The Hurry-Up: Gee Scott Jr. Hopes to Draw More Washington Prospects to Ohio State, Buckeyes Offer Florida DE Shambre Jackson

By Zack Carpenter on January 29, 2020 at 6:55 pm
Gee Scott Jr.
Gee Scott Jr.
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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.

Scott representing home state with pride

Gee Scott Jr. is aware of the history, or lack thereof, of high school football players from Washington coming to Ohio State to continue their careers.

It's never happened in the history of the modern recruiting era (dating back to 1999), and it's only happened once before. The only other high school player from Washington to sign with Ohio State was Kevin Griffin, the nephew of two-time Heisman Trophy winner and Buckeye legend Archie Griffin. 

Kevin Griffin is a Columbus native who grew up in Seattle and played for the Buckeyes from 1995-1998.

“We feel like, in the Northwest, that we get overlooked a lot and (that people think) we don’t have the talent that a lot of places have.”– Ohio State WR signee Gee Scott Jr.

For Scott, despite there having been almost no presence in Ohio from Washington in the past, he doesn't feel any sort of anxiousness associated with the stress of being called on to represent his home state. In fact, he thrives on it. That's due to his preparation for years that has led to this moment.

“There’s pressure involved in it, but I’m not nervous about it,” Scott told Eleven Warriors in early January, the day before he played in the 20th annual All-American Bowl in San Antonio. “I’m a hard worker. Everything I do, I do it all the way. I’m not nervous because I’m prepared. Same way if I ask — were you nervous to do this interview? You probably weren’t because you prepared for it. I’m not nervous because I’m preparing every day. 

“I’m not only representing myself, I’m representing Seattle and kids that come from Seattle. It’s not like I’m staying in-state and going to (the University of Washington). I’m traveling across the country, and I’m showing people what Seattle football is all about.”

For one of the final players to be on the cusp of earning a five-star rating via 247Sports, it gives Scott yet another chance to prove himself.

“We feel like, in the Northwest, that we get overlooked a lot and (that people think) we don’t have the talent that a lot of places have,” Scott said. “So my goal is to go out and show what kind of talent Seattle can bring and how we have some of the best athletes in the country. I’m just going out there with the mentality that I’m trying to work hard at everything I do, and the rest of it will take care of itself.”

If Scott has success at Ohio State, his success could end up translating into more talent from the state being drawn to Columbus and the opening of another pipeline for the program's recruiting. That could include two of the top-10-ranked overall players in the 2021 class – five-star defensive tackle J.T. Tuimoloau (ranked No. 4 and a high school teammate of Scott's at Eastside Catholic in Sammamish) and five-star athlete Emeka Egbuka (ranked No. 9 from Steilacoom High School).

“Yeah, absolutely. Definitely,” Scott says when asked if his success could help the Washington-to-Ohio State pipeline. “There’s a couple different recruits – like JT – that are young guys in Washington who, even though we’re relative in age, they look up to me. And I look up to them in certain ways. But when I go out across the country and start doing great things, and they see all these things that are going great for me, that might motivate them to wanna go to Ohio State as well. I hope that I can have that kind of impact on them.”

RELATED Ohio State Commit Gee Scott Jr., Family Making Off-Field Impact Through Unique Relationship with Diehard Buckeyes Fan

At the time, Scott said he talked to Tuimoloau just about every day. He doesn't talk to Egbuka every day, but the two speak “every once in a while.”

And does he have a pitch for Egbuka?

“I do. I just let him know that’s the place to be,” Scott said. “Lately, I haven’t been so heavy on recruiting because I just have so much going on for myself, but when I talk to him, I’ll pitch him my two cents.”

On the trail

Over the past couple weeks, we've done our best at trying to update you guys on the whereabouts of Ohio State's coaches on the recruiting trail during the contact period. It's been a hectic two-week run as the Buckeyes try to be in a thousand places at one time, and it can get just as hectic trying to keep up with it all. 

But here are a handful of updates via Twitter on where the staff has been venturing out to:

Head coach Ryan Day traveled to Texas to visit Nolan Catholic High School in Fort Worth (home of potential five-star 2022 RB Emeka Megwa), Lakeview Centennial High School in Garland (home of the nation's No. 1-ranked 2021 RB, five-star Camar Wheaton) and Foster High School in Richmond (home of four-star offensive tackle Reuben Fatheree, the nation's No. 17-ranked junior at the position):

Running backs coach Tony Alford visited Seffner Christian Academy in Seffner, Florida, the home of four-star 2021 tight end Michael Trigg:

Receivers coach Brian Hartline visited Mount Saint Joseph High School in Baltimore, Maryland (home of 2021 four-star receiver Dont'e Thornton, ranked No. 4 at the position):

Linebackers coach Al Washington visited Ironton High School to check up on four-star 2021 linebacker commit Reid Carrico:

Special teams coordinator/assistant secondary coach Matt Barnes traveled to Springfield Central High School in Springfield, Massachusetts (home of 2021 three-star defensive tackle Terry Lockett):

Quarterbacks coach Corey Dennis at North Hardin High School in Radcliff, Kentucky (which has a pair of three-star 2021 recruits, Jordan Lovett and Lavell Wright):

Offensive coordinator/tight ends coach Kevin Wilson at James Bowie High School in Arlington, Texas:

Former Penn State QB joins staff

Every offseason brings a shuffle in terms of who's coming and who's going among Ohio State's graduate assistants and quality control coaches.

Those assistants typically play unheralded key roles in recruiting, and on Wednesday, one of the empty positions was filled by Billy Fessler, a former Penn State walk-on quarterback who was most recently a graduate assistant at Mississippi State. There will be more announcements like Fessler's in the coming days and weeks, and via Eleven Warriors' Dan Hope, here's a brief update on which assistant coaches have left the program.

Buckeyes offer Jackson

Maybe it seems like a little bit too much to include every single offer Ohio State dishes out, especially at this time of year, but we like to keep you updated on all the guys that the Buckeye coaches have evaluated as important enough and talented enough to give them a full-ride scholarship offer. 

On Wednesday, yet another high school star was given an Ohio State offer. This time, it was four-star strongside defensive end Shambre Jackson.

Jackson, a 6-foot-4, 236-pound junior out of Boone High School in Orlando, is the 21st player in the 2021 class to receive an offer from the Buckeyes. 

Jackson is ranked No. 14 in the country at SDE, No. 237 overall in the country and No. 33 in the state of Florida. His offers include Alabama, Arizona State, Auburn, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, LSU, Miami, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas A&M and UCF.

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