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.
Jaylen Anderson Ready To Get Back On The Field
Perry High School 2021 running back Jaylen Anderson is working his way back to full health after tearing his meniscus in the summer of 2018. He missed three games of his sophomore season after popping off his freshman-year tape, and after seeing a “slowed down” version of Anderson in 2018, teams, including Ohio State are waiting to see how he progresses into his junior year before offering.
“They want to see how I look coming off my knee injury,” Anderson said about Ohio State. “I’m looking for a program that has a lot of confidence in me and can help me become better on and off the field.”
Anderson is one of three top-10 Ohio 2021 recruits that plays running back, including Roger Bacon’s Corey Kiner and Ironton’s Reid Carrico. He’s ranked as the No. 7 recruit coming out of Ohio and as the No. 10 running back in the country.
Only Duke and UPenn have extended offers, but Ohio State, Michigan State and Penn State are all interested in the tailback.
The Perry standout has been in contact with Ohio State running back coach Tony Alford, and director of high school relations Ed Terwilliger has made a visit to see him and plans to in the near future. Anderson also made his way to Columbus on Feb. 2 to see the campus and facilities for himself.
“It was awesome,” Anderson said. “I got to know Coach Alford a lot, and I got to see the nice facilities they have.”
While Ohio State’s coaching staff wants to see how Anderson progresses out of his meniscus tear and surgery, Alford asked Anderson to participate in a camp in June, and the running back said he plans to be at the camp on the 17th.
As far as how he has actually progressed out of his surgery, Anderson was pretty clear.
“Everything is back to 100 percent,” he said.
Shawn Murphy Receives His Ohio State Offer
In yesterday’s Hurry Up, I detailed the visit of Virginia 2022 linebacker Shawn Murphy, who made an accidental visit to Columbus earlier this week. Near the end of our conversation, he said that he had been told by Ohio State that the Buckeyes staff was hoping to see him in person and do a little extra research before extending him an offer but that it would happen soon.
Apparently the Buckeyes didn’t need to do too much research because Friday morning, three days after his visit, Murphy became the fourth 2022 recruit with an Ohio State offer.
Blessed and honored to yo have received an offer from the Ohio State University #GOBUCKS pic.twitter.com/eN0uMLtLZu
— shawn (@theicedupshawn) April 26, 2019
It’s understandable why Ohio State, who typically calls around to people surrounding the recruits before extending offers to gauge character as well, would immediately extend an offer to Murphy if his background checked out. He’s a menace on a football field.
Eighty tackles is unprecedented for a freshman in high school, and his comfort and confidence at the linebacker position is unquestioned. He already has offers from Penn State and Michigan, which he gained by visiting Ann Arbor earlier this week as well.
Two More California Offers
Last night during the NFL Draft, two more California recruits announced that they have received Ohio State offers. Both recruits – 2021 cornerback Jaylin Davies and 2022 safety Domani Jackson – attend Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, California.
With the majority of the Ohio State coaching staff on the recruiting trail this week, it wouldn’t be surprising if secondary coach Jeff Hafley, who has connections on the West Coast, would be out there visiting prospects in the 2021 and 2022 classes. All four of the California recruits who have received offers from Ohio State this week play in the secondary, and if Hafley extended the offers, then these kids can play.
Davies, who was the first to announce his offer, is rated by 247Sports as the No. 8 cornerback in the 2021 class, and as a sophomore, he recorded 25 tackles and 10 pass deflections. Jackson played in five fewer games than Jackson did but recorded 14 tackles and two interceptions from the safety position.
Jalen Berger Visits Columbus
Jalen Berger, the No. 50 player overall in the 2020 class and the top prospect out of New Jersey, was in Columbus on Thursday for an Ohio State visit.
Berger is a prospect that hasn’t made his intentions clear on where he wants to commit and remains a bit of a mystery to some, though he does have some affinity for Penn State and has been Crystal Ball’d to Ohio State.
The majority of his snaps at Don Bosco Prep came at the running back position, but Berger is also a player that can line up outside, play slot and even took direct snaps in his junior year tape. He certainly seems to be an option for an H-back position in the Ohio State offense.
There are several options for Ohio State to fill that H-back role in the 2020 class. The first two that jump out are Dublin Coffman all-purpose back Mike Drennen and Fairfield all-purpose back Jutahn McClain. The Buckeyes are still in on Dallas all-purpose back E.J. Smith as well, and Florida running back Lawrance Toafili, who was in town for the spring game, could be considered a candidate there. Berger could easily throw his name into that consideration as the No. 5 athlete in the country.
Cam Large Gets A Georgia Offer
As Ohio State continues its search for a tight end in the 2020 class after Mark Redman committed to Washington and the Buckeyes extended offers to No. 29 tight end Jonathon Odom and, most recently, No. 6 tight end Jalin Conyers, Massachusetts three-star tight end Cam Large added some more respect to his offers list Friday morning.
Thankful to receive an offer from The University Of Georgia!! #GoDawgs @CoachVoulgaris @coach_thartley @KirbySmartUGA pic.twitter.com/fZEfrazOrC
— Cam Large (@cam_large) April 26, 2019
Large already had offers from Notre Dame and Penn State, as well as his offer from Ohio State, but adding the Georgia offer boosts his recruitment to another level.
The tight end is in lacrosse season this spring so making visits has been difficult for him, but he made a visit to Ohio State in March and left impressed and happy with the conversations he had with the coaching staff.
He’s being recruited as a tight end by Ohio State but is being recruited as a defensive end by other schools as well. As a junior in 2018, he amassed 280 receiving yards for six touchdowns and nine sacks, 13 tackles for loss and three forced fumbles.
Dawand Jones Dunks Can Shake The World
Indianapolis 2019 offensive lineman and Ohio State signee Dawand Jones took to Twitter to show off some of his athleticism Thursday, as he’s been known to do. This is a 6-foot-8, 260-pound man dunking in an actual basketball game.
— Dawand Jones (@dawand_jones) April 26, 2019
