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.
Adam Trick Growing into Linebacking Role
As Huber Heights native Adam Trick moves into his sophomore year, he’s finally pinning down his role on the Wayne High School team. As a freshman, he started five of the Warriors’ 10 games but played anywhere from linebacker to safety to quarterback, wherever his team needed him.
Now, he feels comfortable saying that he will be primarily playing outside linebacker and backing up his quarterback in 2019.
“My focus is on defense,” Trick told Eleven Warriors. “I still run the offense as the backup QB. I’m no longer playing safety, and on defense, my only position is linebacker. My position would be linebacker or just athlete.”
Trick got into contact with Ohio State when Kevin Wilson visited Wayne High School this spring and invited him to an Ohio State summer camp. Trick made his way to that camp and felt confident after leaving Columbus.
“They said I had lots of potential and are excited to stay in touch and see how this season goes for me,” Trick said.
He had maintained contact with Wilson to this point and said the offensive coordinator is easy to talk to. He also enjoyed the aspects of the Woody Hayes Athletic Center that most prospects typically enjoy.
What Ohio State is looking for in Trick is how he adjusts to his continued growth and where he might fit on a defense once he is finished. His sophomore season could be fairly telling in where he will eventually play.
As a freshman, he measured in at 6-foot-2, 180 pounds, but now, he measures 6-foot-4, 200 pounds. Even while maturing, his 40-yard dash time dropped from 4.90 as a freshman to 4.70 as a sophomore. Those are impressive numbers for a 2022 linebacker. But if he continues to grow, a decision might need to be made on whether he will remain at linebacker or drop down to a defensive end.
Based on what schools are seeing from Trick, he has garnered plenty of Division-I interest. He said the top-five schools showing him interest, in no particular order, are Ohio State, Cincinnati, Syracuse, Michigan State and Miami (Ohio). At this point he has no offers, but if his frame and numbers translate to the field, that won’t be the case much longer.
Martavien Johnson Waiting for More Ohio State Contact
Akron standout 2021 receiver Martavien Johnson was contacted by Ohio State through letters until he was in contact with Tony Alford. Those two maintained contact until Alford invited Johnson to a summer camp in June, where Johnson said he felt he performed well.
“I came to a camp and balled out,” Johnson told Eleven Warriors. “I talked to Coach Hartline, and he said he will keep it touch but I’ve never heard from him since.”
That lack of contact can be directly attributed to the 2020 efforts and the dead periods that immediately followed the summer camps. Johnson, who played his freshman year at Archbishop Hoban and transferred to his hometown Buchtel High School in Akron, is certainly an in-state option for Ohio State.
He is rated as the No. 114 wide receiver in the 2021 class at the moment and recorded 1,100 all-purpose yards – 510 of those on 25 receptions – and six touchdowns on his way to First Team All-City.
“He said he likes everything that I do,” Johnson said about Hartline. “I just have to turn my head quicker out of my routes. He also said he can tell I’m one of the top wide receivers in my class, and he’s going to evaluate me and look at my film.”
As was detailed in Tuesday's Hurry Up, there isn’t a lot of room in the Ohio State 2021 wide receiver class. Johnson will need a massive junior season to peak Hartline’s interest in moving him up the Buckeyes’ H-back board.
What bodes well for Johnson is that he is in-state, plays the defensive side of the ball and has big-play potential – he returns kicks and averaged 20 yards per catch.
It also helps that he grew up an Ohio State fan.
“I’m from Akron, Ohio, and that’s the biggest school here and I’ve always been a fan,” Johnson said. “It’s the best school in my eyes, always.”
Ben Christman Featured in Season Preview
Ohio State 2021 commit Ben Christman was featured in a cleveland.com season preview video package put together by Matt Goul, the high school sports reporter.
Revere's coaching transition has gone smoothly, thanks to a familiar staff stepping in a pinch. It also helps to have a talented line, anchored by OSU recruit @BenChristman70. Catch up w/him, @NKlonowski during our camp visit to @RevereLocal.https://t.co/aXsvBCru2w
— Matt Goul (@mgoul) August 21, 2019
In the video, Christman talked mainly about his own mindset and his team’s excitement to get the season underway, but it was the conversation with his quarterback, Nathan Klonowski, that was at the center of the package.
Revere is welcoming in its third head coach in as many seasons, as Terry Cistone takes the reins of the program for the 2019 season. It will be interesting to see whether Revere sees an improvement after the change, as it went 2-8-1 in 2017 and 6-4 in 2018.
Christman was asked about how he got to be a top-100 recruit and an Ohio State commit, and he was as he always is – humble.
“I can’t take any of the credit,” he said in the video. “I wouldn’t be here without any of these guys … We’ve been through a lot. I just can’t wait until Aug. 30 to play Buckeye.
“It’s a bad day for you if you’re in the opposite colored jersey, I’m just going to compete and try to make sure the guy in front of me doesn’t beat me.”
