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.
“That is the type of player we’re looking for in that spot”
Though it was partially due to an injury that has projected starter Josh Proctor officially listed as “unavailable” for spring ball, one of the more intriguing observations from Ohio State’s open practice on Monday was Kourt Williams spending his time during 7-on-7 and the team session playing exclusively at safety.
It was only one practice, but Williams not spending any time at linebacker during those sessions brings into question whether or not the Buckeyes see him as a safety or a linebacker. He was recruited to play the Bullet position and is still most likely going to be used in that hybrid because of his skillset, and Al Washington said on Wednesday that he believes Williams is the prime example of who they are looking for in that Sam linebacker/Bullet spot.
Kourt Williams' athleticism, speed and ability to cover are some of the traits making him the Buckeyes' ideal example of who they will be targeting in recruiting.
“I think he fits like a glove,” Washington said. “You watch his high school tape and see his body physically. His problem is he’s too doggone fast. He’s as fast as a safety. He’s really talented.
“He may be a great safety. Who knows? He played the bullet-type position (in high school). He’s got contact courage. He’ll go up and hit. He has no problem sticking his face in there and putting his body in there. He’s a really good athlete, and he can cover ground. Coach (Kerry) Coombs and coach (Matt) Barnes, both those guys can probably speak better to it than me in that end, but in recruiting, that is the type of player we’re looking for in that spot.”
At the Fiesta Bowl in December, Washington told Eleven Warriors a bit more about what the Buckeyes are looking for in their Sam linebackers and their Bullet.
“Offenses now, they put you in situations where they’ll spread you out,” Washington said during media day. “It’s similar to those hybrids – those tight end hybrids. I think their ability to play on the perimeter and in the box forces defenses to have to match up with them.
“Sam is a position where you can play the overhang. You can play on the edge and blitz at a nine-technique. Ability to rush the passer falls in there. Can he cover? Can he walk out and cover the slot? Can he blitz? Usually, on the field that’s what we look for."
In the Buckeyes’ 2021 recruiting class, they will be continuing to look for at least one more guy to target who possesses that exact skillset. Reid Carrico has that a little bit, but Carrico has told us Washington sees him as a true Mike linebacker at the next level. So next up for Washington will be bringing in another hybrid player in addition to Jaylen Johnson, who told us that Washington recruited him to play the Bullet.
Barrett Carter is Ohio State’s highest-priority target at linebacker in the next, as Carter is another who can play outside linebacker and potentially fill that versatile Bullet position. Carter whittled his list of schools to 11 in February, and that list includes Ohio State as the Buckeyes look to get him on campus. A possible date could be June 12-14, when his North Gwinnett (Ga.) teammate Jordan Hancock will be making an official visit.
Culture attracting recruits
In addition to the versatility of being a hybrid linebacker, Washington also said one of the key traits they look for in linebacker recruits is how each contributes to his team’s success, how hard he pushes the others around him and how well they’re received by teammates.
Washington has helped create an impressive culture in his linebackers room, and he says the guys have bought in. That’s been on display for recruits over the past year.
Not long after one of Ohio State’s top in-state targets in the 2022 class, Marysville outside linebacker Gabe Powers, received a coveted scholarship offer from the Buckeyes, he told Eleven Warriors why the program was such a pull for him.
The obvious answer is that Powers’ school is only 30 minutes away, and he grew up watching Ohio State. But it goes a little bit deeper than that. For Powers, and really any other high school linebacker the Buckeyes are pushing for, what stands out above the facilities and the glamor is where they would fit into the linebacker room.
“I just wanna go somewhere I’m comfortable and fit in really well,” Powers told Eleven Warriors in November. “One of the biggest (factors) is the brotherhood. How well does the team bond together? How well does the team bond with the coaches? How much do they feel like they’re important or fit in there?”
On Wednesday, we got a little bit more of a taste of what that room is like through Al Washington.
In stark contrast to their running back situation, the Buckeyes are fully stacked at linebacker with four seniors (Pete Werner, Tuf Borland, Baron Browning, Justin Hilliard) manning the second level and three juniors providing depth at the position. That’s great depth to have in case any of the seniors ahead of Teradja Mitchell, K’Vaughan Pope and Dallas Gant get injured and so that they can rotate those seven all season long to keep mileage off each other’s legs.
But in the end, if there wasn’t already a firm foundation in place culturally, it could provide some uneasiness as the egos of those three juniors – who have been sitting as no better than second string for each of their respective careers since they signed with the Buckeyes – could make them restless.
That brings into question how Washington and the staff handle the young linebackers as they wait another year to become full-time starters.
“That question is answered by the culture of the team,” Washington said. “And if we are a team, and we do support each other, we’ve gotta put ourselves on the backburner. With that being said, I played football. Everyone wants to play. I think we have to do a good job of keeping these guys engaged.
“And, fortunately, last year all these guys played, and it wasn’t like they played in the fourth quarter when the game was over. They played in some critical moments. I think that piece of it helps, but it’s a daily deal. It’s a cultural deal, and it’s a brotherhood deal.”
Washington believes those three juniors are high-character players, and that’s a reason for why they’re able to stay patient. Another reason they’re able to remain patient is something Washington has not seen at any of his other coaching stops.
“This is unique to Ohio State, at least in my experiences ... but unlike any other place, I think our older guys do a great job helping the young guys,” Washington said. “I can’t tell you the countless times where Baron’s working with somebody, Tuf’s working with somebody or Pete’s working with somebody. That really is unique, and I think that speaks to the brotherhood. It is unique.
“That goes back to Josh Perry. Hell, I just saw him the other day, and he was in the building today earlier for meetings. That brotherhood piece – that big brother part is a big thing here, and it shows.”
So that’s the foundation the Buckeyes have, and that’s a huge reason that future linebackers are attracted to the team. It’s one of the main selling points that Williams and Cody Simon each told Eleven Warriors played a major factor in them committing – they saw that behind the scenes throughout their recruitments.
“I feel like we’re gonna be a family as soon as we get there, helping each other and helping Ohio State win and do the best we can,” Simon told Eleven Warriors in January, saying he’s been able to see that Washington is at the core of it all.
“Coach Washington has always been there for me. He’s just a really personable guy. It’s so easy to talk to him. I talk to him every day, pretty much. He’s helped me so much and taught me some stuff already. Just little techniques and stuff like that. He’s just really supportive. His family is super nice, and I’ve talked to some of the backers up at the school. They have nothing but good things to say about him. He’s just a great guy.”
