upon that foundation.

GETTING FAMILIAR

Mentor three-star defensive end Noah Potter will also be in attendance, he told Eleven Warriors on Sunday evening.

The 6-foot-6, 240-pound Potter is considered the 30th-best strong-side defensive end and No. 407 prospect overall in the Class of 2019, and holds double-digit offers from schools like Boston College, Bowling Green, Iowa State, Kent State, Minnesota, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Penn State and Toledo.

Potter’s visit comes just one week after he watched from the sidelines as the Nittany Lions dismantled Michigan in an atmosphere that many recruits in attendance said was second to none. There's no doubt in my mind they'll be the biggest threat to the Buckeyes' chances.

Defensive line coach Larry Johnson visited with Potter's coaches last Monday, and he remains in constant contact with running backs coach Tony Alford, as well. The hope is that Penn State's offer accelerates Ohio State's timeline, as the staff typically holds off on offering in-state prospects until later in the process.

“Coach Alford said, 'Be ready to be a Buckeye. We're going to go full steam ahead on you,'” Potter said. “So, hopefully something happens soon.”

Potter — the younger brother of Ohio State basketball center Micah — has been on campus numerous times in the last year, including the blowout win over UNLV last month. He has an open invitation to attend every home game this season, which means he's likely to return sometime in November.

HAS THE SHIPPED SAILED?

Given the way his recruitment was trending this summer, there was no conceivable way Pennsylvania five-star defensive end Micah Parsons was going to miss this weekend’s game. But he’ll likely be the most notable omission when you read through our full list of expected visitors on Friday afternoon.

Why? Parsons will be on an official visit at Oklahoma instead.

On one hand, Parsons has been to Columbus half a dozen times over the last year. There’s nothing left for him to see. Then again, his absence should be viewed as a sign that the Ohio State staff is not recruiting him as hard as they once were. 

I discussed this at length in my recruiting mailbag last week:

The staff has distanced itself a bit from Parsons ever since his official visit for the Oklahoma game, for a variety of reasons. It's not just the tweet calling for a change at the quarterback position (that seems like forever ago, doesn't it?), but his supposed lack of maturity and the people with whom he associates, too, that have many wondering if the risk is worth the reward.

Penn State's staff, meanwhile, welcomed him for an official visit one week later with arms wide open, and everything points toward him rejoining the Nittany Lions recruiting class before everything is said and done.

With that, New Jersey four-star Jayson Oweh and Cleveland Heights four-star Tyreke Smith have become the staff’s top targets — seemingly in that order, as well.

CONTINGENCY PLAN

Yesterday, we shared the latest on Houston Lamar five-star cornerback Anthony Cook, who is set to make his college announcement among LSU, Ohio State and Texas on Oct. 30. But what happens if he elects to play closer to home instead of for the program most likely to turn him into a first-round NFL Draft pick?

Ohio State has planned throughout the process to take a pair of cornerbacks in the current cycle, and currently holds just one commitment at that position from Orlando Jones four-star Sevyn Banks — Pennsylvania's Marcus Hooker, meanwhile, is listed as a cornerback, but will transition to safety at the next level. And with the early signing period just two months away, the pool of potential replacements for Cook is shrinking my the minute.

Fort Lauderdale American Heritage five-star teammates Tyson Campbell and Patrick Surtain II remain high on Ohio State, with the latter set to take his official visit to Columbus this weekend. As does San Diego Helix four-star Isaac Taylor-Stuart, who hopes to make it to Columbus for the first time following the season, and Georgia four-star Christian Tutt. But, in all honesty, all four of them will be extremely difficult to land and have their eyes seemingly focused elsewhere at this moment in time.

So where does the staff turn from there?

The Buckeyes have kept tabs on what's going on with Tennessee four-star commit Jaycee Horn, who has been to campus several times. His interest dwindled a bit following Banks' pledge, thus his commitment to Tennessee just a few weeks later, but assistant coordinator and area recruiter Kerry Coombs has been in contact and stopped by his high school in Georgia just last week.

If head coach Butch Jones gets the axe, Horn — the son of former NFL wide receiver Joe Horn — could reopen his recruitment or flip his pledge. Alabama and South Carolina were also in the running for his commitment the first time around.

Another name to keep in mind, and someone who is a much more realistic flip candidate down the road, is Euclid three-star cornerback Arquon Bush. He has been committed to Cincinnati since June, choosing the Bearcats over offers from Kentucky, Michigan State, Purdue and Rutgers, but an offer from Ohio State would certainly be difficult to turn down.

Meyer was in the Cleveland area on Friday, at which time he notably visited with coaches at Cleveland Heights and discussed wide receiver Jaylen Harris and the aforementioned Smith. But before he headed home, he also met with Euclid head coach Jeff Rotsky to gauge Bush's interest in the Buckeyes.

The 5-foot-11, 167-pound Bush is considered the 140th-best cornerback and No. 1,467 prospect overall in the Class of 2018, as recorded 52 tackles and five interceptions — and also scored five touchdowns as a kick returner — to help lead the Panthers to the state playoffs for the second year in a row last season.

Bush was just starting to see his stock soar when he committed to Cincinnati. And with the Bearcats struggling in their first season under former Ohio State defensive coordinator Luke Fickell, their top prospects are primed for the picking.