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.
Bradley emerges at top of board
For several months during the fall, Belleville High School four-star defensive tackle Damon Payne – the state of Michigan’s top-ranked prospect in the 2021 class – was believed to be at the top of Ohio State’s recruiting board at the position, right behind five-star standout J.T. Tuimoloau of Eastside Catholic (Wash.) High School.
Over the past few weeks, though, Michael Hall Jr. became the DT that the staff loved the most behind Tuimoloau, and with Hall’s commitment last weekend, the Buckeyes have at least one more defensive tackle who has emerged right behind Tuimoloau and right alongside Payne – and perhaps even surpassing Payne – as a DT they are very high on.
That player is Marcus Bradley, a 6-foot-3, 270-pound four-star DT out of Quince Orchard High School, who is ranked as the 11th-best player from Maryland and 16th-best DT nationally in the 2021 class.
Bradley has long been high on the Buckeyes as a serious option for his future. The coaching staff has reciprocated those feelings, and the relationships between Bradley and the coaches have grown enough for Bradley to include Ohio State in his top 10 list of schools that he released on Friday night:
TOP 10! TOP 10! TOP 10! TOP 10!#MoneY #MoneY #MoneY #MoneY pic.twitter.com/aJtsAcMGPd
— MARCUS BRADLEY (@GBOMARC) February 8, 2020
Bradley, who told Eleven Warriors in November that Ohio State and Virginia were his top two schools, updated his recruitment with us on Sunday.
He said he talks with the Ohio State coaches weekly, and “they speak to my family as well, weekly. Coach (Larry) Johnson and (Ryan) Day think I’m a good fit to the program and think Coach J can turn me into an elite player.”
Bradley has been building a relationship with Johnson since his freshman year at DeMatha Catholic. When he transferred to Quince Orchard for his sophomore season, that’s when Johnson began to evaluate Bradley as a prospect, and their relationship grew stronger.
“Coach Johnson, we have a good relationship. He’s one of the best D-line coaches in the world on any level, and coaching and development is the biggest thing for me, so that’s why I like Ohio State so much.”– 2021 four-star defensive tackle recruit Marcus Bradley
Johnson’s relationships with Bradley’s family members are growing, too, and his passion, straight-forwardness of his approach and genuine desire to get Bradley in the program are all making an impact.
“The Buckeyes’ program year-in, year-out is just a top-notch program that can produce top guys in the draft every year,” Bradley said. “Coach Johnson, we have a good relationship. He’s one of the best D-line coaches in the world on any level, and coaching and development is the biggest thing for me, so that’s why I like Ohio State so much.”
Bradley visited with his parents for the Buckeyes’ win over Maryland on Nov. 9, a visit that helped get the wheels spinning on Ohio State becoming a more firm option for him. And when Bradley returned with his brothers for a visit just two weeks later for the win over Penn State on Nov. 23, that potential grew stronger. That’s when Bradley saw up close how tight the Buckeye players were while being in a big-game atmosphere.
Bradley is planning to make another visit to Ohio State, probably in the spring, and he says an official visit could very well be in the cards.
“Still just enjoying the process, but I’ll be visiting LSU, South Carolina and possibly Oregon when the dead period ends,” Bradley said. “Next time I get down to OSU will probably be an official visit. I’m not sure yet.”
Bradley says he is looking to make a college commitment this summer.
High-ranked tight end adds Ohio State offer
Jermaine Terry II, the No. 4-ranked tight end and No. 134-ranked player in the country in the 2021 class, added an offer from Ohio State on Sunday – his 24th total offer on an impressive sheet that includes Alabama, Arizona State, Auburn, California, Florida, LSU, Miami, Oregon, Texas, Texas A&M, Utah and Washington.
Blessed beyond measures to announce that after a great talk with @OSUCoachKDub, I am proud to announce that I have received an offer from THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY #AllGlory2God #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/JZ77q6Zfl5
— Jermaine Terry II (@AllDayMaine) February 9, 2020
Terry – the state of California’s No. 14-ranked junior out of Kennedy High School – is a 6-foot-4, 235-pound tight end who gets off the ball quickly, has good hands and is “a matchup nightmare, impossible for DB’s to cover with his size and too athletic and strong for linebackers to cover,” per 247Sports analyst Brandon Huffman’s evaluation.
That’s one of the reasons Ohio State offensive coordinator/tight ends coach Kevin Wilson is high on Terry and offered him over the weekend – over the phone as the latest recruiting dead period hit on Feb. 1.
“I’ve talked to him a couple times, but today we had a great conversation and it is truly a blessing,” Terry told Eleven Warriors of his contact with Wilson. “He was telling me how he likes the way I play and that he feels that I can succeed at OSU. ... The program is just historic. You can’t beat the track record.”
Terry says he does not have a set timeline on a commitment, and he says he plans on “going to Ohio this offseason for sure,” following visits he has set up with Alabama, Auburn and Tennessee in March when the quiet period starts (when in-person, on-campus visits are permissible).
Stellato earns Five-Star Challenge invite
Troy Stellato continues to shine on the recruiting trail, and on Sunday, the four-star junior receiver from Cardinal Gibbons (Fla.) High School impressed at the Rivals Camp Series in Miami, earning himself an invitation to the Rivals Five-Star Challenge this summer.
It was a historic day for Five-Star Challenge invites in Miami as 13 () players punched their tickets pic.twitter.com/F1sjINH6Em
— Rivals Camp Series (@RivalsCamp) February 9, 2020
Ohio State, Clemson, LSU, Notre Dame and Georgia continue to be among the programs recruiting Stellato the hardest – though Ohio State, Clemson, LSU, Alabama, USC and North Carolina are the teams in the top six he released on Christmas Day.
Day and Brian Hartline visited Cardinal Gibbons two Fridays ago (Jan. 31) on the second-to-last day of the latest contact period.
“We talked to Brian and Coach Day,” Cardinal Gibbons head coach Matt DuBuc told Eleven Warriors on Sunday. “Hartline, as soon as he got the job there, he was coming down here. Hartline’s been at our school over the last three years. He’s been here probably a dozen times. We know him well. We knew Coach Day from way back in the day. They’re a class act; both of them.
“I think that they, obviously coming down here, recognize the talent Troy has – just like all the other coaches. But Ohio State has been typically on top of the food chain for a long, long time. I guess with Coach Day being in charge there, he’s even moving it to another level and doing a little bit more than Coach (Urban) Meyer did as far as the passing game.”
We will have more on Stellato’s recruitment later this week.
Carter announcement coming
Perhaps this will not be a major announcement, but this is certainly worth keeping an eye on in the recruitment of Barrett Carter.
big announcement coming wednesday at 5:00pm ...
— barrett carter (@bcsznn) February 9, 2020
Carter, the No. 6-ranked outside linebacker and No. 99-ranked overall player in the country, is the Buckeyes’ top target at the position in the 2021 class. Carter last week quelled rumors that he had silently committed to Georgia, so the announcement may not be a commitment. It would probably be a trimmed list.
Whether that comes Wednesday or not, it brings up a good point. If and when that list is released, it will be important to see if Ohio State is on it – from what I’ve heard, it’s a pretty safe bet that the Buckeyes and Bulldogs will be there.
He’s a monster of a playmaker and would be a terrific fit alongside junior Buckeye commit Reid Carrico. Carrico, Carter and Demeioun Robinson – the nation’s No. 5-ranked weakside defensive end with the versatility to play OLB at the next level – would be a dream three-man haul for Ohio State.
