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.
Harris a rising star at cornerback
Ohio State’s defensive back recruiting has been on fire ever since Kerry Coombs’ return to Columbus, and it’s not a coincidence.
The Buckeyes have landed five commitments from defensive backs in the past month, with sophomore Jyaire Brown’s pledge on Wednesday night serving as the second defensive back commit in a three-day span.
In totality, it’s not solely because of Coombs, as Matt Barnes, Brian Hartline and Tony Alford – as we briefly outlined in our analysis of Brown’s commitment – each deserve a large portion of the credit in the recruitments of Jakailin Johnson, Andre Turrentine and Jantzen Dunn.
But Coombs was certainly a mega cherry on top – or as our own Colin Hass-Hill suggested, perhaps he is the Kerry on top – to secure each of those players’ commitments, as he’s shown that he certainly has no recruiting rustiness after his time in the NFL.
What Colin also pointed out – in the latest edition of Real Pod Wednesdays – is something I agree with too: Coombs and Co. are on fire in DB recruiting, but the one big piece that feels like it’s missing is that a five-star, no-doubt, first-round NFL Draft pick like Jeff Okudah or Shaun Wade, whom Coombs landed in his final recruiting class in 2017.
But it looks and feels like that is trending toward a possibility in the 2022 class, and that’s why we emphasize the following player whom Coombs and Barnes have already made waves with in the next cycle.
(Note: In the 2021 class, that five-star headliner is still in play with Tony Grimes, even if the Buckeyes are not trending in the right direction in that specific recruitment.)
We have to start with the caveat that it’s still very early in the process, but things are trending toward Houston cornerback Denver Harris turning into that premier five-star cornerback prospect in the same vein as former five-star Texas corner Jeff Okudah, who played his high school ball less than four hours away from Harris’ North Shore High School.
#AGTG YESSIRSKIII!!! Beyond blessed to EARN an offer from The Ohio State University @CoachMattBarnes #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/IL18hHArCQ
— Denver Harris (@DenvoBandz) April 16, 2020
Harris is already ranked as the No. 5 cornerback in America, the No. 26 overall player in the class and the No. 3 player in the Lone Star State. The 6-foot-1, 180-pound star helped lead North Shore to 15 wins and a second straight state championship, and he is already garnering scout comparisons to Okudah. Harris is no stranger to those comparisons, and he is working to make sure he can live up to them.
“I’m aware of the Okudah comparison, and he’s an amazing player so I’m glad to be thought of as that caliber of player,” Harris told Eleven Warriors. “Coach Coombs mentioned a couple of guys he’s coached and let me know that he definitely knows what he sees and could see me following in their footsteps.”
As we mentioned previously, Coombs on Wednesday detailed that he is seeking out players who can be multiple in their coverages, with the ability to play press-man, zone coverage and softer man coverage. That fits the description of Harris.
“They like the speed, the fact that I can cover in man and zone, and I don’t shy away from the contact or run support,” Harris said. “I try to be well balanced and do anything and everything asked of me.”
Barnes has long been an under-the-radar recruiter for the Buckeyes, but he is starting to emerge as one of their top behind-the-scenes guys. The Ohio State assistant was the first to offer Harris, last week, after a long conversation about how Harris could help the team’s future moving forward.
Harris got on the program’s radar by putting in work over the past few years and showing it on film. Barnes and Coombs showed a lot of interest in Harris, and that interest has been reciprocated.
“I really like Coach Barnes and Coach Coombs,” Harris said. “They’ve coached and been around some of the top athletes and they definitely know what it takes to make it to the next level and have success. I like everything about the program – the history, the consistency over a long period of time, the talent produced, playing on the biggest stages. It’s exactly what I’m looking for in a school and program.
“I’ve already seriously considered them a choice and look forward to building the best relationship possible with Coach Coombs, Barnes and the rest of the Ohio State staff.”
Harris is an incredibly talented prospect. He has more than 30 offers already, with Alabama, Baylor, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Oklahoma, Oregon, Penn State, Texas, Texas A&M and USC throwing their hats into the ring, and Notre Dame came calling on Thursday as well.
It’s an impressive offer sheet for a corner who is going to be a name to log away as a future star in addition to the potential that Brown has as well.
Brown is projected to rise up the rankings over the next two years. Both he and Harris are projected to be two of the top-ranked cornerbacks in the 2022 class, and it’s not hard to envision them finishing similar to the Okudah/Wade haul, in terms of rankings, come signing day. Both have the work ethic to do so.
“I’ve worked so hard to get to this point, but I know this is only the beginning and it doesn’t get any easier from here,” Harris said. “I keep a chip on my shoulder, and I always strive to be the best at whatever I do. My coaches at North Shore and my family have done a great job with helping me develop and pushing me to reach my full potential.”
Burton update
In talking with people on the ground in the recruitment of Jager Burton, it sounds like things are remaining pretty much the same as they were a few weeks ago. In other words, there is no commitment imminent from the Buckeyes’ priority interior lineman.
Burton is still intent on taking all five of his official visits, and there is no official commitment date, since he pushed his original August 24 commitment date back.
From what I’ve heard, Burton is talking with coaches from all five of his final schools – Ohio State, Kentucky, Oregon, Clemson and Alabama – on a daily basis. He’s remaining positive throughout all of this stressful time.
Sure, this may not seem like a true update in Burton’s recruitment, but the point is that no commitment from Burton appears like it will happen any time soon.
As far as Ohio State goes, Greg Studrawa was able to get down to Fredrick Douglass High School in Kentucky to visit with Burton prior to the nationwide recruiting shutdown. The Buckeye coaches, Studrawa and others such as Barnes, have continued to make a very strong impression in this recruitment.
Offers roundup
Over the last week, the Buckeyes dished out a number of offers to future prospects, and here is a roundup of those players, each of whom are in the 2022 class:
-Luther Burden: No. 23 overall, No. 3 wide receiver, No. 2 in Missouri. Burden is a former teammate of current Buckeye receiver Jameson Williams, as the Buckeyes look to continue rolling with their St. Louis pipeline.
-Dasan McCullough: No. 73 overall, No. 8 athlete, No. 1 in Kansas. McCullough’s father, Deland McCullough, is the Kansas City Chiefs’ running backs coach. Like Brown, McCullough was born in Cincinnati, and like Donovan Jackson – whose parents met while students at Miami (Ohio) – McCullough’s father is a former RedHawk.
-Josh Burnham: No. 75 overall, No. 7 OLB, No. 2 in Michigan. Burnham is expected to choose his home-state Wolverines, but the Buckeyes getting involved here early could sway that.
-Jeadyn Lukus: No. 82 overall, No. 11 CB, No. 2 in South Carolina. Thus far, Clemson has not yet offered in-state Lukus, but from what I’ve heard, that offer from the Tigers may not be too far away as they continue their slow play of sophomore prospects.
Denver Harris photo courtesy of Brian Perroni/247Sports
