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.
FALSE ALARM
Oak Park, Michigan, five-star offensive guard Justin Rogers made headlines earlier this week when he tweeted that a commitment was “coming soon,” which would have been a surprising turn of events given the 6-foot-3 and 311-pounder has been pretty adamant about waiting until his senior season to make a decision on his future.
However, it turns out Rogers — who has been known to have a bit of fun with the recruiting process — was simply teasing his commitment to either the All-American Bowl Presented by American Family Insurance, the Under Armour All-America Game or Polynesian Bowl.
“Everybody was kind of scared, but I’m just picking my all-star game,” Rogers told Buckeye Grove’s Marc Givler following the Knight’s 31-13 season-opening win on Thursday night.
Rogers — the top-rated offensive guard and No. 15 prospect overall in the Class of 2020 — has long been considered a heavy Ohio State lean. However, a pair of recent visits to Georgia and the then-unresolved situation surrounding Buckeyes head coach Urban Meyer appeared to have swung momentum in the Bulldogs’ favor.
That said, we’re still a long way from Rogers making a decision on his future. He released a Top 13 in early June, but plans to trim that list again in the near future and make it back to campus again for a game this fall.
WAY-TOO-EARLY RANKINGS
Though we’re still 26 months away from the Early Signing Period, 247Sports unveiled its initial rankings for the Class of 2021 on Friday afternoon.
We've released the initial Top100 for the class of 2021, led by stud J.T. Tuimoloau https://t.co/bFxGtG8FSC pic.twitter.com/gffd9mWRyZ
— 247Sports (@247Sports) August 24, 2018
Ohio State already has offers out to 16 prospects from the 2021 recruiting cycle, including:
- No. 2 - Michigan four-star offensive tackle Garrett Dellinger
- No. 3 - Pickerington North four-star defensive end Jack Sawyer
- No. 6 - Texas four-star quarterback Preston Stone
- No. 9 - Georgia four-star wide receiver Julian Nixon
- No. 10 - Michigan four-star defensive tackle Rocco Spindler
- No. 18 - Georgia four-star offensive tackle Micah Morris
- No. 22 - Texas four-star offensive tackle Donovan Jackson
- No. 24 - Illinois four-star defensive tackle Dominic Bass
- No. 25 - Texas four-star offensive tackle Reuben Fatheree
- No. 26 - Michigan four-star offensive guard Damon Payne
- No. 39 - Maryland four-star offensive tackle Landon Tengwall
- No. 61 - Pennsylvania four-star safety Derrick Davis Jr.
- No. 65 - Massillon Washington four-star wide receiver Jayden Ballard
- No. 75 - Georgia four-star linebacker Chaz Chambliss
- No. 85 - New York four-star defensive end Jahzion Harris
Georgia wide receiver Jayden Thomas is the only prospect with an offer who was not listed among the nation’s Top 100 prospects, though he’ll certainly see his stock soar if he continues to make plays like this moving forward.
Dublin Coffman four-star safety A.J. Kirk — the younger brother of three-time All-American Mike Doss — and Perry four-star running back Jaylen Anderson also made the initial cut, coming in at No. 28 and No. 78, respectively. Neither holds an offer from the Buckeyes at this time, but have both visited campus in the past.
FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS
The high school football season begins in earnest this evening around the state of Ohio, which means several Ohio State commits are in action.
That includes Mentor four-star offensive tackle Ryan Jacoby and four-star defensive end Noah Potter, who kick off their senior seasons with the goal of avenging last season’s loss in the state championship. Cincinnati St. Xavier five-star offensive tackle Paris Johnson Jr. and Lexington four-star linebacker Cade Stover also open their respective seasons this evening, with the former playing under the bright lights of Paul Brown Stadium, home to the NFL’s Cincinnati Bengals.
In all, 18 of the Buckeyes’ 21 commitments are in action this weekend. Check out the schedule below:
| NAME | POS | HIGH SCHOOL | OPPONENT |
|---|---|---|---|
| DWAN MATHIS | QB | OAK PARK (MI) | @ UTICA (MI) EISENHOWER - THURSDAY: W, 31-13 |
| STEELE CHAMBERS | RB | ROSWELL (GA) BLESSED TRINITY CATHOLIC | SOUTH FORSYTH (GA) |
| SAMPSON JAMES | RB | AVON (IN) | INDIANAPOLIS (IN) BEN DAVIS |
| CORMONTAE HAMILTON | TE | MEMPHIS (TN) WHITEHAVEN | MEMPHIS (TN) RIDGEWAY* |
| HARRY MILLER | C | BUFORD (GA) | JONESBORO (GA) |
| DOUG NESTER | OG | HUNTINGTON (WV) SPRING VALLEY | WAYNE (WV) |
| RYAN JACOBY | OT | MENTOR (OH) | LAKEWOOD (OH) ST. EDWARD |
| NOAH POTTER | OT | MENTOR (OH) | LAKEWOOD (OH) ST. EDWARD |
| KANE PATTERSON | LB | NASHVILLE (TN) CHRIST PRESBYTERIAN ACADEMY | NASHVILLE (TN) ENSWORTH |
| CADE STOVER | LB | LEXINGTON (OH) | @ ONTARIO (OH) |
| JORDAN BATTLE | CB | FORT LAUDERDALE (FL) ST. THOMAS AQUINAS | HYATTSVILLE (MD) DEMATHA CATHOLIC* |
| CRAIG YOUNG | ATH | FORT WAYNE (IN) WAYNE | FORT WAYNE (IN) BISHOP LUERS |
| NAME | POS | HIGH SCHOOL | OPPONENT |
|---|---|---|---|
| JACK MILLER | QB | SCOTTSDALE (AZ) CHAPARRAL | SCOTTSDALE (AZ) DESERT MOUNTAIN |
| DARVON HUBBARD | RB | SCOTTSDALE (AZ) CHAPARRAL | SCOTTSDALE (AZ) DESERT MOUNTAIN |
| PARIS JOHNSON JR. | OT | CINCINNATI (OH) ST. XAVIER | WEST CHESTER (OH) LAKOTA WEST @ PAUL BROWN STADIUM, CINCINNATI |
| JAKE WRAY | OT | MARIETTA (GA) | OLNEY (MD) OUR LADY OF GOOD COUNSEL |
| LEJOND CAVAZOS | CB | BRADENTON (FL) IMG ACADEMY | @ GIBSONIA (PA) PINE-RICHLAND |
* Saturday game
As always, make sure to come back to Eleven Warriors on Sunday morning for the Dynasty '19 Tracker, which gives an in-depth recap and statistics from this weekend's games.
