The Hurry Up: Four-star Safety Lathan Ransom Makes His Way to the Midwest, Georgia Safety Brian Branch Sets His Ohio State Visit Date

By Taylor Lehman on February 22, 2019 at 6:30 pm
Lathan Ransom
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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.

Lathan Ransom Making His Visits

Four-star Arizona safety Lathan Ransom landed in Indiana on Friday, the Tucson-native announced via Twitter. He is visiting Notre Dame on Friday before heading toward Columbus to check out Ohio State to round out his weekend of visits.

Ransom has been recruited by Ohio State co-defensive coordinator and secondary coach Jeff Hafley, as well as head coach Ryan Day and running backs coach Tony Alford. 

Ransom has offers from Notre Dame, Stanford, UCLA, USC and others, but in conversations with Day, Salpointe Catholic head coach Dennis Bene said he's been impressed by the culture Day is setting for the Buckeyes.

“I’ve been impressed with Coach Day and the things he talks about and the kind of culture that they have," Bene said. "He's trying to continue what Coach Meyer had at Ohio State. I think Lathan will fit in there just fine.”

At 6-foot-2, 183 pounds, Bene said that Ransom's best trait is his versatility. He can play in zone coverage, man-to-man pressed against any team's No. 1 wideout or in the box against a strong running team. These facets to his game open up Ransom for availability on special teams too, which could offer him early playing time.

While in Indiana, Ransom also collected an offer form Auburn.

As a junior, Ransom recorded 38 tackles and four interceptions on defense and 20 catches for seven total touchdowns.

Ransom is also the teammate of five-star running back Bijan Robinson, who Bene said is setting up plans for visits after April.

Brian Branch Set for Ohio State Visit

Three-star Georgia safety Brian Branch is planning to visit Ohio State on March 23. Even though 247Sports gives Branch just three stars, he has received offers from Ohio State, Alabama, Texas A&M, Oklahoma and Tennessee, but Sandy Creek head coach Brett Garvin said he doesn't put much stock in those ratings that rank Branch as the No. 26 safety in the 2020 class.

“I see him every day," Garvin said. "I see all the good days and all the bad days. I think those schools do their homework and they study the film, and they have their own grading scales and grading systems.”

Former Ohio State co-defensive coordinator Alex Grinch was the primary recruiter for Branch until he took the defensive coordinator job at Oklahoma, yet Grinch came back to Sandy Creek to continue talking with Branch and Garvin.

Now, Branch is talking with linebackers coach Al Washington, special teams coordinator and assistant secondary coach Matt Barnes and Jeff Hafley.

Garvin said that when Branch visited Ohio State in November and attended the Ohio State-Michigan game, Branch described the experience as "amazing."

According to Garvin, one of Branch's best characteristic as a player is his coachability and that he doesn't take criticism personally. Other than that, his football IQ wins out on the field, along with his vision and understanding of position within the secondary.

“He’s one of those special kids that comes along every now and then," said Garvin, who has coached defensive backs at Sandy Creek that played in the NFL and in the NCAA Division I level. "He just understands. He’s been playing for me since he was a freshman, and I knew then that he was going to be pretty special.”

Major Offers to OSU Targets

A few Ohio State targets received major offers from other Power Five programs Friday. 

Four-star Washington running back Sam Adams received an offer from Alabama after visiting Tuscaloosa. The offer is the 41st for the 2020 No. 17 running back and the No. 4 Washington prospect.

Three-star Kentucky offensive tackle John Young was offered by Georgia on Friday as well. The Bulldogs' offer is his 21st. He is the No. 42 offensive tackle in the 2020 class and the No. 4 prospect out of Kentucky.

Georgia Tech extended an offer to 2021 Georgia tight end Cane Berrong. Ohio State handed Berrong an offer earlier in the week. While he doesn't have a rating by 247Sports yet, he's expected to be one of the top tight ends in the nation for his class.

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