VICTORY
Ohio State beats Penn State, 20-13, in a thrilling top-five matchup at Beaver Stadium.
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.
MR. 305-STAR
Though he was overshadowed by the fact that Ohio State landed a commitment from Indiana four-star running back Sampson James, Miami South Dade five-star wide receiver Frank Ladson Jr. announced he had received an offer from the Buckeyes on Monday night.
Extremely Blessed To Receive An Offer From The Ohio State University #Zone6 pic.twitter.com/wD9wjjykst
— Frank Ladson Jr. (@_FrankLadson) March 19, 2018
The 6-foot-4, 170-pound Ladson is considered the third-best wide receiver and No. 15 prospect overall in the Class of 2019, as he hauled in 25 catches for 554 yards and seven touchdowns as a junior to help the Buccaneers to the regional semifinals. He holds more than 30 offers from programs such as Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, LSU, Miami, Oregon and Penn State.
Ladson — who was once committed to the Gators, but backed off that pledge in December — reminds me a lot of fellow Floridian and current Buckeyes wide receiver Binjimen Victor. He has never been to campus, but he told 247Sports' Luke Stampini he'll make the trip this coming weekend alongside his teammate and former Florida four-star cornerback commit Tyrique Stevenson.
CLOSE CONNECTION
Ohio State has a long list of prospects expected to attend either a spring practice or the Spring Game next month, and it only continues to grow each day as North Palm Beach Benjamin School four-star cornerback Kaiir Elam told Eleven Warriors he’s currently in the process of setting up an unofficial visit.
“I will be up there soon,” Elam said.
The 6-foot-1, 182-pound Elam is considered the 12th-best cornerback and No. 115 prospect overall in the Class of 2019, as he recorded 18 tackles and two interceptions to lead the Buccaneers to the regional finals last season. He holds nearly three dozen offers from programs such as Auburn, Clemson, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Miami, Michigan, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Oregon, Penn State and Stanford, but most believe it to be a two-horse race between the Buckeyes and Gators.
Elam has strong family ties to both programs, as head coaches Urban Meyer and Dan Mullen recruited his father, Abram, while they were assistants at Notre Dame. Meyer then recruited and coached his uncle, Matt, when he was at Florida.
Those kinds of relationships matter in recruiting.
Elam has been to Columbus twice, including the win over Maryland last season, so he’s quite familiar with Ohio State’s campus and the facilities. He’d forged a strong bond with departed assistant coordinator Kerry Coombs, though, so new cornerbacks coach Taver Johnson had to hit the ground running when he accepted the job in February.
“It’s going real well,” Elam said of his growing relationship with the staff. “Urban has me FaceTime him twice a week and coach [Zach} Smith, coach Johnson and coach [Greg] Schiano text me almost every day. They’re recruiting me hard.”
Elam has shined on the camp circuit this spring, and he’s already been invited to The Opening Finals this summer and has the option to participate in either the All-American Bowl presented by American Family Insurance — previously the U.S. Army All-American Bowl — or the Under Armour All-America Game next January. He doesn’t appear close to making a decision on his future, though.
FAMILY MATTERS
On a similar note, Fort Lauderdale Cardinal Gibbons safety Majon Wright told reporters gathered at the Under Armour All-America Camp Series in Miami this weekend that Ohio State is his dream school.
He is the younger brother of Major — who played for Meyer at Florida — and Daniel Wright, a freshman safety at Alabama.
“I love the school and their football program,” Wright told Eleven Warriors. “I think that it would be a good fit for me as a student-athlete.”
The 6-foot-2, 175-pound Wright is not yet ranked by any major recruiting sites, but he’s already shown the same playmaking ability as his brothers on the camp circuit this spring and is bound to be one of the more highly sought-after safeties in the Class of 2020 if that continues into the fall.
The aforementioned Smith has started to form a relationship with Wright, but his brother’s praise for his former head coach is certainly doing the Buckeyes a huge favor thus far.
“[Major] just really says he’s a good coach and a great person, too,” Wright said.
Wright has never been to campus, but plans to make the trip sooner rather than later. And if he picks up an offer then, the Buckeyes will be hard to beat in the race to land his pledge.
