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 to Make Official Visit to Ohio State
Four-star safety Lathan Ransom is one of the top safety targets for Ohio State in the 2020 class, and it turns out that Ransom shares some mutual interest for the Buckeyes. He said he is looking for a school with a strong defensive back presence, and he knows Ohio State can offer that.
“If you play DB at Ohio State, you know you’re legit,” Ransom said.
Ransom made the trip to Columbus from Arizona in late-February and left feeling impressed. He talks to head coach Ryan Day, secondary coach Jeff Hafley and running backs coach Tony Alford every day and can tell that they want him to play for Ohio State, he said.
Ransom said that Hafley, being a new defensive backs coach, made a really good impression on him and that he believes Ohio State will continue to produce NFL-caliber cornerbacks and safeties in the future.
He also said that he appreciates the way Day preaches brotherhood in a genuine way.
Ransom is one of the most physical and athletic safeties in the 2020 class. Ranked as the No. 4 safety in the class, he recorded 82 tackles, a sack, six interceptions, eight pass deflections, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery as a junior. He also contributed in the passing game on the offensive side of the ball.
“They and other coaches like my physicality and my intelligence and my feel for the game,” Ransom said. “I can always get bigger and faster, but I really want to work on getting out of my breaks faster.”
Ransom is the teammate of five-star running back Bijan Robinson at Salpointe Catholic in Tucson, and the two have frequent conversations about their recruitment. They both share interest in the Buckeyes, and Robinson, the No. 5 running back in his class, is also one of Ohio State’s top targets at his position for the 2020 class.
Robinson has run for 4,423 yards and 61 touchdowns between his sophomore and junior years, and Ransom said he relishes the opportunity to compete against and with Robinson at the high school level.
“We’re always competing,” Ransom said. “He can catch the ball better than a lot of receivers in our league. We always talk about how we’d love to play at the same school.”
Ransom said he plans to visit Texas unofficially in June and to make official visits to Oklahoma, LSU and Ohio State. He also hopes to commit around July, he said.
Travion Ford Meets Ohio State's Defensive Staff
When Ohio State wide receivers coach Brian Hartline made his way to Missouri to visit eventual 2019 wide receiver signee Jameson Williams, he also met 2021 defensive end Travion Ford. The two developed a relationship, and in January, Ford was extended an offer.
Before Ford made his way to Columbus on Saturday for Student Appreciation Day, he told Eleven Warriors what he was most excited for was to meet the rest of the coaching staff, those he would actually be working with if he were to choose to play at Ohio State.
The coaching staff met his expectations.
“The visit was awesome,” Ford said. “I got a chance to see Coach (Larry) Johnson at practice with the D-line and meet with him afterwards. I also met Coach Day in his office and with Coach (Greg) Mattison.”
Enjoyed my visit today @OhioStateFB. Learned a lot at the practice and the coaching staff showed me a lot of love #BuckeyeNation #GoBucks #Buckeyes O-H-I-O pic.twitter.com/TpwV8PhDEx
— Travion Ford #6 (@Tre_Got_Skills) March 23, 2019
Ford, at 6-foot-4, 215 pounds, is expected to be one of the top defensive ends in the 2021 class. He set a new school record at Lutheran North High School for sacks in a season, with 17, and he already has offers from Alabama, LSU, Texas A&M and others.
“The visit confirmed why Ohio State is a great school and has one of the top football programs,” Ford said.
Ohio State Makes Two More Cut Lists
The No. 13 defensive end in the 2020 class cropped his 20 offers into a list of five Tuesday afternoon. Aaron Lewis, out of New Jersey, visited Ohio State over the weekend and was impressed enough to include the Buckeyes in the cut list.
Blessed @EditsMoney pic.twitter.com/2S4LQOO13t
— aaron.lewis84 (@aaron_lewis71) March 26, 2019
Lewis also included Wisconsin, West Virginia, Michigan and Penn State out of a list of offers that also included Tennessee, Texas A&M, Virginia, Purdue, Baylor, Maryland and others.
Lewis’ best year at Williamstown High School was his sophomore year in 2017, when he recorded 67 tackles, 17 tackles for loss, seven sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. He has totaled 125 tackles, 34 tackles for loss and 10 sacks at the varsity level.
J.J. Hester, the No. 2 2020 prospect out of Oklahoma, narrowed his list down to 10 schools Monday and also included Ohio State. The 6-foot-4 four-star wideout included Arkansas, Baylor, Colorado, Georgia Tech, Georgia, Michigan, Missouri, Ole Miss and Texas in addition to the Buckeyes.
Where Im from it was dream...now I made it happen. #MyTopTen
— JJHester (@JJHester_8) March 25, 2019
(Recruitment still open) pic.twitter.com/9aTtkpw9Ko
