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.
MOVING TO MIKE
Since Ohio State offered Cleveland St. Ignatius linebacker Tommy Eichenberg on Sept. 26, many have talked about his potential at the inside linebacker position at the collegiate level. Thankfully for those experts, Eichenberg is now playing in the middle with St. Ignatius.
The 6-foot-3, 225-pound four-star prospect has impressed throughout his senior season. For instance, in last week's 27-20 win over St. Xavier and future Buckeye Paris Johnson Jr., Eichenberg led the Wildcats' defense with 12 tackles.
As a junior, Eichenberg made a living off playing outside linebacker. He did the same early this fall as well. But since his move to mike, he's impressed thoroughly and shown his upside and potential at the position. For Ohio State, that means a great deal considering their current linebacker corps.
Put simply, Eichenberg's continuous production at mike makes him one of the Buckeyes' top remaining targets in the 2019 class. With how Ohio State's linebackers are currently playing, he can't arrive in Columbus soon enough.
Currently, the Boston College commit is considered Ohio's 11th-best overall prospect and the nation's 19th-best inside linebacker. He says even though he's committed to BC, Ohio State's offer has made his decision "really hard."
"They are telling me they want me to be a Buckeye, and I am thinking about what they're telling," Eichenberg told 247Sports about Ohio State assistants Greg Schiano, Billy Davis and Tony Alford. "It's really hard, because I like Boston College so much, and it's given me a lot to think about. I want to take that visit, and I think I would make a later decision on things."
Time will tell but one thing is crystal clear: the Buckeyes need a player like Eichenberg in their next recruiting cycle; especially after the decommitment from Kane Patterson.
I'm sure you'll also enjoy this article about Eichenberg and his friend and foe Caden Kolesar from cleveland.com. From the article:
If Caden Kolesar makes a game-changing play Friday for St. Edward, then St. Ignatius might have Tommy Eichenberg to blame.
Their first football encounter happened 10 years ago during a snowy recess at Dover Elementary School in Westlake. Eichenberg played quarterback and threw the ball toward Kolesar, playing defense almost like he does today. What happened next kindled their friendship and Kolesar’s love for football.
They meet Friday night at FirstEnergy Stadium as high school seniors and football rivals. Kolesar plays defensive back for St. Edward. Eichenberg is the middle linebacker at St. Ignatius.
For them, it all started on the snow-covered blacktop as second-graders in Westlake.
To read the full article, click here.
AN IMPORTANT VISIT
As imperative as it is to sway Eichenberg towards Columbus, the same could be said of Western Hills (Ky.) all-purpose back Wandale Robinson. Ohio State wide receivers coach Brian Hartline is set to make a visit to Robinson this Friday.
All in all, aside from Olentangy Orange defensive end Zach Harrison, Robinson is undoubtedly Ohio State's top prospect. In space or in traffic, Robinson is explosive with the football in his hands. He's a threat to score at anytime, his agility has been proven time and time again and he's the type of game-changer that college programs salivate over.
Don't take my word for it, just look at the numbers.
In eight games, MaxPreps shows Robinson to have 1,560 rushing yards, 367 receiving yards, 173 passing yards and 35 touchdowns. He also has 85 tackles on defense alongside three interceptions and five forced fumbles.
He's the definition of a one-man wrecking ball, which is why Hartline's visit is so important.
While Hartline seems to have a good relationship with Robinson, Nebraska appears to be making progress in the four-star recruit's recruitment. The Cornhuskers currently have the nation's 28th-ranked 2019 recruiting class, one that's without a five-star commit. They also have a freshman quarterback in Adrian Martinez that's said to have helped recruiting.
“If I was a receiver or a running back or a tight end coming into a program and I knew someone had a freshman quarterback playing as well as Adrian is, I’d want to be at that school,” Nebraska coach Scott Frost said Monday. “So I think that’s a big selling point for us on offense — even on defense — to be able to play with a guy like that."
Robinson has certainly taken note of Martinez's play. This past Saturday, Robinson made note of Nebraska's 398 total yards of offense in the first half.
398... https://t.co/yDAk4jEmvJ
— Wandale Robinson (@robinson__era) October 20, 2018
Robinson's father has also been in contact with the Omaha World-Herald, a newspaper that prides itself in covering the Cornhuskers' football team. So for Hartline and the Buckeyes, Friday becomes ever-important in potentially bringing Robinson to Columbus.
MILLER OUT FOR REST OF SEASON
As previously reported, Chaparral (Az.) quarterback and 2020 Ohio State commit Jack Miller has been dealing with a knee injury he suffered a couple of weeks back. While the Firebirds hoped to have him back before the postseason started, Miller tweeted Thursday that his junior season had reached its conclusion.
This has been an unforgettable season with my teammates but due to my knee injury my doctor will not clear me to return to the field, Im recovering great and I will be back better! My boys got this! #ctown
— Jack Miller (@jackjamesmiller) October 25, 2018
Miller ends the year 2,431 passing yards and a 27-6 touchdown-interception ratio.
