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.
PENCIL HIM IN?
Though he did not punch his ticket to The Opening Finals during Saturday’s Canton Regional, Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, three-star cornerback M.J. Devonshire was one of the top performers at the event. His length and excellent ball skills caused trouble for opposing wide receivers all afternoon, and his footwork was as sound as any defensive back in attendance.
“Each year, I’ve come and got better and better,” Devonshire told Eleven Warriors. “I learned some drills to take back to my school and show other guys, too.”
In addition to his physical attributes, it’s that positive attitude that has the 5-foot-10, 170-pound Devonshire on the short list of cornerback targets for Ohio State. He’s been on campus four times, and that includes the Buckeyes’ 48-3 win over Michigan State in November and the annual Spring Game last month.
“It was a good visit,” Devonshire said. “Got to talk to the coaches and got to see what things were like on a game day. Everyone was real nice.”
Devonshire — the 37th-best cornerback and No. 409 prospect overall in the Class of 2019 — holds eight offers, but Indiana, Ohio State and West Virginia are the schools pushing hardest for his pledge.
“They’re very good at recruiting. Very good at making pushes on me,” Devonshire said of head coach Urban Meyer and cornerbacks coach Taver Johnson. “We really don’t talk much about football. I talk with them like they’re my friends, for real. We’re just building a relationship. Talk about how my week is going and what I’m doing throughout the week.”
Johnson has done an excellent job filling the shoes of the departed Kerry Coombs during his second stint with the Buckeyes. It helps, too, that his relationship with Devonshire dates back to his time as Temple’s defensive coordinator.
“I was kind of shocked when coach Coombs left,” Devonshire said, “but when they told me it was coach Johnson, I was okay with it.”
Devonshire, who plays at one of Western Pennsylvania’s most-storied programs, hopes to narrow down his list of offers following spring ball. Ohio State will certainly make the cut. He then plans to take official visit during the season — with his trip to Columbus likely to be The Game against Michigan — before coming to a decision in December.
If he ultimately ends up with the Buckeyes, it’ll be the result of the bonds he’s formed with the coaches and players.
“Everywhere you go, there’s good facilities and good uniforms, stuff like that,” Devonshire said. “But the people on campus, the players and the coaches and their personalities off the field, they have real good characteristics.”
ANOTHER DENZEL WARD
Macedonia Nordonia three-star cornerback Nyles Beverly made a similar impact during Saturday’s event at Massillon Washington.
“I just wanted to come out here and prove myself so people know I’m one of the top cornerbacks in the Midwest,” Beverly told Eleven Warriors.
The 5-foot-11, 180-pound Beverly is considered the 82nd-best cornerback and No. 858 prospect overall in the Class of 2019, but used his size and length to disrupt his opponent in press coverage time and time again. Those skills are a big reason why he holds more than a dozen offers from programs such as Kentucky, Michigan, Pittsburgh, Purdue and Vanderbilt.
Schools like Michigan State and Ohio State appear close to offering, as well, but want him to camp this summer so they can evaluate him further.
“It would mean a lot,” Beverly said of an offer from the Buckeyes. “It’s one I’ve really been chasing and I have a great opportunity ahead.”
Beverly comes from the same school as former Buckeye cornerback and first-round NFL Draft pick Denzel Ward, who also earned a scholarship during a one-day summer camp.
“I expect to do the same thing,” Beverly said. “It gives me hope and lots of expectations to fill.”
Beverly visited campus for the first time in early April and he and his family spent a considerable amount of time that afternoon with Meyer and the aforementioned Johnson. The coaches call him regularly, too.
“It was really great,” Beverly said. “The facilities were fantastic. Campus was great. It was real nice seeing how they practice. It was real loud and real competitive. I loved it.”
Beverly is looking to trim down his list of offers and make a decision before the start of his senior season, but an offer from Ohio State (his childhood favorite school) is the one he covets. And if it comes during the camp — or even after he’s committed elsewhere — it would be hard to turn down the chance to play for Buckeyes.
TO THE TRENCHES
Ohio State offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson and offensive line coach Greg Studrawa were in Washington D.C. on Wednesday to watch Sidwell Friends School three-star offensive tackle Walter Rouse work out. Then on Thursday, he announced he had received an offer from the Buckeyes.
BLESSED to receive an offer from The Ohio State University! #GoBuckeyes #StriveForGreatness pic.twitter.com/igu63vuBi7
— Walter Rouse (@wrouse19) May 10, 2018
“I’m very excited about it,” Rouse told Eleven Warriors. "My coach told me they really liked my flexibility and how good I looked for my size."
The 6-foot-6, 270-pound Rouse is considered the 97th-best offensive tackle and No. 1,221 prospect overall in the Class of 2019, as he was named second-team all-district for the Quakers last fall. He holds more than 20 offers — 15 of which have come since the beginning of the year — from programs such as Boston College, Duke, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan State, Northwestern, Pittsburgh and Virginia.
“It’s been crazy, but it feels good that schools are taking notice of me and that all my hard work has not been in vain,” Rouse said. “I think it took so long for schools to take notice of me because, for starters, my school is not a big on football. Another reason is at the beginning of the season, a lot of coaches described me as raw and that it would take to long to develop me to get me to where I am now. After getting with Sudan Ellington of Big Skills Academy during the middle of the season, I really stared to develop into the type of player I am today.”
The offensive tackle position is one of Ohio State’s biggest remaining needs this cycle, with it possible that four-star commits Doug Nester and Ryan Jacoby move to guard at the next level. Now you can add Rouse to the list of targets that includes Illinois’ Trevor Keegan, Michigan's Devontae Dobbs, Rhode Island's Xavier Truss and West Virginia's Darnell Wright.
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Staying in the nation’s capital, Ohio State also extended a scholarship Wednesday evening to Archbishop Carroll four-star offensive tackle Anton Harrison.
Extremely Proud and blessed to say that I have received an Offer from The Ohio State University #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/GLqiU9TpVU
— Anton Harrison (@Ayee_Tonn) May 10, 2018
The 6-foot-5, 315-pound Harrison is considered the 18th-best offensive tackle and No. 110 prospect overall in the Class of 2020, as he was named first-team all-Washington Catholic Athletic Conference last season. He holds more than a dozen offers from programs such as Boston College, Kentucky, Maryland, Oklahoma, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Syracuse and Virginia.
