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.
A LOOK BEHIND THE CURTAIN
Ohio State lost a key member of its recruiting department on Friday night when it was reported that assistant director of player personnel Eron Hodges had accepted a job as the director of player personnel at Purdue. He confirmed his departure on Twitter on Sunday afternoon.
@OhioStateFB @OSUCoachMeyer @markpantoni @MickeyMarotti and #BuckeyeNation its been a pleasure. Love you all. pic.twitter.com/XyeHqRBHMr
— Eron Hodges (@EronHodges) April 22, 2018
The 33-year-old Hodges served as director of player personnel Mark Pantoni’s right-hand man since being promoted from his position as a recruiting assistant in December 2016. It marked his second stint with the program, as he was also a strength and conditioning intern from December 2012 until he left to take a job as a graduate assistant coaching the linebackers at Kent State the following summer.
Hodges primary role was to communicate with recruits, assist with their campus visits and watch film to identify prospective offer candidates. He was instrumental in the Buckeyes’ late add of Texas three-star wide receiver Ellijah Gardiner in 2017.
“He’s the one who actually found Ellijah just searching through names,” Pantoni said on National Signing Day. “We started showing [head coach Urban Meyer] some of these receivers that we had found, and Elijah was one of the guys we were very interested in and figured we needed to get to know.”
Hodges — who helped the Buckeyes land two-consecutive second-ranked recruiting classes — also oversaw a walk-on program that reeled in a pair of three-star wide receivers who turned down scholarship offers from programs such as Cincinnati, Iowa State and several Mid-American Conference schools.
Though it’s unclear at this time who will fill Hodges’ vacated position on the staff, his replacement will certainly have some big shoes to fill. They'll have to find that person rather quickly, too, since Hodges will officially start his new gig with the Boilermakers this Wednesday.
LET’S MAKE A DEAL
Ohio State welcomed Greenwood, South Carolina, Emerald three-star tight end Luke Deal and his parents to campus for an official visit this weekend.
Thank you @OSUCoachMeyer @OSUCoachKDub and the whole Ohio State staff for a great weekend in Columbus!! pic.twitter.com/pgqQgobCOz
— Luke Deal (@lukedeal5) April 22, 2018
“[It was] great, man,” Deal told Eleven Warriors. “I spent a lot of time with some players and coaches. Coach Meyer was extremely impressive. His mentality and hands-on approach to things is a huge plus. We toured everything and met about football and academics. A great trip overall.”
The Buckeyes offered the 6-foot-5, 230-pound Deal — who is considered the 18th-best tight end and No. 491 prospect overall in the Class of 2019 — back in late February. This marked his first time on campus, and he spent a considerable amount of time with Meyer, offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson and tight end Luke Farrell, who was his host for the weekend.
Together, they made an impressive pitch.
“They seem to have a good combination of science and hard work. I really feel that development is key there,” Deal said. “Also, the city of Columbus is neat to me and provides a lot of opportunities for life after football.”
Deal holds more than a dozen offers Auburn, Clemson, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Notre Dame, North Carolina State and USC. He already took officials visits to Ann Arbor, Raleigh and South Bend with a trip to Auburn scheduled for next weekend, but Ohio State sits in a great spot as Deal heads toward a May 25 announcement.
“They’re very much in the race,” he said. Really this month I’m going to compare these places and figure out which one feels the most like home. I want grow spiritually and develop as a player and a person. And I want to win wherever I go. Faith, family and football — in that order — is what I’m looking for.”
HIS OWN PATH
If you’re someone who enjoyed watching the National Football League in the 1990s, you’re about to feel real old.
That’s because Dallas Jesuit four-star running back Emmitt “E.J.” Smith IV — the son of the Hall of Famer of the same name — was among the dozens of prospects in attendance for Ohio State’s Spring Game last weekend. He made the trip with his father, mother and sister.
Its just business #BuckeyeNation pic.twitter.com/BV4GGRZtrv
— EJ (@ejsmith_22) April 13, 2018
“My family and I enjoyed spending time with the coaches,” Smith told Eleven Warriors. “They were honest. They didn’t just tell me what I wanted to hear, but they also told me what I needed to improve on.”
The 5-foot-11, 190-pound Smith is considered the second-best all-purpose back and No. 184 prospect overall in the Class of 2020, as he rushed for 1,177 yards and 24 touchdowns to lead the Rangers to the state playoffs last season. The Buckeyes offered him a scholarship in December while in Dallas for the Cotton Bowl, a game which the aforementioned Wilson likened to the 2015 College Football Playoff National Championship as one that could play dividends down the road with some of the Lone Star State’s top underclassmen.
“I wonder what impact that had on Mr. [J.K] Dobbins sitting over there. Or [linebacker] Baron Browning, who's from Kennedale. Or [cornerback] Jeffrey Okudah,” Wilson said during his Cotton Bowl media availability. “They were high school 10th graders at that time. The game was played here, and a couple of those kids are [Dallas-Fort Worth] metroplex kids.”
Naturally, Ohio State pointed out those connections. And Smith paid close attention to Dobbins during his visit, too.
“I noticed his knowledge of the game and saw how focused he was,” Smith said.
The elder Smith — you may recall — was a three-time Super Bowl champion and eight-time pro bowler with the Dallas Cowboys. He was named the most valuable player of Super Bowl XXVIII and finished his career as the league’s all-time leading rusher.
Once his playing days were over, though, Smith became a regular on the sidelines at his alma mater, Florida. That’s when he met Meyer, who coached the Gators from 2005-10.
That familiarity certainly helps the Buckeyes in pursuit of his son.
“He really cares about his players and how he wants them to not only be successful on the field, but off [it, as well],” the younger Smith said.
In addition to Ohio State, Smith holds early offers from Arkansas, Boston College, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, SMU, Stanford and Texas A&M. Most just assume he’ll just follow in his father’s footsteps at play his college ball in Gainesville, but that’s not a foregone conclusion.
“My recruitment is definitely open,” Smith said. “My dad wants me to be my own man.”
Smith plans to return to campus again soon, but does not have another visit set in stone just yet.
LEAVING NO STONE UNTURNED
As we first reported on Friday, Ohio State offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Ryan Day will be in Florida this week to check on Ocala West Point three-star quarterback Brian Maurer.
“Coach Day will be in town [to watch me throw] on Monday,” Maurer said.
The 6-foot-4, 185-pounder is considered the 15th-best pro-style quarterback and No. 517 prospect overall in the Class of 2019, as he threw for 2,862 yards and 22 touchdowns for the Wolf Pack last fall. He holds more than a dozen offers from programs such as Boston College, Cincinnati, Indiana, Temple, Toledo, UCF and USF.
Though the Buckeyes have zeroed in on Houston St. Pius X four-star Grant Gunnell as their top target, they haven’t put all of their eggs in one basket. Day visited Kettering Archbishop Alter three-star Connor Bazelak on Friday and has been in contact with Maurer for a few weeks now.
If the staff ultimately swings and misses with Gunnell, they would be prime offer candidates.
“It would me a ton,” Maurer said. “A top-tier school like Ohio State would definitely shake some things up in my recruitment.”
