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.
NOT TURNING THE PAIGE ... JUST YET
Friday night, junior Makari Paige led West Bloomfield High School (Mich.) to a 42-21 win over Lake Orion. Saturday morning, with sleep still in his eyes, he traveled nearly 3 1/2 hours to Columbus to catch Ohio State's 49-6 win over Tulane.
"What made the biggest impression to me at Ohio State is probably the culture," Paige told Eleven Warriors. "They aim for being the best and only the best, so that stood out to me the most. Hopefully, I get my family down so they can tour the campus sometime."
Paige, a four-star 2020 safety, is considered the second-best prospect in the state of Michigan, according to 247Sports. He currently has offers from Ohio State, Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa and Penn State, among many others.
— AKARI PAIGE (@makaripaige) September 23, 2018
While his recruitment process has gone smooth, for now, Paige isn't fretting over the next step. He's focused on the moment at hand.
"Right now, I’m not really focused on the recruiting process," Paige told said. "I’m more focused on the [high school] season and winning with my brothers. It’s going good, though. I hope to go out to more places and learn more about programs and find the right place for me."
Paige said he's been in contact with Ohio State coach Urban Meyer almost daily while also keeping in contact with co-defensive coordinator Alex Grinch and cornerbacks coach Taver Johnson.
West Bloomfield is currently 4-1 and, according to Paige, has big goals in mind.
"I need to focus on school first off the field, and on the field, being a leader," Paige said. "We are doing good. We expect one thing and that’s winning [a state championship]."
VISITATION HOURS
Paige was far from the only potential future Buckeye at Ohio Stadium to witness the Buckeyes' ninth straight win and the return of Meyer.
Multiple commits and targets were in attendance, including 2019 commits Dwan Mathis (Oak Park, Mich.) and Harry Miller (Buford, Ga.), 2020 commit Paris Johnson Jr. (Cincinnati, Ohio), 2020 targets Bangally Kamara (Akron, Ohio), Devell Washington (Bay City, Mich.) and Dallas Fincher (Grand Rapids, Mich.), and 2021 target Jack Sawyer (Pickerington, Ohio).
But possibly the two most intriguing names to enter the Shoe were 2020 defensive end Bryan Bresee (Damascus, Md.) and 2019 tight end Brenton Strange (Parkersburg, W. Va.).
Bryan Bresee
Bresee, whose visit was mentioned in Monday's Hurry Up, is the nation's top-rated prospect at any position. Strange, a four-star recruit who made a surprise visit to Columbus, is expected to be seriously considering Penn State as a potential landing spot. He also has offers from Louisville, Purdue and Cincinnati. This season, Strange has 13 catches for 185 yards, including a 6-catch, 122-yard performance this past Friday.
Elsewhere, Ohio State's top 2019 offensive tackle target Darnell Wright (Huntington, W. Va.) continued to build a relationship at Tennessee, visiting the Volunteers Saturday. The Buckeyes are in tight competition with Alabama and Tennessee to land Wright. If that were to happen, the five-star tackle and top-rated player in West Virginia at any position, would give the Buckeyes' 2019 recruiting class an instant shot of adrenaline.
Current crystal ball predictions show a 62 percent chance Wright lands in Columbus, a 25 percent chance he chooses Tennessee and a 12 percent chance he plays for Nick Saban.
