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.
Catching Up with Jake Wray
Jake Wray, a four-star offensive tackle out of Georgia, said his decision to commit early in his recruitment process — April 2018 to Ohio State — was because he was under the impression that former head coach Urban Meyer would be coaching in Columbus during his collegiate career.
At the beginning of April, Ohio State and Meyer had agreed to a contract extension that would keep the legendary head coach at the helm through the 2022 season — the first three seasons of Wray’s career. But when Meyer announced he would be retiring after the Rose Bowl, Wray made the decision to decommit the next day.
“He’s been a great coach historically,” said Wray, who is also the brother of Ohio State redshirt freshman offensive lineman Max Wray. “He’s just put so many people in the League. If you want to be in the League, you see the quality players he’s put in up there. I just didn’t think, with the change in leadership, that it would hurt anyone to take a step back.”
Wray said he wanted to take the opportunity to focus on himself and be open to other schools, and that’s what he has done in 2019. He just finished up a visit to Oregon, the state in which he was born, and Utah, where he has family. He has also received a couple offers from Illinois and Colorado and hopes to visit Auburn at some point in the spring.
#ScoDucks pic.twitter.com/Q0oyQWrAzx
— Jake Wray (@wrayjake77) March 10, 2019
The 290-pound offensive lineman said he receives text messages from new Ohio State head coach Ryan Day from time to time but doesn't communicate with Ohio State as often as he did before his decommitment.
The No. 36 offensive tackle said he’s tried not to let the stigma of a decommitted recruit get to him and hasn’t heard much about it from people within his own community. His teammate at Marietta, five-star athlete Arik Gilbert, is a 2020 target for Ohio State, but Wray said he hasn’t heard any jeering from his teammates or peers because “we’re going where we’ve got to go.”
Wray has no visits planned for the spring yet and said he’s giving his recruitment some more time after de-committing just three months ago, and it will likely be a late decision. For now, he’s working on improving his technique and strength on the field and aiming for a state title with his teammates in his last season at Marietta.
“When guys say they’re looking for a place that feels like home, they’re talking about a place where they just feel right and feel welcome,” Wray said. “It’s kind of an indescribable feeling.”
OSU Makes the Cut for Atteberry
The No. 3 offensive center in the 2020 class, Reece Atteberry, released his top-five via Twitter on Monday, and Ohio State was included. Atteberry also put Duke, Nebraska, Michigan and Notre Dame in the top-five.
Thank you to every coach that has taken the time to recruit me and everyone that has helped me get to this point. (These are my top 5) @savageedits15 @SixZeroAcademy @raptorathletics pic.twitter.com/zl5EPYkeaR
— Reece Atteberry (@atteberry5573) March 11, 2019
Ohio State offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson and running backs coach Tony Alford are the top two recruiters for Atteberry, and the Aurora, Colorado native plans to visit Ohio State on March 23.
Jalen McMillan FSP Debut
Four-star Fresno, California, wideout Jalen McMillan was named to the Ford Sports Performance 7v7 team last week and made his debut at the Adidas West Coast Invitational last weekend. McMillan has an offer from Ohio State and has interest in other schools, such as Notre Dame, Oregon and Washington, where his FSP quarterback Sam Huard is committed.
Sam Huard (@samhuard11) to Jalen McMillan (@jalenmcmillan20) pic.twitter.com/6YXReLFdoJ
— "EJ Holland" (@EJHolland247) March 10, 2019
The No. 4 wide receiver in the 2020 class didn’t win a title with the Blue Chip but did grab a touchdown on the way to a runner -up finish with Ohio State targets Johnny Wilson, Sav’ell Smalls, Sam Adams, Kelee Ringo and commit Gee Scott, Jr.
