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.
WHEN YOU COME OUT ON THE OTHER SIDE
As first reported this morning by 247Sports’ Steve Wiltfong and since confirmed by Eleven Warriors, Ohio State welcomed Crystal Lake, Illinois, South four-star offensive tackle Trevor Keegan to campus for an unofficial visit Wednesday.
It was the first of three visits scheduled for the 6-foot-6 and 310-pound Keegan, as he traveled to Michigan today and will be at Penn State on Saturday. Alabama, Clemson and Georgia round out his Top 6, and he visited those three schools on consecutive days earlier this month.
This marked the third trip to campus for Keegan — who is considered the 17th-best offensive tackle and No. 143 prospect overall in the Class of 2019 — as he attended a Junior Day in January 2017 and picked up an offer from the staff during a visit for spring practice back in March. He’s grown close to offensive coordinator/area recruiter Kevin Wilson and offensive line coach Greg Studrawa in the months since, and most believe his recruitment to be a two-team battle between the Buckeyes and Wolverines.
That said, it would be a massive surprise if Ohio State is able to pry him away from Michigan. After all, he comes from a long line of Wolverine fans — though his great-grandfather rooted for the Buckeyes.
Keegan hoped to make a decision on Aug. 30, which is his mother’s birthday, but this string of visits would suggest he might announce sooner than that.
IF THE PRICE IS WRIGHT
Louisville Christian Academy four-star athlete Milton Wright included Ohio State in his Top 5 on Thursday afternoon alongside Alabama, Kentucky, Louisville and Purdue.
CAL 2019 Milton Wright has narrowed down his college choices to....#top5 #proudcoach @SWiltfong247 @RivalsDave pic.twitter.com/iTKFXWBuX0
— Coach LeFors (@centurions_fb) June 21, 2018
The 6-foot-3, 200-pound Wright is considered the 11th-best athlete and No. 159 prospect overall in the Class of 2019, as he caught 34 passes for 685 yards and nine touchdowns and rushed for 346 yards and seven more scores while leading the Centurions to the state championship last season. He also recorded 40 tackles and four interceptions as a safety, but most programs — including the Buckeyes — are recruiting him as a wide receiver.
Wright is also a track start who posted a 10.82-second 100-meter dash; long-jumped 22 feet, 4 inches; and high jumped 6 feet, 2 inches this spring. He’s easily among the most athletic prospects in the country, which is why the staff offered him a scholarship during a one-day camp last June. Wright was expected to return to Columbus for another camp last weekend, but he traveled to Tuscaloosa for a multi-day visit instead.
Louisville is the overwhelming favorite to land his pledge at this time, but both Alabama and Ohio State could easily move into the lead if they miss out on a couple of other higher-rated wideouts. With both St. Louis four-stars Marcus Washington and Jameson Williams on commitment watch this weekend, though, I don’t foresee that happening.
Wright has no timetable for a decision.
DBHS
Ohio State has done well with prospects from Jacksonville Trinity Christian recently, having landed five-star cornerbacks Shaun Wade and Tyreke Johnson in consecutive years. The Buckeyes have positioned themselves well with another Conqueror in four-star cornerback Miles Brooks, who announced this morning he’ll attend the Buckeyes’ annual Friday Night Lights recruiting extravaganza tomorrow evening.
Columbus this weekend
— Miles Brooks (@milesbrooks2020) June 20, 2018
“I’m looking forward to seeing campus and really getting close and comfortable with the coaching staff,” Brooks told Eleven Warriors.
The 6-foot-2, 171-pound Brooks is considered the sixth-best cornerback and No. 59 prospect overall in the Class of 2020, as he recorded 23 tackles, four pass break ups and a forced fumble playing opposite of Johnson last season. He holds more than a dozen offers from programs such as Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Oklahoma, UCLA and Virginia Tech, and there’s no doubt Ohio State will follow suit soon.
“It would mean a lot to me, one, because I’m an Ohio State fan and, two, because I love the direction the program has been going and the success they have been having,” Brooks said.
Brooks has been building a relationship with cornerbacks coach and area recruiter Taver Johnson in recent months. He’s also extremely close with the aforementioned Johnson and Wade.
“They’re like brothers to me,” Brooks said. “They mentored and taught me so much over the years. They haven’t told me much [about Ohio State] yet, but they will talk with me about everything while I’m there.”
WELL ON HIS WAY
Along those same lines, the father of Detroit Cass Tech offensive tackle Terrence Enos told Eleven Warriors his son will also attend Friday Night Lights this weekend.
The 6-foot-5, 305-pound Enos is not yet ranked by any major recruiting sites, but has been dominating upperclassmen as a 15-year-old rising sophomore on the camp circuit this spring. He doesn’t hold any offers yet, but I’m more than certain they’re on their way.
“He is very humble and a reserved kid,” his father, Chris Daniels Sr., told Eleven Warriors. “He just loves to play the game.”
NOT GONNA HAPPEN
Last month — while I was on vacation — Roxboro, North Carolina, Person four-star defensive tackle Joshua Harris included Ohio State in his Top 5 alongside Georgia, North Carolina, North Carolina State and Tennessee. And on Tuesday afternoon, he set a commitment date for July 9.
I am changing my commitment day to July 9th sorry for the change but BE THERE pic.twitter.com/h1KYbov7jS
— Joshua Harris (@H_Josh93) June 21, 2018
The 6-foot-2, 316-pound Harris is considered the 16th-best defensive tackle and No. 278 prospect overall in the Class of 2019, as he recorded 85 tackles, 30 tackles for a loss and 17 sacks for the Rockets last season. He has not been to campus since defensive line coach Larry Johnson offered him a scholarship in January, which certainly doesn’t bode well for the Buckeyes’ chances.
The Wolfpack are the overwhelming favorite in Harris’ recruitment. And even if he were to take a surprise official visit in the coming days — college football’s dead period begins on Monday and runs through July 24 — he still sits behind a number of defensive tackles on the staff’s list of priorities, including Hawaii five-star Faatui Tuitele, Florida four-star Tyler Davis, Cincinnati Walnut Hills four-star Jowon Briggs and Missouri three-star Etinosa Reuben, who will visit campus for the first time this weekend.
IS THIS THE WEEKEND THAT DREAM COMES TRUE?
Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas four-star linebacker Derek Wingo arrived on campus Wednesday afternoon for a four-day unofficial visit. And while I’ll go in-depth on his visit — and assess the odds of him committing to the staff before he heads home — in tomorrow night’s edition of The Hurry Up, I needed to share a quick note this evening.
Wingo’s mother, Carrieann, posted photo collages to Twitter this afternoon that showed her son standing beside the Woody Hayes statue outside of the Buckeyes’ practice facility in 2014, 2015 and today, as well as with the Heisman Trophy and in Ohio Stadium.
@DerekWingo from 2014, 2015 and today! If you want it more than anyone else & you work harder than anyone else..Dreams do come true! pic.twitter.com/M5aICgeFSQ
— Carrieann Wingo (@CarrieannWingo) June 21, 2018
@DerekWingo I have always told you If your dreams dont scare you, theyre not BIG ENOUGH! Then Vs. Now.... pic.twitter.com/xbnkZQKBwa
— Carrieann Wingo (@CarrieannWingo) June 21, 2018
Wingo — who, on multiple occasions, has called Ohio State his dream school — attended a pair of Football University’s Top Gun Showcase camps in Columbus in middle school. This is his first trip back since then.
