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.
Amari Daniels is the No. 2 APB in 2021, friends with Henry Gray
Miami all-purpose back Amari Daniels was extended an Ohio State offer Saturday after a phone call with Ohio State running back intern Kenny Lucky. The No. 2 2021 all-purpose back announced his offer via Twitter.
“I always had an eye on Ohio State because my big brother always liked Ohio State, and I always looked up to Ezekiel Elliott,” Daniels said. “I’ve always had love for Ohio State.”
Daniels has been in talks with Ohio State for a week or two, but he has always heard about how much the Buckeyes like his game, primarily from his teammate, four-star cornerback Henry Gray. The two Ohio State targets are good friends.
While Daniels plays for Miami Central with Gray, he actually attends a private school – William H. Turner Technical Arts – which requires him to maintain a high GPA to remain a student at the school. That’s a characteristic about himself outside of football that he believes coaches take long looks at.
“I’m not trying to be big-headed because I work for mine, but I just feel like I’m the best running back in the class,” Daniels said. “Just the way I work, on and off the field, even in academics. I just feel like I'm the better guy, just on and off the field. Recruiters don’t just recruit for the skills. It’s attitude, character, your grades, all around.”
Even if he was recruited purely on his skills, Daniels would still have a lot to offer. As a sophomore in 2018, he carried the ball 44 times for 332 yards and five touchdowns, averaging 7.2 yards per carry along the way. That was also in six games, as he missed three due to a minor knee injury.
According to 247Sports, Daniels is 5-foot-8, but he said he is closer to 5-foot-10 now and weighs 296 pounds.
“I’m a dog, so I don’t really look at size,” Daniels said.
The No. 288 overall recruit has 19 offers now from schools like Miami, Penn State, Florida State, Georgia, Texas A&M, Tennessee, Auburn and others. He also hopes to make it back to Ohio, where he participated in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Academy’s skills camp, for a visit. And he might bring his friend this time too.
“I’ll probably be there this summer, just to see how it is,” Daniels said. “I’ll probably bring Henry Gray with me.”
Calen Bullock Visited by Jeff Hafley, Offered with teammate
Pasadena athlete Calen Bullock was one of four California prospects offered by Ohio State and secondary coach Jeff Hafley late last week and one of two at John Muir High School. Hafley and the Buckeyes had called ahead to John Muir head coach Zaire Calvin to inform him that they’d be offering Bullock and sophomore teammate and cornerback Jamier Johnson.
Bullock said he hadn’t talked to Ohio State before getting offered but that Halfey liked his film and that his budding relationship changes things within his recruitment.
“This changes things with my recruitment because Ohio State is a powerhouse and one fo the best colleges in the country,” Bullock said.
Bullock is classified by 247Sports as a wide receiver and an athlete, but all of his tape is him at the safety position, and that's where Ohio State is recruiting him as well.
The sophomore has seven total offers from Arizona, Arizona State, Oregon State, Rutgers, Florida Atlantic and Southern Mississippi.
Bullock brings a lot of size to the position, at 6-foot-2, and shows plenty of physicality and instincts from safety. He said his ball skills are one of his biggest strengths, and he, like most high school sophomores, wants to add weight and strength.
He is part of four offered defensive backs from The Golden State in the last week.
John Young Commits to Kentucky
Louisville four-star offensive tackle John Young announced Sunday evening that he is committed to Kentucky. The Kentucky-native has announced via Twitter that he was planning on committing Monday but committed a day earlier.
For My Old Kentucky Home... COMMITTED #BBN pic.twitter.com/j7EG3cY5ew
— John Young (@the_johnyoung) April 28, 2019
Ohio State was one of six schools on Young’s top-six that he released in March. Louisville, Purdue, Georgia, Kentucky and Michigan were also on the list.
The No. 28 offensive tackle in the 2020 class was one of a handful of targets Ohio State had left in the class, though they will likely offer more as the months go by. Young had a relationship with former head coach Urban Meyer, and it became difficult for Ohio State to continue to maintain a relationship with Young after Meyer’s departure. Ryan Day and Greg Studraw had made a couple visits to Louisville Christian Academy in 2019, and Young made his way to Columbus once, but as time passed, it was clear Young was looking at schools even closer to home.
The Buckeyes still have commitments from Paris Johnson Jr., Luke Wypler, Jakob James and Trey Leroux but would certainly like to add one or two more. They’re still in with Michael Carmody, Reece Atteberry, Josh Fryar and Zak Zinter, as well as Anton Harrison, Roger Rosengarten and Grant Toutant, who is committed to Penn State.
New Offers from Monday
Ohio State extended three offers on the recruiting trail Monday afternoon – 2020 Pittsburgh defensive tackle Dayon Hayes, 2021 No. 77 recruit and Florida offensive tackle Marcus Tate and 2021 No. 1 safety and No. 3 Florida prospect James Williams.
Hayes now owns 15 offers from schools like Pittsburgh, Penn State, West Virginia and some non-Power Five schools. His recruitment took a while to heat up, but after an April 16 visit to Penn State, he added his best offer three days later from the Nittany Lions. Now, he has an Ohio State offer to match it.
Tate is already a coveted offensive tackle within the 2021 class, rated as the No. 12 tackle by 247Sports and owning offers from Alabama, LSU, Miami, Florida State and others. The Fort Lauderdale product aided his team to a Class 4A state semifinal appearance as a sophomore in 2018.
God is Great. Blessed beyond measures to receive an offer from Ohio State University #GoBuckeyes #Fab#BOFF @larryblustein @mikeirizarry35 @GridironStuds @CoachBam_50 @ErikRichardsUSA @DemetricDWarren @UNCLELUQ @SleeperAth1etes @coachwb45 pic.twitter.com/Yv9aJLipcn
— Marcus Tate (@teamfl25) April 29, 2019
Williams will be one of the top recruits in the country by this time next year. He is rated as the No. 11 prospect in his class by 247Sports and is bigger than nearly everyone on the field at the high school level, standing at 6-foot-5, 218 pounds at the safety position. He can play in coverage, track a ball deep downfield and move up to fill gaps like a linebacker. As a sophomore in 2018, he recorded 64 tackles, four interceptions and a sack.
