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.
Julian Fleming Picks the Buckeyes
As I addressed in yesterday’s Hurry Up and many knew before then, five-star wide receiver Julian Fleming was announcing his commitment today, and he chose Ohio State.
I outlined most of what his commitment means for the Buckeyes in this impact piece, but just to touch on it further, Ohio State wide receivers coach Brian Hartline really made this happen. Obviously, it’s a family feeling among the entire staff when a recruit is moving away from home, but Hartline planted quite a seed in Fleming’s mind entering the 2019 calendar year. Without that, there was no chance Ohio State could make a case for itself throughout the spring.
Fleming even talked about family in his commitment video. Family is of high value to him.
Final destination...... 4s out pic.twitter.com/bX3qjQEA8R
— 0J4 (@julian_040) May 31, 2019
Fleming’s commitment pushed Ohio State to the top of the Big Ten for its 2020 recruiting class, and the Pennsylvania is now considered Ryan Day’s biggest recruiting victory to date.
In Day’s first offseason, he’s earned a commitment from the 247Sports Composite No. 3 recruit all-time at Ohio State in Julian Fleming – behind Terrelle Pryor and Ted Ginn Jr. – as well as a commitment from 2021 No. 2 overall recruit Jack Sawyer, who is projected by 247Sports to be Ohio State’s second-highest rated prospect of all-time. Both of them committed to Day’s staff specifically and are obviously expected to sign with the Buckeyes.
No. 2 2019 wideout Garrett Wilson committed to Urban Meyer’s staff but signed to Day’s staff. He’s the 23rd-best Ohio State signee of all-time.
In an interview with ESPN, Fleming said at different times during his recruitment, he thought he was going to Penn State, Clemson and Ohio State but ultimately settled on Ohio State because of the family vibe he got from the staff and players.
It also appears Clemson was closer than what most recruiting experts thought.
"I'm not going to lie, I'm still in their group chat," Fleming told ESPN. "They were all recruiting me really hard, but they understood and respected my decision, and once I told them I wasn't going to Clemson, they all said good luck. I talk to D.J. [Uiagalelei] all the time, and he's one of those kind-hearted people that was just like, 'You're going to do it wherever you go,' so that was a cool thing."
Fleming also told ESPN what many recruits have been saying about Ohio State – that he likes the Brand U program that creates individual brands for Ohio State players and the Real Life Wednesdays program that brings in speakers from outside of football to talk to the team.
But, as was expected, bringing in sophomore transfer quarterback Justin Fields has been a big recruiting advantage for the Buckeyes. It worked for Fleming too.
"Ohio State's offense was clicking last year; it was definitely a big influence," Fleming said. "They were like No. 1 in passing all year. They have Justin Fields coming in now, and they have some people that are going to be there for a little while.”
Kendall Milton arrives in Columbus for his Official Visit
June is shaping up to be a huge recruiting month for Ryan Day and his staff, and it’s fitting that five-star running back Kendall Milton gets things started with the first official visit of the month.
Milton announced that his visit to Ohio State will be this weekend, from May 31 to June 2, and the reason Milton is in Columbus for an official visit in the first place is because of a successful unofficial in the spring. Upon making several unofficial visits, Milton released his top-four schools – Ohio State, LSU, Alabama and Georgia – on May 17.
FINAL 4 pic.twitter.com/9CQ90ZAtG2
— Kendall Milton (@_KendallMilton) May 17, 2019
So far, the only two official visits scheduled for Milton are Ohio State this weekend and LSU on June 7. Ohio State being the first scheduled visit likely won’t mean anything regarding Milton’s priorities.
When Milton was in Columbus for his unofficial in April, it was clear that the Buckeyes were making their best attempt at making the five-star California prospect feel at home. While other recruits roamed the sidelines during the individual position drills, Milton was personally walked around the field, and he capped off his visit with a photoshoot that featured a photo with current Ohio State running back J.K. Dobbins.
Pass the Torch Big Bro... #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/upyjcQ0dFk
— Kendall Milton (@_KendallMilton) April 5, 2019
Kendall’s father, Chris, told Rivals.com that Kendall is searching for consistency in that type of treatment. Having been to each school one time already, the “shock” has faded, and now Kendall can make a more educated decision on where he feels he fits in the best, on and off the field, Chris said.
Chris also told Rivals.com that when Kendall knows which school he feels most comfortable with, he will announce it, and it might be sooner than anyone had once thought.
"Kendall has been on the recruiting trail for a long time now – he got his first offer in eighth grade," Chris Milton told Rivals.com.. "At some point, you want to live your life. We just kind of made a decision that we're ready to get to that point so (the decision time frame) may change."
What's up Columbus... Just touched down!!! @therealkmilt
— Chris Milton (@fatherofballers) May 31, 2019
Milton is one of two running backs that four programs are gunning for at the moment. Ohio State, LSU, Georgia and Alabama have yet to land their marquee running back in the 2020 class, and Milton and No. 1 overall prospect Zach Evans appear to be in the crosshairs.
Five-star Arizona running back Bijan Robinson is actually a higher priority for Ohio State than Evans, though, but the Buckeyes are gunning hard for a five-star tailback to add to its top-heavy 2020 class.
Tony Grimes will visit Ohio State in June
Tony Grimes, the No. 2 2021 cornerback according to 247Sports, will be in Columbus on June 15, he confirmed with Eleven Warriors on Wednesday.
Grimes, who had been recruited by Ohio State linebackers coach Al Washington while coaching at Michigan, received his offer from Ohio State in March after carrying over his relationship with Washington to the Buckeyes' staff. He tagged the linebackers coach in his tweet telling him he would be in Columbus in June.
Ohio State Visit Coming Soon @OhioStateFB @OhioStAthletics @TheBuckeyeNut @Coach_Yurcich @CoachWash56 How about them Buckeyes pic.twitter.com/4FAiCKahWW
— Tony Gr1mes (@757EliteDB) May 29, 2019
Ohio State linebacker Teradja Mitchell is also from Virginia Beach and is obviously coached by Washington, so the two have talked and developed a bit of a relationship too.
The day that Grimes will be in Columbus is the same day as one of Ohio State’s one-day camps, so it wouldn’t be a shock if Grimes is participating in that camp.
