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.
Kourt Williams Commits to Ohio State
California linebacker Kourt Williams announced Wednesday evening that he has committed to Ohio State, making him the second commitment from the state of California to pick the Buckeyes in the Class of 2020.
I detailed in the impact piece what makes Williams suited for the bullet position, where he is expected to play, and those skills include his physicality and football intelligence.
To play the bullet position, decisions must be made before most players on the field. This is what is required of players in hybrid roles and what makes moving into a hybrid role so difficult. A bullet must decide whether he is identified as a linebacker or a defensive back but can only decide after the snap when he sees his keys.
The good thing about Williams as a prospect is that he’s already been in a similar role at St. John Bosco, which is a big reason why he chose the Buckeyes – they want to use him in very similar ways that he’s always been used.
That’s a huge advantage in terms of finding early playing time. Most of the intelligent players in each class will find the field first within any class, but with Ohio State already trying to move players into the bullet position for 2019, there’s a learning curve that Williams will find himself on ahead of schedule.
It wouldn’t be surprising to see Williams on the field before many of the Ohio State 2020 commits rated higher than him.
Brian Hartline, Jeff Hafley are Top Recruiters in 2020
As of yesterday’s 247Sports ratings update, there were several takeaways involving the direct results of the change in ratings such as a massive drop in ratings for Darrion Henry and a jump for Gee Scott Jr.
But an indirect result of the change in ratings, particularly the bump for Scott, pushed Ohio State wide receivers coach Brian Hartline past Clemson defensive line coach Todd Bates as the top recruiter in the nation for the Class of 2020. Ohio State secondary coach Jeff Hafley was third in the nation.
The two have sat behind Bates for some time, since Bates has recruited two five-stars to Clemson, Bryan Bresee in particular.
After Kourt Williams’ commitment, Hafley, who is the primary recruiter for Williams, jumped up right behind Bates, trailing the Clemson assistant, 79.70 points to 79.47.
Hartline and Hafley still have points to be earned in the class, so there is a reality that exists with Hartline and Hafley alone atop the list. Hartline is a secondary recruiter for Jaylan Knighton, and if Hafley flips a cornerback to Ohio State – say, Elias Ricks – he will add another commitment to the seven he's already credited for this cycle. Hafley will not get credit if Bijan Robinson does commit to Ohio State because he is not recognized as a recruiter for Robinson by 247Sports.
A lot has been written about these two, particularly Hafley recently, and there is still much left to be seen from either coach in a game setting, but for both taking on their current positions so recently, it’s difficult to imagine a better start for either assistant at this point.
Jake Seibert Named to Chris Sailer TOP 12 Again
Ohio State kicker commit Jake Seibert made his way out to Los Angeles late last week to compete in his second Chris Sailer TOP 12 Kicking Camp in two years, and he returned to Cincinnati having been named to that top-12 again.
Honored to be named as a Top 12 member with @Chris_Sailer for the 2nd year in a row!! The most ELITE camp in the world!! #TeamSailer #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/tByZWtKxiV
— Jake Seibert (@seibert_jake) July 17, 2019
Eleven Warriors detailed his path toward a college commitment in the last year with an article written this morning, and in that article, Seibert told me that he was one of 45 kickers and punters to compete in 2018 and was one of few 2020 recruits, yet he was still named to the top-12. This second honor seemed inevitable.
“I’m hoping to be better than Mike Nugent was,” Seibert told Eleven Warriors. “I want to be the best kicker to ever come through Ohio State.”
It’s important to understand that this quote is not a reflection of arrogance, but rather of confidence needed in a placekicker. The full story can be found in the article, and these were some topics discussed.
- Seibert’s relationship with Taver Johnson ending
- Seibert relationship with Matt Barnes beginning
- Seibert’s relationship with Drue Chrisman
- Seibert’s grayshirt situation and how he views it
- The path Seibert took toward becoming the No. 2 kicker in the country
- Seibert working with former Cincinnati kicker Andrew Gantz
End of the Dead Period
Today marks the final day of the NCAA recruiting dead period, which began June 24. For not being able to talk to recruits often, the Ohio State staff is on an entirely new recruiting landscape than it was just before the dead period began.
Eight prospects have committed to Ohio State’s 2020 class, dating back to June 29, when Cody Simon and Darrion Henry committed on the same day. That’s more than a third of the class committing during a dead period, and that’s thanks in large part to the Buckeye Bash & Barbecue event.
But another aspect of the dead period coming to an end is that programs can host players on campus again, and this is usually a time when players from the current cycle will make the last of their official visits before committing before the beginning of their senior seasons. While Bijan Robinson and Jaylan Knighton have their commitment dates set in this window, their visits appear to be finished, though it is unclear whether Knighton will attend Saturday Night Live at Florida State this weekend before his commitment announcement next Tuesday.
There are two known visitors – Mookie Cooper and Greg Penn – to Ohio State this weekend at this time, but more are sure to come up in the coming days.
