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.
Gee Scott Jr. Will Make Official Visit This Weekend
Ohio State has four top-100 receivers committed to its 2020 class, and none of them have taken their official visits to Columbus yet. Gee Scott Jr. will be the first to make his official to Ohio State this weekend though. His father announced via Twitter on Tuesday morning.
Cant wait to be in Columbus, OH on Friday. @geescottjr on his OFFICIAL VISIT. Hey @nishantrk0, man I better see you when Im there. #GoBucks
— Gee Scott (@GeeScottSr) August 27, 2019
Scott has begun to take on a leadership role within the 2020 class, as he has befriended Lejond Cavazos, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Julian Fleming, Clark Phillips and others and pushed the Ohio State brand hard at The Opening Finals in July. Of the 2020 commits pledged to the Buckeye program, Scott is the last one to be considered wavering about his commitment.
Even when his home state school of Washington extended an offer way too late this summer, Scott didn’t bat an eye. He's also been pushing for West Coast athletes to look to Ohio State when their recruitments pick up.
This official visit is just an opportunity to get back to Columbus on Ohio State’s dollar rather than his own, as it will be for the other commits that have yet to make their official visits. This is a good opportunity for Scott to communicate with Brian Hartline and Ryan Day about how he can continue to develop on his own before getting to Ohio in January.
It’s also just another chance to continue developing a relationship with the coaching staff and becoming more familiar with the area. Coming during a time when there won’t be as many visitors will also breed more time between Scott and the program.
Scott was announced as a team captain for Eastside Catholic earlier this week, along with top 2021 prospect J.T. Tuimoloau. Coming off of a state title in 2018, Scott and his teammates are hoping to get one more with the Ohio State commit in 2019.
Grant Toutant Hopes to Gain Familiarity with Ohio State
Ohio State offensive tackle commit Grant Toutant informed Eleven Warriors on Monday that he will be making another visit to Ohio State this weekend for the season-opening game against Florida Atlantic.
Toutant has been making a strong effort to become closer with the Ohio State program since flipping from Penn State in June. Obviously, Ohio State had been recruiting Toutant and wanted him in the program, but with any recruit that has been committed to a program for six months, Toutant wasn’t exactly hearing out the Buckeyes as he would have if he was uncommitted.
So he made an official visit to Ohio State between dead periods this summer and is making a return trip to Columbus this weekend. He took an unofficial visit the weekend of June 9, when he flipped his commitment.
Toutant was listed in Monday’s Hurry Up as one of Ohio State’s 2020 commits that has the most to prove, simply because he saw a major ratings drop after summer camps. But Toutant is one of the most athletic linemen in the country.
This weekend is also the opening week for Warren De La Salle. Toutant will be squaring up against Ohio State commit Cam Martinez and Muskegon. While it’s true that their primary positions for their schools are on the offensive side of the ball, both future Buckeyes play both ways. Martinez stars at quarterback and is looking to get more safety work during this season, while Toutant plays along the offensive and defensive lines. The closest Toutant will probably get to Martinez is if he finds an opportunity to sack the dynamic quarterback.
Ryan Linthicum Eliminates Buckeyes
Maryland No. 5 prospect and the No. 1 offensive center in the 2021 class Ryan Linthicum seemed to be a real option for Ohio State along the offensive line for the 2021 class. The Buckeyes earned a commitment from the 2020 No. 1 center in Luke Wypler, and it felt like Linthicum would at least considered Ohio State late into his recruitment.
But the Demascus star released his top-three list earlier this week, and it did not include the Buckeyes. Linthicum is set to decide between Clemson, Michigan and Virginia Tech, though it appears to be a two-dog race between Clemson and Michigan.
TOP 3 pic.twitter.com/CkRcS1qsJU
— Ryan linthicum (@RyanLinthicum2) August 27, 2019
He told 247Sports’ Steve Wiltfong that he will be making his decision “soon.”
Linthicum is the teammate of Clemson commit and 2020 No. 1 overall prospect Bryan Bresee, and after their conversation, Wiltfong submitted a crystal ball for Clemson. Linthicum is set to make a trip to Clemson on Sept. 21, he announced on Twitter shortly before his top-three.
Michigan started strong with Linthicum and appeared to be fading away, after Linthicum made several spring visits, including one to Ohio State on May 18. But Linthicum made his way to Ann Arbor for the Wolverines’ barbecue event after the first summer dead period, and that visit worked wonders on Linthicum, who is developing a strong relationship with 2021 Michigan quarterback commit J.J. McCarthy.
