The Hurry Up: Ohio State Offers Dual-Threat Quarterback Jayden Daniels While Offensive Tackle Signee Nicholas Petit-Frere Receives Scholar Award

By Andrew Lind on February 23, 2018 at 6:50 pm
Jayden Daniels
Jayden Daniels
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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.

CALIFORNIA DREAMING?

Earlier this week, my colleague Andrew Ellis took a look at the top names to know in Ohio State's quarterback search. Well, you can add another name to list, as the Buckeyes offered a scholarship on Thursday evening to San Bernardino, California, Cajon four-star Jayden Daniels.

"I was kind of caught of guard," Daniels told Eleven Warriors. "[It's a] big program and a lot of success runs through the program."

The 6-foot-3, 170-pound Daniels is considered the second-best dual-threat quarterback and No. 93 prospect overall in the Class of 2019, as he threw for 5,139 yards and 62 touchdowns and rushed for 1,292 yards and 15 scores to break the state record for total yards in a season while leading the Cowboys to an appearance in the state championship game. He holds 20 offers from most of the top programs in the country, including Alabama, Florida State, Georgia, Nebraska, Oregon, Penn State, UCLA and USC.

Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Ryan Day has invited Daniels to campus this spring, and he plans on taking an official visit this fall, as well.

"[Day is] a cool guy," Daniels said.

TURNING OVER EVERY LARGE BOULDER

Ohio State also extended a scholarship offer on Wednesday afternoon to Fort Washington, Maryland, National Christian Academy four-star offensive tackle William Harrod.

"I was excited," Harrod told Eleven Warriors. "That is THE Ohio State."

The 6-foot-5, 305-pound Harrod is considered the 22nd-best offensive tackle and No. 190 prospect overall in the Class of 2019, as he recorded 14 pancake blocks while helping the Eagles rush for nearly 200 yards per game. He holds nearly two dozen offers from programs such as Maryland, Michigan, Nebraska, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina and Virginia Tech.

The Wolverines have long been considered the favorite in his recruitment, but it remains to be seen how he's impacted by this morning's news regarding the resignation of offensive coordinator and offensive line coach Tim Drevno.

The offer from the Buckeyes, meanwhile, has been in the works for a while. Offensive line coach Greg Studrawa and defensive line coach and area recruiter Larry Johnson have been by to watch him work out and meet with his coaches on numerous occasions, but they first just wanted to see his transcripts.

Harrod has never been to campus, but plans to make his first trip to Columbus for a spring practice in the next few weeks.

PIPELINE'S ABOUT TO BURST?

Though Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas' 19-game postseason winning streak — which included three-straight state titles — came to an end last season, the Raiders have restocked the cupboard for another run in 2018. 

If you don't believe me, just look Ohio State's list of scholarship offers, which includes 10 prospects from the South Florida powerhouse. The latest went out on Friday morning to four-star safety Jordan Battle.

The 6-foot-1, 187-pound Battle is considered the 29th-best safety and No. 347 prospect overall in the Class of 2019, as he recorded 55 tackles, four interceptions, three pass deflections, one fumble recovery and one defensive touchdown for Aquinas last season. He holds more than 20 offers from programs such as Clemson, Florida, Georgia, Miami, Michigan, Oklahoma, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia Tech.

I'M COMING HOME *SKYLAR GREY VOICE*

Shortly after Ohio State landed a commitment from Austin, Texas, Lake Travis four-star quarterback Matthew Baldwin in early December, the Buckeyes offered his former teammate, four-star wide receiver Garrett Wilson. 

The 6-foot, 185-pound Wilson — who is considered the 14th-best wideout and No. 78 prospect overall in the Class of 2019 — grew up in Dublin, but moved to the Lone Star State when he was in sixth grade. He attended several games in Ohio Stadium during his childhood, but will finally make his first trip to campus as a recruit next month.

This according to Texas' rivals site, Orangebloods:

Wilson will take an unofficial visit to Ohio State on March 23 and official visit to Ohio State in June. He visited Oklahoma on Saturday and will return to Norman for an official visit, possibly the weekend of April 14. Return visits to Texas are also expected, and Wilson will take a UT official visit as well. His plan is to commit in the summer.

“I couldn't tell you how many games [I've been to], but a lot during the Terrelle Pryor, DeVier Posey time,” Wilson told Eleven Warriors at the time of the offer. “Those fans were the best in the country, for sure. The atmosphere every time was awesome, and I can't wait to see it again.”

The Buckeyes have plenty of options at receiver this cycle, but Wilson is arguably the staff's top target — though fellow Texas four-star Theo Wease Jr. could also lay claim to that title. And given his relationship with Baldwin (the duo connected on 98 passes for 1,774 yards and 26 touchdowns while leading the Cavaliers to the state title game last season) and previous connections to the area, I believe he'll end up playing his college ball in Columbus.

STUDENT COMES BEFORE ATHLETE

Ohio State five-star offensive tackle signee Nicholas Petit-Frere may be finished with his illustrious high school career, but he’s still reeling in awards like the National Football Foundation Tampa Chapter Scholar Athlete of the Year.

The 6-foot-6, 272-pound Petit-Frere, you may recall, picked the Buckeyes on National Signing Day over finalists Alabama, Florida, Michigan and Notre Dame. His relationship with defensive coordinator and area recruiter Greg Schiano — whose sons attended Berkeley Prep when he was the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and who was assistant with the program after he was fired by the team — played a key role in the decision.

So did academics, so it’s no surprised Petit-Frere was honored on Thursday night. I wrote as much in his impact article earlier this month:

[Petit-Frere] was named to the headmaster's list every year of high school — sporting a 3.8 grade-point average — and student body class president as a senior. He was also inducted into the National Honor Society inductee; was named a U.S. Army National Scholar Athlete; and earned numerous awards for volunteerism, which includes time spent at local retirement homes, leading neighborhood food drives and painting low-income schools.

Petit-Frere remains undecided on his major, but has interest in fields like psychology, political science and engineering law — all of which Ohio State offers.

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