The Hurry Up: Georgia Safety Brian Branch Previews This Weekend's Trip To Columbus, Buckeyes Get Visit From Indiana Offensive Lineman And Freshman Quarterback Set For Return

By Derrick Webb on November 21, 2018 at 6:50 pm
Chase Harrison
Marc Pendleton/Dayton Daily News
32 Comments

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.

MAKING THE TRIP NORTH

Sandy Creek (Tyrone, Ga.) safety Brian Branch will be among the many prospects headed to Columbus this weekend (see below) to see the 115th edition of Ohio State-Michigan.

And like many others, Branch will be taking his visit to Ohio Stadium with the intent of learning as much as he can about the Buckeyes' players, coaching staff and culture.

Branch, a 6-foot, 175-pound 2020 recruit, had other offers to visit on the table this weekend. But his reason for choosing Columbus was rather simple: "I chose this school because I feel like this is the one I want to attend after high school," he said.

That's obviously an early positive for head coach Urban Meyer, who Branch says he hopes to spend time with. He also wants to see co-defensive coordinator Alex Grinch again. Both Meyer and Grinch have kept in contact with Branch.

"I hope to see coach Meyer and coach Grinch, and the rest of the staff," Branch said. "And I hope to see Ohio State's defense get back to the way it used to be."

Branch will be accompanied by his mother and brother. He currently has offers on the table from Louisville, Cincinnati, Indiana and South Carolina, among others. Ohio State made its offer to branch on Nov. 5. Saturday will be Branch's first visit to the Shoe.

BUCKEYES GETTING 'BIG' VISIT

It's not everyday that you see a 6-foot-8, 360-pound offensive lineman. But for Ohio State, Wednesday was that day as Indianapolis (Ind.) Ben Davis tackle Dawand Jones visited.

247Sports' Steve Wiltfong reported that Jones, a three-star prospect that's considered Indiana's 13th-best overall in the class of 2019, visited Ohio State after taking an official visit to USC two weeks ago and an unofficial visit to Michigan this past weekend.

Jones, a senior, just completed his second season ever playing organized football. So, the talent is there but it's raw. Still with his size, multiple programs have already offered including USC, Michigan, Florida State, TCU and Indiana.

Jones is the nation's 85th-ranked tackle in his class and the 986th-best overall recruit.

FRESHMAN QUARTERBACK RETURNING TO OHIO STADIUM

Back on Sept. 22, Centerville (Dayton, Ohio) freshman quarterback Chase Harrison made his first visit to Ohio Stadium. On Saturday, the 2022 prospect will return to the Shoe.

Harrison, a 6-foot-2, 185-pound signal caller, attended camp at Ohio State this past summer. His only offer, so far, is from Louisville but you can certainly expect that list to grow continuously.

After his first visit to Ohio State, Harrison told 247Sports, “The visit was awesome. It was cool seeing the locker room and just the atmosphere overall. It was a great experience.”

Harrison, who keeps in contact with offensive coordinator Ryan Day, won the starting quarterback role midway through his freshman season. He passed for 1,446 yards and rushed for 203 more. As his skills continue to develop, Ohio State will certainly keep an eye on him. The Buckeyes already have an early insight into what looks to be a bright future.

BUCKEYES GIVE PWO OFFER TO IN-STATE TIGHT END

After giving out a preferred walk-on offer to Massillon safety Kyshad Mack this weekend, Ohio State did the same for another in-state prospect in Tallmadge tight end Jason Grassie.

Grassie is a 6-foot-4, 220-pound tight end in the class of 2019. He currently has Division I offers from Georgetown and Stetson. He was also on Ohio State's campus for the Buckeyes' 30-14 win over Minnesota on Oct. 13.

CONFIRMED VISITS TO 'THE GAME'
PLAYER CLASS SCHOOL HT. WT. POSITION STAR RATING
CAVON BUTLER (UK COMMIT) 2019 TOLEDO WHITMER (TOLEDO, OH) 6-3 285 DEFENSIVE TACKLE ★★★
D'VON ELLIES 2019 MCDONOGH SCHOOL (OWINGS MILLS, MD) 6-3 280 DEFENSIVE TACKLE ★★★★
JARED HARRISON-HUNTE 2019 CHRIST THE KING REGIONAL (MIDDLE VILLAGE, NY) 6-4 286 DEFENSIVE TACKLE ★★★
BRYSON SHAW (OSU COMMIT) 2019 THE BULLIS SCHOOL (POTOMAC, MD) 6-2 175 SAFETY ★★★
RENARDO GREEN (FSU COMMIT) 2019 WEKIVA (APOPKA, FL) 5-11 164 CORNERBACK ★★★
STEELE CHAMBERS (OSU COMMIT) 2019 BLESSED TRINITY CATHOLIC (ROSWELL, GA) 6-2 215 RUNNING BACK ★★★★
DOUG NESTER (OSU COMMIT) 2019 SPRING VALLEY (HUNTINGTON, WV) 6-7 314 GUARD ★★★★
NOAH POTTER (OSU COMMIT) 2019 MENTOR (MENTOR, OH) 6-6 250 DEFENSIVE END ★★★★
CADE STOVER (OSU COMMIT) 2019 LEXINGTON (MANSFIELD, OH) 6-5 235 LINEBACKER ★★★★
CRAIG YOUNG (OSU COMMIT) 2019 WAYNE (FORT WAYNE, IN) 6-4 200 ATHLETE ★★★
JACK MILLER (OSU COMMIT) 2020 CHAPARRAL (SCOTTSDALE, AZ) 6-4 210 QUARTERBACK ★★★★
PARIS JOHNSON (OSU COMMIT) 2020 ST. XAVIER (CINCINNATI, OH) 6-7 285 OFFENSIVE TACKLE ★★★★★
JAKE WRAY (OSU COMMIT) 2020 MARIETTA (MARIETTA, GA) 6-5 290 OFFENSIVE TACKLE ★★★★
LEJOND CAVAZOS (OSU COMMIT) 2020 IMG ACADEMY (BRADENTON, FL) 6-0 186 SAFETY ★★★★
TOMMY EICHENBERG 2019 ST. IGNATIUS (CLEVELAND, OH) 6-3 225 LINEBACKER ★★★★
JESTIN JACOBS (IOWA COMMIT) 2019 NORTHMONT (CLAYTON, OH) 6-3 210 LINEBACKER ★★★★
MJ DEVONSHIRE 2019 ALIQUIPPA (ALIQUIPPA, PA) 5-11 170 CORNERBACK ★★★
FRED DAVIS II 2020 TRINITY CHRISTIAN (JACKSONVILLE, FL) 6-1 177 CORNERBACK ★★★★★
DANE MIDDLEBROOK 2020 BROWNSBURG (BROWNSBURG, IN) 6-1 310 DEFENSIVE TACKLE N/A
DEAMONTE TRAYANUM 2020 ARCHBISHOP HOBAN (AKRON, OH) 5-11 215 RUNNING BACK ★★★★
MICHAEL DRENNEN 2020 DUBLIN COFFMAN (DUBLIN, OH) 5-11 190 ALL-PURPOSE BACK ★★★★
JUTAHN MCCLAIN 2020 FAIRFIELD (FAIRFIELD, OH) 5-10 180 ALL-PURPOSE BACK ★★★
RAKIM JARRETT 2020 ST. JOHN'S COLLEGE (WASHINGTON DC) 6-0 182 WIDE RECEIVER ★★★★
DEVELL WASHINGTON 2020 BAY CITY CENTRAL (BAY CITY, MI) 6-4 200 WIDE RECEIVER ★★★
MALIQ CARR 2020 OAK PARK (OAK PARK, MI) 6-6 215 WIDE RECEIVER ★★★
IAN STEWART 2020 OSCAR A CARLSON (ROCKWOOD, MI) 6-3 200 WIDE RECEIVER ★★★
GEIREAN HATCHETT 2020 FERNDALE (FERNDALE, WA) 6-5 275 GUARD ★★★★
JAKOB JAMES 2020 ELDER (CINCINNATI, OH) 6-5 260 OFFENSIVE TACKLE ★★★
DALLAS FINCHER 2020 EAST KENTWOOD (GRAND RAPIDS, MI) 6-4 260 GUARD ★★★
TRE WILLIAMS 2020 ST. JOHN'S COLLEGE (WASHINGTON DC) 6-2 308 DEFENSIVE TACKLE ★★★★
JACOLBE COWAN 2020 PROVIDENCE DAY SCHOOL (CHARLOTTE, NC) 6-5 265 DEFENSIVE END ★★★★
DARRION HENRY 2020 PRINCETON (CINCINNATI, OH) 6-6 260 DEFENSIVE END ★★★★
JAHEIM THOMAS 2020 PRINCETON (CINCINNATI, OH) 6-5 218 LINEBACKER  ★★★★
MEKHAIL SHERMAN 2020 ST. JOHN'S COLLEGE (WASHINGTON DC) 6-3 234 LINEBACKER ★★★★★
BRIAN BRANCH 2020 SANDY CREEK (TYRONE, GA) 6-0 175 SAFETY N/A
ELIJAH EBERHARDT 2020 PRINCETON (CINCINNATI, OH) 6-1 175 CORNERBACK ★★★
SAMMY ANDERSON 2020 TROTWOOD-MADISON (DAYTON, OH) 6-2 170 CORNERBACK ★★★
DONOVAN EDWARDS 2021 WEST BLOOMFIELD (WEST BLOOMFIELD, OH) 5-11 190 RUNNING BACK ★★★★
LORENZO STYLES 2021 PICKERINGTON CENTRAL (PICKERINGTON, OH) 6-1 170 WIDE RECEIVER N/A
WYATT MILLUM 2021 SPRING VALLEY (HUNTINGTON, WV) 6-7 245 OFFENSIVE TACKLE N/A
JACK SAWYER 2021 PICKERINGTON NORTH (PICKERINGTON, OH) 6-5 219 DEFENSIVE END ★★★★
CHASE HARRISON 2022 CENTERVILLE (DAYTON, OH) 6-2 185 QUARTERBACK N/A
32 Comments
View 32 Comments