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.
POUR INTO ME
Shortly after The Opening Finals’ closing ceremonies, Ohio State four-star center commit Harry Miller paused for a second to reflect on a busy week during which he was named to the Final Five and was the event’s most valuable offensive lineman.
“It was fun to compete with [California four-star defensive tackle and most valuable defensive lineman Jacob] Bandes and [Utah four-star defensive tackle Siaki] Ika,” Miller told Eleven Warriors. “It’s just fun to get around really good guys and compete because it makes everybody better.”
As I noted in my observations earlier this week, I was most impressed with how the 6-foot-4 and 310-pound Miller would bounce back from a bad rep and dominate the following play. He also fought through the pain of a twisted ankle, and won both reps in the Final Five.
“I try to focus on being as coachable as possible and thinking that each play is a clean slate,” Miller said. “I don’t get hung up, but it’s also remembering what I messed up on. The thing that was very exciting about this week was that any loss was something that I can work on. I can change the way my foot was or the way my hands were and it would help me win the next rep. It really just was making corrections every rep.”
Miller was one of four commits invited to The Opening Finals, joining five-star wide receiver Garrett Wilson, four-star cornerback Jordan Battle and four-star offensive tackle Doug Nester. The event gave them some much-needed bonding time.
“Doug was my roommate,” Miller said. “It was really fun just kind of chilling in the room a bit.”
Though they never went against each other one-on-one, Miller spent a lot of his time in Frisco recruiting Olentangy Orange five-star defensive end Zach Harrison. He hopes to continue to build on that relationship moving forward to seal the deal for the Buckeyes.
“The biggest thing is that a lot of teams compete for a national championship and a lot of teams can get you in the draft,” Miller said, explaining his pitch to other recruits. “A lot of teams can help you be successful in the work place, too, but the coaches at Ohio State and the people involved with Ohio State are just good guys who will pour into you, be very intimate with you and have a good relationship with you. The biggest thing is that it’s very well-rounded.”
Expanding on those sentiments, Miller also explained why he chose Ohio State over Stanford last month.
“Say I want to go to med school, I can do that with either degree,” Miller said. “Really, the biggest thing was just the emphasis Ohio State has on ministry stuff, which was a pushing force. It was a burning bush at Ohio State and a lot of cues that made it clear to go that way.”
As we’ve noted previously, Miller was supposed to head straight to Nicaragua following The Opening for his annual mission trip. That was unfortunately cancelled amid safety concerns with anti-government protests throughout the country, but he’s continued to do God’s work from afar.
“Since we can’t be down there physically, we’re communicating with our people down there,” Miller said. “It’s really just about informing others about what’s going on.”
GOING BACK BACK TO CALI CALI
For as impressive as Wilson was this week, no wide receiver had a more significant impact on The Opening Finals than Orange, California, Lutheran four-star wide receiver Kyle Ford, told Eleven Warriors he plans to take an official visit to Ohio State this fall.
“They just put out the best players,” Ford said. “You see it in the NFL with Ezekiel Elliott and Michael Thomas, from a receiver standpoint. It’s awesome. You can just see the product. It’s ridiculous, that’s all I can say.”
The 6-foot-2, 209-pound Ford is considered the seventh-best wide receiver and No. 45 prospect overall in the Class of 2019, as he hauled in 91 catches for 1,468 yards and 13 touchdowns for the Lancers last season. He was quite the deep threat this week, as well, as his one-handed catch in the back of the end zone in triple overtime of the 7-on-7 tournament quarterfinals surely netted him the events most valuable player honors.
Ford has built a strong bond with head coach Urban Meyer, offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Ryan Day and wide receivers coach Zach Smith from afar in the two months since the Buckeyes offered. And though he’s never been to campus, he admits his interest in the program is very high
“It’s a pretty good connection,” Ford said.” I try to get them on the phone as much as I can. I really like [Smith]. He keeps it real. That’s a big thing for me. I really appreciate that.”
Given his location, USC is naturally the favorite in Ford’s recruitment. He has no concerns when it comes to Ohio State’s distance from home, though.
“It’s only for the four years, and that’ll set up the rest of your life,” Ford said. “If I gotta make that sacrifice, I’m totally fine with that.”
Wilson, meanwhile, was very active this week in recruiting other top wide receivers to join him in Columbus. He was constantly in Ford’s ear, just like he was with St. Louis four-stars Marcus Washington and Jameson Williams.
“He’s a really good guy,” Ford said. “He’s a beast out there, just killing it this week. That’s my guy. I met him this week, and he’s just an awesome guy, an awesome player. He just tells me that I really need to take a trip up there and that I’m going to fall in love with it.”
ASK AND YOU SHALL RECEIVE
On Monday afternoon — just one day after an exchange with a fan on Twitter in which he revealed he didn’t yet possess an offer from Ohio State — Washington D.C. St. John’s College four-star wide receiver Rakim Jarrett announced the Buckeyes made his life-long dream come true.
Beyond Blessed To Receive An Offer From My Dream School.. THE Ohio State University ! #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/KLxsNlSGR8
— Rakim Jarrett (@RakimJarrett) July 2, 2018
“It means a lot,” Jarrett told Eleven Warriors. “It’s definitely one of my dream schools. My family is from there, so it’s kind of a hometown team”
The 6-foot, 182-pound Jarrett is considered the ninth-best wide receiver and No. 45 prospect overall in the Class of 2020, as he hauled in 43 receptions for 513 yards and five touchdowns to lead the Cadets to their first Washington Catholic Athletic Conference championship last fall. He now holds nearly two dozen offers from programs such as Alabama, Florida, Florida State, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Penn State, Texas A&M, Virginia Tech and Wisconsin.
Jarrett has never been to campus in a recruiting capacity, but drove by Ohio Stadium on numerous occasions when in town to see family. He’ll make his first unofficial visit later this month when the recruiting dead period comes to a close.
“I want to see the campus and the facilities and talk to coach Smith and coach Meyer to kind of get a feel for them and how they see me in their offense in the future because they are very high on my list,” Jarrett said.
