The Hurry Up: Linebacker Brandon Smith Recaps Visit While Ohio State Offers Defensive Tackle Faatui Tuitele

By Andrew Lind on April 8, 2018 at 6:50 pm
Brandon Smith
Brandon Smith
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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.

BIG-TIME RECRUIT, BREAK OUT THE ALTERNATE UNIFORMS

Ohio State once again rolled out the red carpet this weekend for Mineral, Virginia, Louisa County five-star linebacker Brandon Smith, who was making his third trip to campus in the last year. He made a brief stop in Columbus last June and also attended the Buckeyes’ win over Maryland in October.

“The visit went great,” Smith told Eleven Warriors.

The 6-foot-5, 224-pound Smith is considered the top-rated inside linebacker and No. 19 prospect overall in the Class of 2019, as he recorded 117 tackles, 18 tackles for a loss and six sacks to lead the Lions to the state championship game. He was named first-team all-state by the Virginia High School League as a result, an honor also bestowed upon Ohio State four-star linebacker signee K’Vaughan Pope.

Smith, his parents, younger brother and uncle watched practice on Friday; met with players and an advisor within the criminology department; toured campus, dorm rooms and off-campus apartments. They also had dinner with head coach Urban Meyer, defensive coordinator Greg Schiano, linebackers coach Bill Davis and defensive line coach Larry Johnson.

“Spending a lot of time with coach Meyer was great,” Smith said. “Knowing how busy he is, it was great to see him spend time with me and my family. He expressed how much value I could add to the program as a student-athlete.”

Smith holds nearly 30 offers from programs such as Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Michigan, Notre Dame, Penn State, Oregon, Texas A&M and USC. The Nittany Lions are considered the favorite to land his pledge at this time, but the Buckeyes are in a great spot following the visit.

“Ohio State is one of my top schools,” Smith said. “Life after football [stands out]. They do a good job at that.”

Smith plans to return for an official visit this fall, though he’s unsure of the exact date.

TEAMMATES AGAIN?

Ohio State also welcomed Apopka, Florida, Wekiva four-star linebacker Rian Davis and his teammate, four-star defensive tackle Tyler Davis (no relation), to campus for a two-day visit beginning Thursday.

“It was great,” Rian Davis told Eleven Warriors. “I enjoyed myself up there.”

The 6-foot-3, 225-pound Davis is considered the 17th-best outside linebacker and No. 258 prospect overall in the Class of 2019, as he recorded 93 tackles, 13 tackles for a loss, six pass break ups, three sacks, two interceptions, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries last season at Houston Clear Lake — where he spent two years before transferring back to Wekiva this offseason.

While on campus, the Davises watched the Buckeyes practice, toured campus and spent time with Meyer and the coaches at their respective positions such as the above-mentioned Davis and Johnson.

“[They told me] that they like me a lot and are going to recruit me hard,” Davis said.

Davis holds more than 30 offers from programs such as Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, Miami, Nebraska, North Carolina, Oklahoma state, Oregon, Texas and UCF, but Ohio State has solidified itself among his favorites this early in the process.

“I like them a lot. They’re definitely one of my top teams,” Davis said. “What stood out most about them was the fact that they get their players jobs, even if football doesn’t work out.”

Davis does not have a timetable for a decision, but plans to return for an official visit this fall. It would be his first game-day experience.

HLN TO CMH, NONSTOP

As expected, Ohio State offered a scholarship to Honolulu St. Louis five-star defensive tackle Faatui Tuitele while he was on an unofficial visit Friday evening.

The 6-foot-4, 299-pound Tuitele is considered the second-best defensive tackle and No. 24 prospect overall in the Class of 2019, as he recorded 22 tackles, 10 tackles for a loss and seven sacks to help the Crusaders to their second-straight state championship last fall. He was named first-team all-state by the Honolulu Star-Advertiser as a result.

Tuitele, who is named after the chief of the western region of America Samoa, holds more than 30 offers from programs such as Alabama, Clemson, Florida State, Georgia, LSU, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Oregon, Penn State, Stanford, UCLA and USC. The Trojans are the overwhelming favorite in his recruitment thanks to proximity and the program’s pull with Polynesian prospects, but he’s also the cousin and former teammate of Crimson Tide quarterback Tua Tagovailoa.

Defensive tackle isn’t a top priority for the staff this cycle, as the Buckeyes signed five-star Taron Vincent, four-star Tommy Togiai and junior college transfer Antwuan Jackson Jr. in the last class. But, then again, talent supersedes need — and that’s exactly the case with Tuitele, who has already shown a willingness to travel 9,000 miles round trip to Columbus on his own dime.

Tuitele, who has also traveled to the mainland for trips to Baton Rouge, Norman and Tuscaloosa this spring, will likely return to campus for an official visit this fall.

HOUSE OF PAYNE

Belleville, Michigan, defensive end Damon Payne became just the seventh freshman to land an offer from Ohio State on Sunday afternoon.

The 6-foot-4, 255-pound Payne is not yet ranked by any major recruiting sites, but will undoubtedly be among top-rated players in the Class of 2021 when those rankings are first published. He already holds more than a dozen offers from programs such as Alabama, Auburn, Florida State, Georgia, Michigan and Penn State, and more will certainly be on their way as he hits the camp circuit this summer.

Payne was among the large contingent from Belleville to participate in the Under Armour All-America Camp Series near Cleveland in early February, where he was named the most valuable defensive lineman. They then travel to Columbus for an unofficial visit the following day.

That group included five-star offensive tackle Devontae Dobbs and Michigan State four-star cornerback commit Julian Barnett — both of whom hold an offer from the Buckeyes — as well as Boston College three-star linebacker commit Marvin Ham, three-star defensive end Jalen Hunt, three-star cornerback Andre Seldon Jr. and defensive tackle Jalen Bell.

ANOTHER ONE OFF THE BOARD

For the second time in as many days, an Ohio State quarterback target pledge his services elsewhere.

First, it was Texas four-star Grant Tisdale who committed to Ole Miss on Friday afternoon. Then, on Saturday, Baltimore St. Frances Academy three-star Jalon Jones announced his pledge to Florida.

The 6-foot-3, 180-pound Jones is considered the 10th-best dual-threat quarterback and No. 436 prospect overall in the Class of 2019, as he threw for 1,162 yards and 10 touchdowns and rushed for 1,087 yards and nine scores to lead the Panthers to the Maryland Association A Conference championship last season. He picked the Gators over more than a dozen other offers from programs such as Alabama, Florida, Michigan State, North Carolina State, UCLA, Virginia and Virginia Tech.

Meyer offered Jones a scholarship during an unofficial visit in early March, which instantly put the Buckeyes among his top schools.

"It's an honor to get an offer from coach Meyer," Jones told Eleven Warriors. "I grew up watching the teams he coached at Florida, so that was a big reason I fell in love with football. It's just an honor to get an offer from the school he coaches. 

"He's one of the best that has ever coached in college, so just for him to offer me face-to-face meant a lot. I was trying not to get starstruck. Being with him was just an overwhelmingly positive experience for me."

Jones was supposed to make another trip to Columbus last week, but a family emergency changed those plans at the last minute. He was in the process of rescheduling, but I'm not sure if that'll ever happen now that he’s committed to the Gators.

As for Jones’ decision, it doesn’t come as a surprise. He was once committed to head coach Dan Mullen when he was at Mississippi State and is tailor-made for the offense he’ll run in Gainesville.

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