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.
Hicks still waiting patiently for offer
As Ohio State continues to zero-in on its biggest 2021 recruiting targets, the Buckeyes always have an eye toward the further-future by keeping up with 2022 players, and that includes Archbishop Alter (Ohio) High School’s C.J. Hicks.
Hicks is a player we have talked about potentially getting an Ohio State offer down the road, but so far that has yet to happen as the Buckeyes have offered just two in-state players in the 2022 class. Hicks speaks with his main Ohio State recruiter, Kevin Wilson, about once or twice a week, and that includes a phone call between the two last week.
First 20... truly blessed from The Man above#LLL #neversatisfiedday pic.twitter.com/Tu6GxqTEvo
— CJ Hicks (@iamc1hicks) March 24, 2020
“It’s a good relationship,” Hicks told Eleven Warriors. “Nothing’s really changed. They just keep saying stay patient and to keep up with my grades and academics. They like my versatility and say they like how I play. They say they’re just waiting.”
Tony Alford was the first coach whom Hicks spoke with at Ohio State, as Hicks is friends with Alford’s son, and they met during Hicks’ freshman year. Ever since, Wilson and Al Washington (with assistant Tim Hinton mixed in) have become his main recruiters, though Hicks says Wilson is the one he speaks with the most, and Wilson keeps telling him “to keep doing the same thing I’m doing now. That’s what Coach Day and Coach Wilson told me. Just keep doing what I’m doing, and (the offer) will come.”
The 2022 rankings were released last week, and the 6-foot-4, 215-pound Hicks was listed as the 15th-ranked athlete, 162nd-ranked overall player and third-ranked Ohio prospect – behind Marysville linebacker Gabe Powers (No. 43) and Lakota West offensive tackle Tegra Tshabola (No. 69).
When the initial individual evaluation of Hicks was released, he was listed as a five-star athlete and was ranked as the No. 24 overall player in the country with an unsustainable .9908 rating. That has dropped to a 91, but Hicks is staying even-keeled despite the drop.
“I saw the rankings. They’re just rankings, at the end of the day,” Hicks said. “I’m just trying to get more scholarships and to make my way up and help my family. I look at them, but at the same time I don’t. They don’t really mean anything. I still believe in myself.”
Hicks says the Buckeyes are recruiting him to play either strong safety or outside linebacker, and he says they have mentioned the bullet position.
Of the 21 schools that have offered Hicks thus far – which includes Notre Dame, Miami, Iowa and Michigan – he says that Cincinnati and Purdue are the two that have been talking to him the most. None of the 20 schools, however, are necessarily sticking out above the rest, as they are all on about the same wavelength this early in the process.
“I haven’t really singled any of the schools out,” Hicks said. “I’m still looking at all those schools and finding out, over the phone, how the coaches are and how they are as a university and academic-wise. They’re all the same right now. Nobody’s a favorite.”
On Wednesday afternoon, Hicks added offer No. 21 to his sheet when Nittany Lions assistant recruiting coordinator Charles Walker came calling with an offer.
Truly blessed to say I have received an offer from Penn State University #PennState #weare @PennStateFball @CoachCBW pic.twitter.com/65GL6auQys
— CJ Hicks (@iamc1hicks) April 1, 2020
Hicks thrilled for Johnson
If he keeps plugging away, Hicks is likely to get an offer from Ohio State based on the thin group of highly rated talent the state has to offer in the 2022 cycle compared to what was there in 2021, where four players are ranked in the top 100 and another (Ben Christman) was in the top 50 before dropping to just outside the top 100.
Though he wasn't near that top 100 ranking, Cincinnati La Salle's Jaylen Johnson received an Ohio State offer last summer, in a camp that Hicks also attended. It was there when Johnson and Hicks realized that they had played youth football against each other back in the Dayton/Cincinnati area, and the two formed a friendship that day. That's why Hicks was thrilled for Johnson when he finally announced something that Hicks knew was coming for a long time – a commitment to Ohio State.
“I was very happy for him,” Hicks said. “I already knew where he was going a long time ago. Ever since that summer going into his junior year.”
Hicks and Johnson each shined during that camp, as Washington and former Buckeye assistant Jeff Hafley took notice of them.
“Me, Jaylen and another guy – he was a senior at the time – I don’t wanna say dominated, but we dominated most of the receivers,” Hicks said. “We were hyped every time we got a deflection or an interception or something like that.”
NCAA extends recruiting dead period
The NCAA on Wednesday officially extended the nationwide recruiting dead period through May 31, extending the moratorium from the originally set suspension the NCAA set through April 15.
Division I, Division II extends their recruiting dead periods: pic.twitter.com/aIC7WUTg3p
— Inside the NCAA (@InsidetheNCAA) April 1, 2020
This extension does not come as much of a surprise, and it means no on-campus or off-campus recruiting visits will be allowed until at least June.
If the dead period gets extended any further, it will surely affect some key on-campus visits the Buckeyes were expected to receive, including from Kentucky offensive guard target Jager Burton and the IMG (Fla.) Academy defensive back Kamar Wilcoxson.
June 12-14 Offical visit at THE Ohio State University. #Gobucks pic.twitter.com/KsZEgEDB32
— Jager Burton (@jager_burton) April 1, 2020
long as its clear by June 12th we good. https://t.co/ofL3r5Lf0K
— (@KamarWilcoxson4) April 1, 2020
ESPN ranks Sawyer, Henderson in top 20
On Wednesday morning, ESPN released a list of the top 25 college football recruits in America, regardless of class.
Jack Sawyer was ranked No. 2, and recent running back commit TreVeyon Henderson was ranked No. 18 on the list.
Ohio State 2022 quarterback target Quinn Ewers is ranked No. 1 overall, while 2021 Buckeye targets J.T. Tuimoloau (No. 8) and Tony Grimes (No. 9) were also featured on the list.
Hall transfer announcement a prank
Ohio State 2021 defensive tackle commit Mike Hall on Wednesday afternoon announced that he is transferring from Streetsboro (Ohio) High School to the IMG Academy.
#RESPECTMYDECISION pic.twitter.com/RLfmo3RN9z
— . (@MichaelHallJr_) April 1, 2020
Turns out, Hall's announcement was an April Fools' joke, and he won't be going anywhere.
We got got.
