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.
With Ohio State hosting a high school camp, you're getting a double-dose of recruiting news today.
The Hurry Up is coming at you now – a little earlier than usual – and we'll also have a notebook from the day's festivities later this evening.
Tony Grimes leaves Ohio State impressed
Tony Grimes, one of the top-three cornerbacks in the 2021 class and a potential five-star recruit, made his way to Ohio State with his father for an unofficial visit over the weekend. He didn’t participate in the camp but did take tours of the facilities and met up with current sophomore linebacker Teradja Mitchell, who is from Virginia Beach, the same town as Grimes.
The two had talked before about Ohio State and have developed a relationship, which Grimes mentioned the last time he talked to Eleven Warriors, and the star cornerback said every word Mitchell told him about Ohio State was true.
“Yes, every word he said, from the coaches down to the weather,” Grimes told Eleven Warriors on Sunday. “We had an amazing time. I really enjoyed my time there.”
Nephew @7eradja We have nothing but love for you!! Great visit time with @ryandaytime @757EliteDB @OhioStateFB @CoachWash56 pic.twitter.com/7FrQCcIUen
— Coach Glover (@dhglover) June 15, 2019
When Grimes received his offer from Ohio State in mid-March, he knew it was a big one because of the program’s history of sending defensive backs into the League. On his visit, it was his first chance he had to not only see Columbus but to meet other coaches outside of Al Washington, who had been recruiting him dating back to his time at Michigan.
“They have amazing coaches, and the atmosphere there was one of the best. They have amazing training rooms and weight rooms. But what really caught my attention was the coaching staff. The coaching staff and the players. Coach Hafley, Coach Washington and Coach Day, especially Coach Day."
For Day, Grimes said he appreciated his knowledge of the game but really liked his genuine interest in players’ lives outside of football, noting the Real Life Wednesdays program that attracts so many visiting recruits.
For Hafley, the Virginia Beach cornerback noted his resume of players he’s sent to the NFL and that he’s coached at the highest level but continues to listen and learn from his players.
He expected to be blown away by Ohio State, and that’s exactly what happened.
“Honestly, it was exactly how I thought it was going to be,” Grimes said. “I went there and it wasn’t really surprising, but it was like, ‘Wow, I’m really at Ohio State, standing in the house where Denzel Ward, Marshon Lattimore, all of those great DBs played at.’”
Grimes plans to visit Oklahoma, Texas, Texas A&M, TCU, Notre Dame and Georgia this summer and then hopes to come back to Ohio State after the first dead period, as well as attend either the Penn State game or the Michigan game at the end of November.
Thanks for the warmsloving words son!! @757EliteDB pic.twitter.com/F7ofvue8lY
— Coach Glover (@dhglover) June 17, 2019
Dekel Crowdus was the fastest player at Ohio State's one-day camp
It’s been well-documented that there were fast recruits at Ohio State’s one-day camp Saturday, between Drew Donley’s 4.37 40-yard dash and Jaylen Johnson’s 4.40. But none of them were faster than Kentucky wideout Dekel Crowdus, who notched a 4.34.
The 5-foot-10, 165-pound receiver showed up to Ohio State’s camp having never spoken with wide receivers coach Brian Hartline and left with an Ohio State offer.
“Once camp was completely over, Coach Hartline took me back to his office, and we talked to get to know each other more,” Crowdus told Eleven Warriors after the camp Saturday. “He loved my explosiveness.”
Crowdus, who is rated by 247Sports as the top Kentucky recruit in the 2021 class, had never ran a 40-yard dash in the 4.30-second range but was determined to do so at Ohio State’s camp. He caught the eye of Hartline, who then worked with him closely during wide receiver drills.
He said his performance at the camp actually surprised himself, which is an effect Brian Hartline can have on young receivers from time to time.
The Kentucky wideout’s recruitment is on the verge of exploding, as he prepares to hit some camps and is one of four 2021 prospects that have been invited to The Opening Finals. He ran a 4.40 40 and jumped 43 inches in his vertical jump at the regionals.
Blessed to receive an offer from THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY @OhioStateFB @julian_040 @brianhartline @lejondaryy pic.twitter.com/zsxFBodsE5
— Dekel Crowdus (@CrowdusDekel) June 15, 2019
He currently has just 12 offers from Ohio State, West Virginia, Tennessee, Penn State and others.
“For the rest of the summer, I have one or two more college camps I’m going to,” Crowdus said. “Then I have the 5-Star Challenge, and after that, I’m headed to The Opening Finals.”
