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.
B1G BATTLE LOOMING
Ohio State welcomed Catawissa, Pennsylvania, Southern Columbia five-star wide receiver Julian Fleming to campus for the first time for an unofficial visit back in June. He was accompanied on the trip by his grandfather.
THE HIO STATE #buckeyes pic.twitter.com/8u1PZSvFtV
— 0J4 (@julian_040) June 18, 2018
“It was really fun getting to meet the coaches and see all the facilities,” Fleming told Eleven Warriors. “Everything [stood out]. It was just a great visit overall.”
The 6-foot-2, 205-pound Fleming — who is considered the top-rated wide receiver and No. 9 prospect overall in the Class of 2020 — spent most of the day with head coach Urban Meyer, offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Ryan Day and then-wide receivers coach Zach Smith, and was thoroughly impressed with everything the Buckeyes have to offer. He especially enjoyed his conversation with Meyer, who made it clear Fleming is one of the staff’s top targets moving forward.
“[He told me] that I could be great if I put in the effort and time and just to stay humble,” Fleming said.
Fleming, who just last month listed Ohio State in his Top 6 alongside Clemson, Georgia, Penn State, USC and Virginia Tech, was certainly shocked by Meyer’s decision to fire Smith — who would have been his position coach in Columbus. But interim wide receivers coach Brain Hartline has been quick to pick up the slack in recent weeks. In fact, the two had a length phone conversation on Thursday.
“I think he’s a great guy and really has the ability to develop his guys from his NFL experience,” Fleming said.
Most believe Fleming will end up with the Nittany Lions thanks to his proximity to their campus — after all, his hometown is about an hour and a half away from State College. But, that said, he plans to return to Columbus for a game this fall, and that certainly gives the Buckeyes a puncher’s chance as he likely heads toward a decision following his junior season.
Ohio State is looking to take four wide receivers in each of the next two cycles, and there are plenty of options at the position. The Buckeyes are widely considered the favorite to land Washington D.C. four-star Rakim Jarrett, while Florida five-star Marcus Rosemy, Illinois four-star A.J. Henning, Michigan four-star Rashawn Williams and Michigan three-star Devell Washington have all shown significant interest early in the process.
AN EXPECTED RESULT
Though he held an offer from Ohio State and visited twice this spring, Baltimore St. Frances Academy four-star offensive guard Darrian Dalcourt committed to Alabama on Thursday evening.
Committed #ROLLTIDE @AlabamaFTBL pic.twitter.com/RbTff8ICop
— DarrianD74 (@darrian_d) August 9, 2018
Defensive line coach and area recruiter Larry Johnson offered the 6-foot-3, 290-pound Dalcourt — who is considered the 14th-best offensive guard and No. 327 prospect overall in the Class of 2019 — back in early February. He visited campus with a number of his teammates a few days later, including four-star quarterback Jalon Jones, and then returned for the Spring Game in mid-April.
Dalcourt grew somewhat close with the aforementioned Meyer and Studrawa, but Ohio State has focused most of its efforts on the offensive tackle position rather than the interior portion of the line in the meantime — a need that still remains, especially since four-star commit Doug Nester is likely to play guard at the next level.
That said, the Buckeyes will look to cap their Dynasty ’19 recruiting class with at least two more tackles, with West Virginia five-star Darnell Wright, Illinois four-star Trevor Keegan, Dayton Dunbar three-star Jonathan Allen and Washington D.C. three-star Walter Rouse seemingly fighting for those spots.
A pair of summer visits to Tuscaloosa for Dalcourt ultimately swung things in favor of Alabama, meanwhile. His teammate, four-star linebacker Shane Lee, pledged his services to the Crimson Tide earlier this spring, as well.
PUTTING IN THE EFFORT
Ohio State also hosted Columbia, Missouri, Father Tolton offensive tackle Monroe Mills for a one-day camp in mid-June, which marked his fifth camp in less than a week.
Thank you for the invitation to camp @OSUFOOTBALL_ Coaches and facilities were great! @OSUCoachMeyer @CoachStudOL @CoachBadovinac pic.twitter.com/6YOqeqM2Q4
— Monroe Mills (@RoeMillsfootbal) June 17, 2018
“It was the largest, most intense and — unfortunately — the hottest,” Mills told Eleven Warriors. “I had the opportunity to compete against their top defensive linemen recruits and proved I can compete at that level.”
This was the first trip to campus for the 6-foot-7, 280-pound Mills, who is not yet ranked by any major recruiting sites but was among the camp’s top-performers that afternoon. At the camp’s conclusion, Mills was invited to speak with Meyer and offensive line coach Greg Studrawa privately. He was then shown around campus and the football team’s facilities by graduate assistant Peter Badovinac.
“Coach Stud talked about my great potential and how they were starting the recruiting process with me,” Mills said. “The facilities were among the best [I’ve ever seen]. I especially appreciated the displays showing the program’s commitment to their players’ futures through business internships. Of course, the trophy room was awesome, too.”
Mills landed an offer from Dartmouth following a sophomore season in which he was named first-team all-district and all-area, as well as academic all-state. He also recorded 76 tackles, four tackles for a loss, two sacks and one fumble recovery on defense to lead the Trailblazers to the second round of the state playoffs last fall.
Programs like Duke, Iowa State, Harvard, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, Ole Miss, Texas and Wisconsin have shown interest in Mills this spring, as well. He hopes to receive an invitation to return to Ohio State for a game this fall and that it’ll lead to an offer from the Buckeyes.
“An offer from Ohio State is high on every football player’s list — unless they grew up a Michigan fan,” Mills said. “It would be an honor to earn an offer.”
