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.
No. 3 2021 Prospect Excels on Court
Ohio State 2021 defensive end commit Jack Sawyer led his Pickerington North basketball team to a 68-36 win against Canal Winchester in the OHSAA Division I District Semifinals on Wednesday night.
Eleven Warriors was there to grab some photos of the No. 1 defensive end in the 2021 class score 26 points and talk to him after the game.
“I’ve played basketball forever because I love it,” the high school sophomore said. “It’s still fun, and I’m going to keep playing until it’s not fun anymore. Being committed gives me even more reason to keep playing because it’s something I love to do and keeps me in shape. I play with my brothers I’ve played with growing up my whole life. It means everything.”
Sawyer committed to the Buckeyes on Feb. 3 and said Ryan Day and the new coaching staff have made him feel welcomed and at home within the program.
“I’ve known them since my recruitment started,” Sawyer said. “I really believe in Coach Day and what he is doing for the program. He’s my guy, so he’s going to be my head coach for the next three to five years.”
Growing up in Columbus, Sawyer said he wanted to play football for Ohio State at a young age but that since he got a bit older, he’s kept his options open and focused on finding a place that was “right for him.” Ohio State was that place anyway, he said he realized early on. It made committing to the Buckeyes even easier.
Football has been his love since he was young but basketball has always “been right there with it.” Sawyer said he’s been playing AAU basketball in the spring but will not continue beginning this spring.
Pickerington North plays Thomas Worthington in the finals Saturday after Thomas Worthington upset Hilliard Bradley in the semifinals. It won’t be an easy matchup for the Panthers but is much easier than playing the 22-2 Hilliard Bradley team.
Cam Large Visits Buckeyes
Three-star tight end Cam Large is in the middle of a busy couple months. The Massachusetts prospect had a February filled with new offers from schools like Penn State, West Virginia, Virginia Tech and LSU. He visited Wisconsin last weekend and is in Columbus to visit the Buckeyes this week.
#GoBucks -H
— Cam Large (@cam_large) March 7, 2019
The tight end hit Twitter to let everyone know he was at Ohio State, too. He’ll be in Columbus for a couple days followed by visits to LSU, Duke and Vanderbilt.
Trey Leroux, a 2020 offensive tackle out of Norwalk, Ohio, is also expected in Columbus this weekend, and Justin Barron, a three-star athlete out of Connecticut, was in Columbus earlier this week. Neither Leroux nor Barron have offers form Ohio State yet, but Large does.
No. 11 Guard De-commits From Aggies
The No. 11 offensive guard in the 2020 class, Akinola Ogunbiyi, de-committed from Texas A&M on Wednesday night, he announced via Twitter.
THANK YOU TEXAS A&M!!!!!
— AKI (@AkinolaOgunbiyi) March 6, 2019
RECRUITMENT 100% OPEN pic.twitter.com/Gk2guTEzUY
That’s important for Ohio State because the Buckeyes extended an offer to the Texas No. 29 prospect Feb. 14.
Ogunbiyi committed to Texas A&M early in his process because of his mother’s condition after a stroke. He also had a good relationship with the Aggies’ staff, including offensive line coach Jim Turner, who took a job in the NFL after last season. Now, the offers have been rolling in for Ogunbiiy, who is up to 17, including those from schools like Oklahoma, Alabama, Texas, Arkansas, Nebraska and others.
Jalen McMillan joining FSP Blue Chip
The No. 9 wide receiver in the 2020 class, California wideout Jalen McMillan, has joined a 7v7 team that already contains the No. 13 wide receiver in the class too. It was announced on Twitter that McMillan joined Ford Sports Performance Blue Chip, the same team that Kelee Ringo, Sam Adams and Sav’ell Smalls all play for.
MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT
— Ryan Clary (@RyanClaryFSP) March 6, 2019
FSP Blue Chip is Excited to Announce the addition of 4 (#1 Rated WR on west coast) @jalenmcmillan20 to the FSP Blue Chip Roster #TEAMFSP pic.twitter.com/5RRHg3s5AY
McMillan and Ohio State share a lot of mutual interest, but the Buckeyes are in competition with several West Coast schools, including Washington, Oregon and USC. McMillan also has interest in Notre Dame. Ringo also told Eleven Warriors that Scott Jr. has been pushing for Ohio State when he and his teammates talk about where they plan to go.
In 36 high school games, the 6-foot-2 wideout has 171 catches for 3,590 yards and 42 touchdowns. He burst onto the scene as a sophomore, when eh caught 78 passes for 1,810 yards and 21 touchdowns for San Joaqiun Memorial High School.
