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.
AN UPHILL CLIMB
Seemingly lost among the build-up to college football's first Early Signing Period, Pinson Valley, Alabama, four-star quarterback Bo Nix included Ohio State in his Top 3 alongside Auburn and Clemson on Monday evening.
Top 3 pic.twitter.com/R9Ml4bLX5K
— Bo Nix (@bo_nix10) December 19, 2017
The 6-foot-2, 194-pound Nix is considered the second-best dual-threat quarterback and No. 57 prospect overall in the Class of 2019, as he threw for 2,872 yards and 36 touchdowns against four interceptions to lead the Indians to the state championship this season. He also rushed for five scores, including two in the title game.
Nix visited Columbus for the first and only time in November 2016, shortly after which quarterbacks coach Ryan Day extended a scholarship offer. He's one of only five quarterbacks in his class to hold such a distinction — and that includes Texas four-star Grant Tisdale and Oregon four-star Michael Johnson Jr., both of whom have shown significant interest in the Buckeyes.
The Buckeyes will most likely look to add two quarterbacks next cycle, but it's highly unlikely Nix will be the answer. He is the son of former Auburn quarterback Patrick Nix, who finished his career as the school's all-time leader in passing efficiency, so the Tigers are considered the odds-on favorite to land his pledge whenever the time comes.
SO MUCH FOR THAT
Less than a day after he received an offer from Ohio State that “changes things,” Belleville, Michigan, four-star cornerback Julian Barnett committed to Michigan State.
All Glory to God Lets Charge up baby #GBB pic.twitter.com/lQvUo4rvW2
— Julian Barnett (@_OfficialJB1) December 22, 2017
The 6-foot-1, 186-pound Barnett has been trending toward the Spartans for a while, but the Buckeyes hoped their offer on Thursday made him reconsider. After all, he’s been on campus several times and has — like most prospects from the state up north — has grown close to and quite fond of assistant coordinator Kerry Coombs.
“It means a lot,” Barnett told Eleven Warriors yesterday. “I've been waiting on this offer for a minute, and to finally get it is surprising.”
Michigan State has made quite the push at Belleville recently. The Spartans’ football program added three-star cornerback Davion Williams this cycle, while the basketball team landed four-star small forward Gabe Brown in November.
With Barnett now in the fold, he’ll surely do his best to make sure his teammate, five-star offensive tackle Devontae Dobbs, ends up in East Lansing instead of Columbus, too.
ASSESSING THE SITUATION
Former five-star wide receiver Trevon Grimes was expected to make a significant contribution as a freshman at Ohio State. But after he hauled in only three passes for 20 yards and took a personal leave of absense from the team in October due to a health issue in his family, he transferred to Florida this afternoon.
Head coach Urban Meyer said as recently as November he anticipated the 6-foot-3, 202-pound Grimes would return to the team, but such uncertainty played a key role in the Buckeyes bringing in three wide receivers in the current recruiting cycle in four-stars Kamryn Babb, L'Christian “Blue” Smith and Cameron Brown.
Starters Terry McLaurin, Johnnie Dixon and K.J. Hill are all expected to return next season, and contibutors Austin Mack and Binjimen Victor will, too. Freshmen Jaylen Harris and Ellijah Gardiner will have a year in the program under their belts, as well, making it highly unlikely the staff looks to add another wide receiver this cycle.
Brown's commitment on Wednesday seemingly ended all hope of California three-star Chris Olave joining the class. I don't anticipate Friday's news changes that, though he has showed a lot of interest in the program and took an official visit last month. Olave is likely to end up at Michigan, UCLA or Utah instead.
PURE SPEED
While he could have easily been celebrating Ohio State landing signatures from 21 of the nation's best recruits, assistant director of player personnel Eron Hodges was instead watching film of some of the state's most underrated prospects.
That's when he found Bedford two-star wide receiver Davion Johnson, to whom he extended him a preferred walk-on opportunity on Wednesday afternoon.
Received and Offer from The Ohio State University as a Preferred walk on SU pic.twitter.com/4V4r6eHNjj
— Davion Johnson (@TRMT_SPEEDY) December 21, 2017
“He said he's been doing research on me,” Johnson told Eleven Warriors. “[I think he likes my] speed and being quick, making people miss.”
The 5-foot-8, 160-pound Johnson is considered the 294th-best wideout and No. 1,976 prospect overall in the Class of 2018, as he finished his senior season with more than 1,000 yards receiving and 18 touchdowns to be named second-team all-state. He holds one offer from Iowa State, but will seriously consider signing with the Buckeyes on Feb. 7.
“That's almost every kid's dream school growing up,” Johnson said. “It means a lot because [they] feel that I have the ability to play a the highest level. I feel I can go earn a full scholarship.”
