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.
Sav’ell Smalls Expected in Ohio Next Week
There had been some rumors going around that five-star linebacker Sav’ell Smalls would be visiting Ohio State this week, but he will not be making the trip to Columbus this week and, in fact, is headed to Tennessee for a visit after attending Florida State’s SNL recruiting event Saturday, his mother confirmed with Eleven Warriors.
Smalls will be in Canton for the Hall of Fame Game between the Denver Broncos and Atlanta Falcons and the festivities that surround the game and enshrinement next week. His mother said she doesn’t believe he is scheduled to meet with the Ohio State staff because there might not be time, but I don’t believe the staff will stand by while Smalls travels into Ohio without reaching out to him.
It’s tough to nail down a specific frontrunner for Smalls, but if there is one, it’s probably Alabama. Smalls has every intention of running his recruitment the full length of the cycle, though, and will likely announce his commitment in February.
Ohio State was included in Smalls’ top-12, but to develop any kind of serious interest, the Buckeye staff will need to work harder on getting involved. At this point, there doesn’t seem to be that much interest from his camp. He’s also showing that he is willing to look outside his top schools list for programs that are interested – hence his Tennessee visit this week.
It’s unknown whether Ohio State can still work its way into the circle of programs, but if an encounter were to happen in a couple of weeks, it could change that.
John Howse Enjoys First Visit to Columbus
Brentwood, Tennessee 2021 athlete John Howse traveled to Columbus with his two teammates, Noah Josey and Damon Owens, for a visit with the Buckeyes this weekend. It was his first trip to Ohio State, and he left with a good impression.
“Ohio State has a great atmosphere, and I loved the coaching staff,” Howse told Eleven Warriors. “They were all very family-like, and they were real with me and they told me things I needed to hear and not wanted to hear. They showed great hospitality towards me, and they also have amazing facilities.”
Great time @OhioStateFB thank you @CoachJeffHafley @CoachWash56 @ryandaytime. pic.twitter.com/ckgf8zGSrb
— John howse (@Johnhowse4) July 26, 2019
Howse and his teammates were invited to Ohio State by Ryan Day himself after their trainer got them in contact with the program. Brentwood Academy’s athletic trainer is Daryl Graham, who spent time in Detroit training several eventual NFL athletes, including former Ohio State running back Mike Weber.
That connection brought the three 2021 prospects to Day, and the Buckeyes offered Josey, who is one of Alabama’s top offensive line targets for the class. The other two prospects were key sophomores in a defense that allowed more than 10 points just five times in 14 games on its way to a state title in 2018 – Owens at linebacker, Howse at cornerback.
The reason the two unoffered prospects are classified as athletes is because of the potential to play different positions, even though they are tied to their specific positions for the time being.
Howse plays the cornerback position, and he plays it with a lot of physicality. He met with most of the Ohio State staff but specifically met secondary coach Jeff Hafley, who Howse described as a “great guy.”
“They all really like my film and all love how I play on the field, but I’ll, for sure, be going up for a game and another visit.”
Howse has offers from Kentucky, who has offered all three teammates, and Penn State, who offered Saturday.
What a special place @UMichFootball @MZordich @CoachJim4UM @wcsBHSrc @CoachCrawfordFB pic.twitter.com/QKXnMhPOqU
— John howse (@Johnhowse4) July 27, 2019
After the Ohio State visit, the three teammates headed further north to visit Michigan for the Wolverines’ emphasized summer recruiting event, which Howse also said went well.
Other Programs’ Recruiting Weekends
Speaking of the Michigan recruiting event, a few programs put on massive scheduled recruiting events similar to Ohio State’s Buckeye Bash & Barbecue. Michigan, Clemson and Florida State were all schools that hosted several top 2020 and 2021 recruits for visits this weekend, and they found a lot of success, as the Buckeyes did before the dead period in June.
Each school had a different class it focused on for each event. Michigan and Florida State hit the 2021 class hard, while Clemson looked to bolster its 2020 class that is already rated No. 1 in the nation. When Ohio State held its event, the staff said it hoped to work on setting a foundational class for the post-Urban Meyer era by locking in 2021 prospects, but so far, the fruits of their labor have mostly shown in the 2020 class.
Regardless, Clemson has seemingly swayed five-star linebacker Justin Flowe after the event and is already seen as the landing spot for five-star defensive end Jordan Burch. The Tigers continue to put together one of the best classes in recent memory.
Florida State’s Saturday Night Live event has been well-documented among several Ohio State publications for convincing Jaylan Knighton to stay closer to home – which has been perceived to be a success at this point. But the Seminoles also welcomed in the No. 2 2021 receiver Agiye Hall, as well as Ohio State wide receiver target Gavin Blackwell. Texas quarterback Kade Renfro was also there, as well as 2020 No. 6 all-purpose back Caziah Holmes, No. 22 running back Daijun Edwards and No. 108 overall prospect Bryan Robinson.
Michigan welcomed in several prospects as well, including quarterback commit J.J. McCarthy, but the two prospects that the Wolverines covered the most ground with were No. 1 2021 center Ryan Linthicum and No. 1 2021 Kentucky prospect and standout wide receiver Dekel Crowdus. The Michigan staff actually offered Crowdus at the event.
My boyyyy @CrowdusDekel lets make this happen!! pic.twitter.com/9fLluSxrhw
— J.J. McCarthy (@jjmccarthy09) July 28, 2019
So some folks have wondered why Ohio State scheduled its big recruiting event June 21 instead of in late-July, and there are some layers as to why the Buckeyes might have scheduled the event at the time they did.
First, nobody else was hosting events of that size in late June, so there weren’t any conflicts in schedules or hurdles to clear for recruits that had similar events closer to their homes. For example, Knighton, who was at Ohio State on June 21, would likely have gone to the closer of the two events this past weekend had Ohio State hosted its event Saturday.
Also, each staff can gauge where its prospects typically are at in terms of comfort with committing. If Ohio State felt that its top 2020 recruits were right on the edge and ready to plunge into the Buckeye program, it only made sense to ensure those commitments before the dead period.
Each staff has a different way of approaching these types of events around the month-long dead period, and Ohio State’s plan clearly paid off for the 2020 class. It might have even paid off in the long run too, as 2021 is shaping up to be another one of the top classes in the nation.
