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.
DIFFERENT POINTS OF VIEW
Ohio State landed a commitment from five-star quarterback Emory Jones in July 2016, only to watch him flirt with Alabama, Auburn, Florida and Florida State before ultimately deciding to flip his pledge to the Gators during the Early Signing Period — 17 months after his initial decision.
And though the Buckeyes eventually got the guy they wanted in four-star Matthew Baldwin, Jones’ constant wavering and the drama that surrounded his every move was certainly a learning experience for the staff.
With that, it’s understandable to think Ohio State is taking its time in finding its next signal caller for the Class of 2019 in order to avoid the same headache down the road. Head coach Urban Meyer said the two things are not related, however.
“We’re not on purpose taking it slower,” Meyer said during his weekly press conference on Monday morning. “There’s not a lot of depth at quarterback this year in the recruiting world. We’re just working as hard as we can to get them here. We’ve had a bunch visit, but now we’ve gotta find the right marriage between them and us.”
It’s safe to say that two quarterbacks, Texas four-star Grant Gunnell and North Carolina four-star Sam Howell, have asserted themselves as Ohio State’s top priorities this cycle. But their designation as pro-style quarterbacks — coupled with the belief among fans and media alike that strong-armed Dwayne Haskins will win the starting job this fall — seemingly signifies the Buckeyes are shifting away from dual-threat signal callers like Braxton Miller and J.T. Barrett.
It’s so easy to fixate on Gunnell and Howell’s absurd stats, especially if you’re among the large section of the fan base that would like to see Ohio State open up its offense with a downfield passing game. But Meyer isn’t basing his quarterback search solely on that.
“We’ve always looked at that, but that’s not in the Top 5 criteria that we [use] to evaluate a quarterback,” Meyer said, reiterating his belief that competitiveness, toughness, leadership, intelligence and the ability to extend the play are all more important qualities. “We’ve had plenty of quarterbacks that maybe didn’t have the strongest arm, but they were a better player. Arm strength is nice, but it’s not in the Top 5.”
So as much as we talk about a possible change occurring under offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Ryan Day, Meyer certainly makes the final decisions. And whether he brings on gunslingers like Gunnell or Howell or dual-threat quarterbacks like Texas four-star Grant Tisdale or Maryland three-star Jalon Jones, it doesn’t appear as if the Buckeyes’ offensive philosophy is going to change that much.
GATEWAY TO COLUMBUS
St. Louis Cardinal Ritter College Prep four-star wide receiver Jameson Williams celebrated his birthday on Monday by including Ohio State in his Top 8 alongside Alabama, Florida State, Nebraska, Oklahoma State, Oregon, UCLA and USC.
Top 8... #RollTide #Tribe19 #GBR #GoBucks #GoPokes #GoDucks #4sUp #FightOn pic.twitter.com/8F7487gBOA
— juiceman (@juicedupjameson) March 26, 2018
The 6-foot-2, 160-pound Williams is considered the 43rd-best wide receiver and No. 249 prospect overall in the Class of 2019, as he racked up 1,261 all-purpose yards and 19 touchdowns to lead the Lions to the second round of the state playoffs last season. He’s also the state record-holder in the 300-meter hurdle, as his time of 37.28 seconds last spring broke the mark set by former Buckeyes running back Ezekiel Elliott.
Ohio State offered Williams last August and he made his first and only trip to campus for the 48-3 win over Michigan State just a few months later. Meyer, wide receivers coach Zach Smith and director of player personnel Mark Pantoni made quite the impression that weekend, which is why the Buckeyes are considered the favorite to land his pledge.
“The environment and the people outside of football [really stand out],” Williams told Eleven Warriors shortly thereafter.
I believe that still remains the case, which is why I included Williams in my way-too-early class predictions in February.
CONFIDENCE IS KEY
Ohio State has hosted a number of top prospects on unofficial visits this spring, and that will only continue over the next few weeks as IMG Academy four-star running back Noah Cain told Eleven Warriors he’ll be in Columbus on Thursday.
“[I’m] just ready to see my boy J.K. [Dobbins], coach Meyer and coach [Tony] Alford,” Cain said.
The 5-foot-11, 209-pound Cain — who, like Dobbins, is a native Texan — is considered the second-best running back and No. 32 prospect overall in the Class of 2019, as he rushed for 524 yards and six touchdowns to lead the Ascenders to their third-consecutive undefeated season last fall. He holds nearly 30 offers from programs such as Clemson, Florida state, Georgia, LSU, Michigan, Oklahoma, Penn State, Texas and Texas A&M.
Cain has been to campus numerous times, but not since he attended the Buckeyes’ 31-16 loss to the Sooners last September. In the meantime, Ohio State landed a commitment from Indiana four-star running back Sampson James, which prompted a number of readers to ask how it would affect the Buckeyes’ pursuit of Cain since there’s already a logjam of talent at the position in Columbus.
I could see the staff sticking with just one running back this cycle, but if they go with two, Cain remains at the top of the list. James’ pledge means very little to him otherwise.
“It doesn’t affect my decision with them at all,” Cain said. “I would just beat him out like I would have to compete anywhere else.”
Cain plans to unveil a list of top schools later this spring or summer. He’ll then take an official visit to Ohio State in the fall and make his college decision during the Early Signing Period in December.
FIVE-STAR RECRUITER
Hyattsville, Maryland, DeMatha Catholic four-star safety Nick Cross will also be on campus for the first time later this week, as he told Eleven Warriors he and his parents will make the trip to Columbus on April 1-2.
“I’m really excited to go tour [the facilities], meet the coaches, hang with the players and just learn more about Ohio State,” Cross said.
The 6-foot-1, 207-pound Cross is considered the 10th-best safety and No. 184 prospect overall in the Class of 2019, as he recorded 92 tackles, one interception, one sack and one forced fumble for the Stags last season and was named first-team all-Washington Catholic Athletic Conference as a result. He also ran a 6.33-second 55-meter dash this spring, which is a big reason why he holds nearly three dozen offers from programs such as Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Florida State, LSU, Michigan, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Penn State and Stanford.
The Buckeyes offered Cross — a former teammate of Ohio State defensive end Chase Young — back in January, and he’s built a strong relationship with co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach Alex Grinch in the months since.
“We talk [a lot]. If not every day, every other day,” Cross said, noting the conversation ranges from school to the NCAA Tournament. “We have a great relationship.”
With offers out to Cross, four-star athlete DeMarcco Hellams and four-star running back Marshawn Lloyd, I recently mentioned DeMatha as a potential pipeline for the Buckeyes. And Young is a big reason why, as he’s embraced the opportunity to recruit some of his teammates.
“[Cross] just asks me if I think he could play here and what the depth chart is looking like. Things like that,” Young told reporters gathered at practice a few weeks back. “I tell him you’ve just got to come here and visit, look at the depth chart, see where it is and if you think you could come in and fit in.”
Cross will find that out soon enough.
