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.
WE THOUGHT SHAUN WADE HAD A ROLLER COASTER RECRUITMENT...
It's safe to assume nobody knows what Ohio State four-star quarterback commit Emory Jones is going to do this Wednesday, including the talented signal caller himself.
Most assumed the 6-foot-3, 195-pound Jones would flip to Alabama following several trips to Tuscaloosa this fall, but Florida and Florida State have both made a late push to land his pledge. He was in Gainesville on Friday afternoon and well into Saturday before heading to Tallahassee late that evening, where he'll stay until Monday morning.
Neither the Gators nor Seminoles have a quarterback in the respective recruiting classes — the former having lost a pledge from four-star Matt Corral when he flipped to Ole Miss on Thursday — and their interest in Jones is nothing new. The feeling is obviously mutual, and you may recall he told reporters at Friday Night Lights this summer he hoped to take official visits to Florida and Florida State, but their previous staffs chased after Corral and Georgia five-star commit Justin Fields instead.
Now, there's two ways of viewing Jones' weekend foray in the Sunshine State: 1. That he's doing exactly what he's said all along, which is simply making sure Ohio State is the right place for him, or 2. The Buckeyes, Crimson Tide, Gators and Seminoles now find themselves on the same footing with only a few days before the Early Signing Period.
If it's the former, the double dip has everything to do with an accelerated recruiting calendar, and the pressure it puts on coaches, especially new hires like Florida's Dan Mullen and Florida State's Willie Taggart. They're not only facing the pressure of assembling a class in a matter of only a few weeks, but they're more likely to miss out on a top-flight quarterback because they'll all be signed on Wednesday.
Waiting until February isn't ideal, which is why Mullen and Taggart both invited Jones to campus this weekend, and out of every committed quarterback, there's no denying he's the most likely to flip.
Keep in mind Jones' relationship with Ohio State goes back nearly two years.
Jones will have a signing celebration at his high school on Tuesday afternoon, and then will fax in his letter of intent around 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday. Who receives it, though, is still to be determined.
ZERO TO 100, REAL QUICK
Jones wasn't the only Ohio State commitment who did a lot of traveling this weekend, as four-star safety Jaiden Woodbey unexpectedly popped up on USC's campus on Friday afternoon and then flew to Florida State on Saturday morning.
Rumors of a flip have followed the 6-foot-2, 204-pound Woodbey since he committed to the Buckeyes in February. And though he's repeatedly said he was shutting down his recruitment, the home-state Trojans never gave up their pursuit.
So, we're now just a few days before the aforementioned Early Signing Period, and it feels as if the Buckeyes are on the verge of losing one of their longest-tenured commits.
USC's campus is only an hour away from Woodbey's home, and his father, Donnell, played there in the early 1990s. Following in his footsteps always seemed like a natural trajectory, and that's why the Trojans were the favorite in his recruitment from the very beginning.
Florida State, meanwhile, didn't enter the picture until last week, when the aforementioned Taggart extended a scholarship offer to Woodbey after he made an offhand comment on Twitter about how the previous staff never did.
Florida State University . . . pic.twitter.com/efQuUX9ivd
— THOR (@JaidenWoodbey) December 17, 2017
The two have a bit of a relationship from Taggart's time at Oregon, but I — once again — can't imagine a scenerio where a prospect throws away his long-time relationship with the Buckeyes in order to flip to a program with which he has no previous connection after only a week.
All that said, Ohio State will push for Woodbey's signature on Wednesday. But I don't think it's out of the question to suggest he'll flip his pledge then or in the coming days. Luckily for the Buckeyes, some believe recent commit Tyreke Johnson would be able to fill that void without issue.
QUITE THE EXCHANGE
While on campus for official visits, prospects meet with coaches and get a tour of the campus and the facilities. They get to check out the team's uniforms, which they wear for a photoshoot and subsequently post on social media.
It's all part of the process, and something that happens at every school. But when it comes to committed prospects wearing another team's uniform, it's certainly a little bit strange to see.
Now, I've always believed a prospect — even if they're committed — has the right to take as many visits as they want. It's their future, and making sure the school they're choosing is right for them is important. But it appears Ohio State five-star defensive tackle commit Taron Vincent took issue wih Woodbey's actions after he posted several photos with the hashtag “Tribe18” attached during his stay in Tallahassee.
What type of commit are u https://t.co/jiK9x0R9EX
— Taron Vincent (@t_lova23) December 17, 2017
That's quite the pointed comment from Vincent, who hasn't taken a single visit since he committed to Ohio State in April. And while it's easy for fans to take exception to the visits, it's clear some of the commits also aren't happy that Jones and Woodbey aren't all in with the Buckeyes.
GOING TO THE ‘SHIP
Ohio State three-star quarterback commit Matthew Baldwin will play for the Texas state championship after he led Lake Travis to a 28-14 win over nationally ranked Katy on Saturday afternoon.
Baldwin completed 22-of-30 passes for 225 yards, but went down in the fourth quarter with a possible meniscus injury.
“He says it’s feeling good and he was walking around fine,” Baldwin’s mom, Mindy, told Eleven Warriors. “The feeling is he will be playing next week.”
The Cavaliers will now face Allen in the state championship at AT&T Stadium in Arlington next Saturday. The undefeated Eagles are led by 2019 four-star quarterback target Grant Tisdale.
