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.
Day, Coombs hit trail
As I wrote about on Thursday and again on Monday, the Buckeyes' biggest priority (only priority, really) in the 2020 recruiting class is staying in touch with four-star athlete Cameron Martinez and doing their best to make sure the senior defensive back recruit out of Muskegon (Mich.) High School remains in the fold until National Signing Day on Feb. 5.
Ryan Day, Matt Barnes and Kerry Coombs are doing just that.
When the recruiting contact period opened on Friday, Day took a visit up to Michigan to meet with a host of recruits. That included his first stop to see 2021 four-star Donovan Edwards, the nation's No. 2-ranked running back, at West Bloomfield High School, which is northwest of Detroit and northeast of Ann Arbor. Day, Alabama's Nick Saban, Notre Dame's Brian Kelly and Michigan offensive coordinator Josh Gattis each visited Edwards that day.
Salute to @19Bellamy and West Bloomfield HS football. Ron was literally *the first* person I ever interviewed and he did it as a complete favor to me. Now hes got CFB royalty on Orchard Lake Rd, recruiting his guys Wild to see. pic.twitter.com/mywFx7m1K1
— Martin Weiss (@martinweiss) January 18, 2020
From there, Day and Barnes took a trip over to see 2020 OL signee Grant Toutant of De La Salle Collegiate High School (in Warren, Michigan, a quick drive east from West Bloomfield).
A heartfelt Thank You to @ryandaytime and @CoachMattBarnes for taking the time to visit with our family and Coaches So Proud to be to be a part of the Buckeye Family! Oh! and Hailey will never forget she beat you in pinball #GoBucks #BuckeyeNation @toutant_grant pic.twitter.com/rcXBe1wWAr
— Helena Toutant (@toutanth76) January 17, 2020
Day's final trip of that busy Friday came when he and Barnes set sail for Muskegon, making the three-hour drive back west for an in-home visit with Martinez, and they took the rest of the night to check out Martinez on the basketball court.
Great time with @ryandaytime @CoachMattBarnes last night! Appreciate them coming out to the game and stopping by the house last night! #OH pic.twitter.com/uLoDKJ5vBj
— Cameron Martinez (@CM240) January 18, 2020
In a story by MLive's Scott DeCamp, the visit made a solid impact on Martinez:
“It meant a lot to me and also showed a lot,” Martinez said in a text to MLive.com. “They had a busy day and for them to come to the game and then come over (to the house) with the weather being bad, I really appreciated it. I haven’t seen them in a while, so it was good to catch up with them as well.”
Martinez also told DeCamp that he's not getting any sort of pressure from Day, Barnes or the Notre Dame or Northwestern coaches, who were also in attendance at Friday night's game, on making a decision. All three schools are rumored to be in the picture for Martinez.
“I have never felt any pressure. If I have, then that shouldn’t be the school for me,” Martinez told DeCamp.
Now, those were Day and Barnes' trips. As for new defensive coordinator Kerry Coombs, who will work with the defensive backs including Martinez (if he signs with the Buckeyes), the fiery energy ball was one of the first people in the building at 5:30 a.m. Wednesday (according to strength and conditioning coach Mickey Marotti), drinking coffee and lifting weights.
What a beautiful day! Planting the best flag in the world! So thankful to Coach Day for giving me this opportunity! #recruitingislikeridingabike #youneverreallyforgethow #cantwaittospendtimewithHighSchoolplayersandcoaches #findingthebestandthebrightest #GoBucks
— Kerry Coombs (@DB_CoachCoombs) January 22, 2020
Sounds like he's ready to jump right back into the college coaching atmosphere, and that includes hitting the recruiting trail, with Martinez getting a visit from Coombs on Wednesday, and it sounds like the Buckeyes are setting up a visit this week with 2021 cornerback Jakailin Johnson. (Lettermen Row's Jeremy Birmingham reported that it will be Barnes making a visit to St. Louis to see Johnson, not Coombs.)
Johnson picked up a Crystal Ball prediction to Ohio State from 247Sports' Bill Kurelic on Wednesday.
Other visits
Just to get you caught up on visits from Ohio State assistants, plus a visit to Columbus from a 2021 target, here is a rundown from the weekend.
A Buckeyes assistant, presumably running backs coach Tony Alford, hits Texas to visit 2022 RB Emeka Megwa. The following tweet does not specifically say if it was Alford who visited, but we can deduce that the visit was to Megwa, as Vadnais' Twitter account included photos with Texas RB coach Stan Drayton and Lincoln Riley visiting with the star RB.
Plus, the only offer the Buckeyes have given to a player from Nolan Catholic among the 2020, 2021 and 2022 classes is Megwa.
Lincoln Riley from OU, Texas and Ohio State on the same day. Everyone of our Seniors has at least one Offer! #RecruitNolan #Ironclad pic.twitter.com/uZNLeI7nIb
— Bobby Vadnais (@coachbobbyv44) January 18, 2020
Ed Terwilliger, the Buckeyes' director of high school relations, visited Gallia Academy in Gallipolos, Ohio:
Thanks to @etwill21 @OhioStateFB and @BrianHainesb @OhioFootball visiting Gallia Academy and our Student-Athletes today!!! Always great to see you 2! pic.twitter.com/45fubfZDnu
— CoachAKPenrod (@coachakpenrod) January 21, 2020
Kevin Wilson, offensive coordinator/tight ends coach, visited Seffner Christian Academy in Mango, Florida:
Thank you to Ohio State @OSUCoachKDub for coming by to visit with us about our student athletes.
— SCA Football (@sca_football) January 21, 2020
Barnes took a visit to North Hardin High School in Radcliff, Kentucky:
THE Ohio State and @CoachMattBarnes came into the pipeline today to visit with me bout the BALLERS at NHHS!!! #LetsRide
— Brent Thompson (@FBCoachThompson) January 21, 2020
Junior offensive lineman Rayshaun Benny, who is a top-25 offensive tackle nationally, the No. 175-ranked overall recruit in 2021 and the No. 6-ranked recruit in the state of Michigan out of Oak Park High School, made a visit to Columbus over the weekend. Benny was on hand for the Buckeyes' win over Penn State on Nov. 23:
Thee Ohio State university this weekend !!!@OhioStateFB @ryandaytime @CoachStudOL #Buckeyes
— Rayshaun Benny (@rayshaun_benny) January 18, 2020
Benny told Eleven Warriors in November that has good relationships with Buckeye offensive line coach Kennedy Cook and co-defensive coordinator/former Michigan coach Greg Mattison, in addition to Ryan Day and Mark Pantoni.
Offers galore
Between Tuesday and Wednesday, Ohio State offered three new players a full-ride scholarship.
Those players are:
- Colin Mobley, a 6-foot-4, 245-pound 2021 four-star strongside defensive end out of DeMatha Catholic (Chase Young's alma mater) in Hyattsville, Maryland, ranked No. 321 overall, No. 19 SDE, No. 16 Maryland.
- Nicholas Singleton, a 5-foot-11, 195-pound 2022 running back out of Governor Mifflin High School in Reading, Pennsylvania, who has no rankings but has offers from Notre Dame, Penn State, North Carolina, NC State, South Carolina and Virginia.
- Michael Trigg, a 6-foot-4, 200-pound 2021 tight end out of Seffner Christian Academy, who has no rankings as well but holds offers from Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Iowa State, Kentucky, LSU, Miami, Michigan, Notre Dame, Oregon, South Carolina and Tennessee. Wilson offered Trigg when he visited SFA on Tuesday.
Extremely blessed to receive an offer from THE Ohio State University! #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/Bce6WGFmGh
— Colin Mobley (@selfmadecee_) January 21, 2020
Blessed and grateful to receive a offer @OhioStateFB ! Big thanks @ryandaytime pic.twitter.com/vVu5ySnfcf
— Nicholas Singleton (@Nichola14110718) January 22, 2020
Blessed to receive an offer from Ohio State University @MarshallMcDuf14 @CoachP_SCA @BigCountyPreps1 @CFRecruitingHQ @teamlillard7on7 @flyguyhuey5 @DemetricDWarren @OhioStateFTBL @OSUCoachKDub @Birm pic.twitter.com/DOSYyLKkF2
— Michael Trigg (@mtrigg_23) January 22, 2020
Other news
Also receiving noteworthy offers recently were 2021 running back Corey Kiner and 2022 athlete Emeka Egbuka.
Kiner was offered by Georgia on Monday.
Very blessed to receive an offer from @GeorgiaFootball @DellMcGee edit by: @bspaeth7 @Solkrates @RogerBaconFB #RBU pic.twitter.com/aFX9AHjEU5
— Corey Kiner (@CoreyKiner) January 20, 2020
Egbuka, meanwhile, was re-offered by the coaching staffs of Arizona and Arizona State. While those may not sound too impactful, keep in mind that Herm Edwards at ASU is certainly starting to build something out west, and he's already established himself (as have his assistants) as an outstanding recruiter and motivator.
Also, 2021 high-priority offensive guard Jager Burton, the nation's No. 6-ranked offensive guard and No. 1-ranked prospect in Kentucky, made an unofficial visit to Lexington on Tuesday.
#Rivals250 OL Jager Burton (@jager_burton) of Lexington (Ky.) Frederick Douglass will unofficially visit Kentucky tomorrow. Maybe UK's No. 1 recruiting target from the Class of 2021.
— Justin Rowland (@RowlandRIVALS) January 21, 2020
Burton told Eleven Warriors that Ohio State and Kentucky will each get one of his five official visits. Burton is a player the Buckeyes want badly, as he's a perfect fit in their system and one who would take them closer to filling out the 2021 offensive line haul.
Five-star defensive end Tunmise Adeleye, one of Ohio State's highest priorities in the 2021 class, announced he is transferring to Florida's IMG Academy for his senior season.
Heres to new beginnings pic.twitter.com/MFRP8hNjFw
— (@TunmiseAdeleye) January 22, 2020
Adeleye is the No. 3-ranked strongside defensive end in the country, and he is ranked as the 26th-best overall prospect in the class. He is also now ranked as the No. 5 prospect in Florida.
He will join fellow high-end Ohio State 2021 targets Lovasea Carroll, JC Latham and Greg Crippen (a Notre Dame commit) at IMG.
