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.
Jalin Conyers Has Another Visit Left
Texas tight end Jalin Conyers was one of three tight ends at the center of Ohio State’s 2020 focus at the position to be a visitor during Buckeye Bash & Barbecue last weekend, and he left feeling higher on the program than he did coming in.
“It was great,” Conyers told Eleven Warriors. “It was all amazing.”
Getting the tight end to feel more confident in his interest in Ohio State and less confident about his ultimate decision is no walk in the park for the Buckeyes.
Conyers has moved quickly during his recruitment process, releasing his top-six just a few days after visiting Ohio State and Georgia on May 29-30 and then less than a week later releasing his top-three of Oklahoma, Ohio State and Georgia.
He’s made his official visit to Georgia and made his official to Ohio State last weekend, but he has not visited Oklahoma officially yet. He plans to do that following the dead period, so he will not be making a decision until late-July or early-August.
While Norman, Oklahoma, is four and a half hours away from Gruver, Texas, it’s much closer than Columbus or Athens – the idea that is fueling much of the talk behind him committing to Oklahoma, which seems to be the most likely outcome.
But Ohio State isn’t making the decision any easier for the Smalltown, Texas star.
“We just talked about how I would fit in there and that they want me to be a Buckeye,” he said.
Oklahoma Sooners Football Recruit .@J_Conyers_2020 sighting at the .@enmu Team Camp
— Jacob Aranda (@Jaranda12) June 20, 2019
Guy Throwin this one down with ease
: @Lucas_A_Jr pic.twitter.com/zDp2NG3V6b
Conyers is one of the most athletic tight ends in the country. He plays quarterback at Gruver for the simple fact that he can make the most plays and is the smartest player on his team. But tight end is his future, and he’s shown an ability to be a playmaker in the passing game on a few occasions.
Kevin Wilson and Ryan Day would like to add him to the Ohio State offense, but if he chooses Oklahoma, the Buckeyes are still in very good standing with Joe Royer and in contention for Cam Large too.
Ben Christman Ready to Recruit After Commitment
In case you somehow missed the news yesterday, No. 9 2021 offensive tackle and No. 2 Ohio prospect Ben Christman committed to Ohio State on Wednesday evening.
His immediate impact on the program is felt in the recruiting momentum Ryan Day has created during his first full recruiting cycle – the 2021 class. He said he wanted to hit the state of Ohio during a particularly strong in-state class, and that’s what he’s done so far, landing commitments from three of the top five Ohio prospects. He also found his quarterback in overall No. 51 recruit Kyle McCord.
Now Day has a top-50 overall prospect in one of the top offensive linemen in the country, representing the only class besides Notre Dame that has three top-100 recruits already committed. Though, I could see Jayden Ballard breaking into that group by the time he graduates too.
“I felt like home at Ohio State,” Christman told Eleven Warriors. “They checked all of the boxes.”
Christman will prove to be one of the most polished offensive line prospects in his class. Since run blocking is the first aspect of blocking most prospects learn from a young age, his run blocking is stronger than his pass blocking, but his skill in pass blocking is also strong. He could be one of the young offensive linemen programs give a chance at a young age.
More on his skillset can be seen in the impact piece published yesterday, but to be clear, Christman is not a project at the position and could arguably be considered more polished than most 2020 offensive tackle recruits.
His goal until he hits campus is to become even more well-rounded than he already is.
“To prepare these next two years for college, to continue helping my team, and recruit some guys to join us,” Christman said about his goals at Revere High School.
Some players he initially wants to recruit to the Buckeyes are Ohio’s No. 3 prospect Lorenzo Styles, No. 4 prospect Najee Story and No. 8 prospect Reid Carrico. That should be much easier for the Buckeyes with the No. 1 and No. 2 in-state recruits already committed.
DeaMonte Trayanum Commits to Arizona State
Lost in most of the coverage of Christman’s commitment, four-star Akron running back DeaMonte Trayanum announced his commitment to Arizona State on Wednesday evening.
ALL IN #JustAKidFromAkron pic.twitter.com/86FZk84cnM
— DeaMonte Trayanum (@Chipperrz_) June 27, 2019
It wasn’t that long ago when Trayanum seemed to be one of the most guaranteed commitments to Ohio State in the 2020 class. But Herm Edwards and Arizona State really turned up the heat on Trayanum’s recruitment.
It wasn’t an easy decision for the in-state ball carrier. He had a very strong relationship with Tony Alford and had grown into a fairly comfortable relationship with the entire staff. He had made several visits to Columbus and even showed up a couple days before his official visit to support teammates competing in Ohio State’s one-day camp and talk to the Buckeye staff.
He could have done well at Ohio State, but his path to early playing time at Arizona State was a big appeal. He could potentially see the field as a freshman. With the backs that Ohio State is recruiting, like Bijan Robinson and Kendall Milton and the tier of backs below the five-stars, that same luxury couldn’t be offered by the Buckeyes.
Trayanum also told Eleven Warriors that he “fell in love with the place” on his official visit May 17.
Kelee Ringo Includes Ohio State in Top-Five
Five-star No. 1 cornerback Kelee Ringo included Ohio State in his top five schools Thursday. He also included Texas, Oregon, Georgia and Alabama.
Thank you God for 17 years of blessings Respect my decision..... #top5 pic.twitter.com/Qig6bTROUT
— Kelee Ringo (@KeleeRingo) June 27, 2019
Texas is the early favorite here, since he's spent so much time in Austin, but he plans to take an official visit to Ohio State at some point and potentially an unofficial visit before the official.
Ringo is clearly the No. 1 cornerback in the country, and it's not really close. His combination of size, speed and knowledge of the position makes him polished enough to nearly be a plug-and-play for a Power Five program.
He will certainly be able to choose wherever he would like to play, and perhaps Arizona commitments will aid in Ohio State's pursuit of the Saguaro cornerback, but the Buckeyes have two respected cornerbacks in the class already in Clark Phillips and Lejond Cavazos, so if Ohio State isn't able to bring him in, the position certainly isn't lacking talent and capability.
Ringo also has a close relationship with five-star running back Bijan Robinson and four-star safety Lathan Ransom, who is expected to be heading to Columbus, but a good bet is on Ringo not picking the Buckeyes.
Blake Corum Commits to Michigan
Maryland four-star running back Blake Corum had long been thought to be going to Michigan, and he made it official Thursday afternoon by committing to Michigan.
This is home... Committed pic.twitter.com/ZjM7cPD34j
— #24BeSavage (@blake_corum) June 27, 2019
Corum kept a low profile during his recruitment process, but Ohio State was in consideration but had nowhere near the relationship with Corum that Michigan did.
Corum is rated as the No. 17 running back in the 2020 class but has potential to separate himself from the rest of the No. 15-20 running backs. That’s the kind of ability he has.
With the commitment, Michigan’s 2020 class pulls up right behind Ohio State’s at No. 8. Ohio State was surpassed last night by Florida, so the Buckeyes are ranked No. 7 at the moment. However, not only will the Buckeyes be advancing up the ranks this weekend, but they already have the fifth-best average rating in the country – 92.38 to Michigan’s 89.83.
