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.
Buckeyes still in strong position with Wolfe
The inability for prospects and their families to make visits during the spring was impactful on a number of priority targets. That impact, evidenced by Ohio State’s hot March-to-April rush of commitments, was harder on some than others.
But one of the key targets whom the Buckeyes were going to host in late March, Hardin County (Tenn.) four-star tight end Hudson Wolfe, is one player whose recruitment to Ohio State was picking up major steam prior to the shutdown. Multiple visits down to Tennessee by Kevin Wilson, and another visit from Ryan Day, during the January contact period served as key precursors to that scheduled unofficial visit from Wolfe.
Things were looking great for the Buckeyes in Wolfe’s recruitment until the recruiting moratorium, but that momentum was put on a little bit of a standstill, of sorts.
However, in speaking with some people on the ground in Tennessee, Ohio State is still in a terrific position with Wolfe, despite him not being able to get him on campus for the first time since October’s game against Michigan State.
TOP 5 Edit: @Hayesfawcett3 pic.twitter.com/5xGdghYH2W
— Hudson Wolfe (@HudsonWolfe80) March 28, 2020
Wilson and Day have each spent a ton of time speaking with Wolfe and his family, and they have developed a great relationship with the No. 9-ranked tight end. In turn, the 6-foot-6, 245-pound senior-to-be is strongly considering Ohio State.
Another reason the Buckeyes are in a good position here is because of Wolfe’s relationships with several of Ohio State’s 2021 committed players – as has been the case with other Buckeye targets who eventually turned into Buckeye commits.
Wolfe being unable to make any of his five official visits, though, means he is likely to stay uncommitted until he has a chance to visit Ohio State, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama again (his top five list that he released on March 28). In regards to Ohio State, Wolfe and his family are still hoping to get back to Columbus once more when things open back up, as Wolfe’s mom has yet to visit campus in person, and that’s an important factor here.
So, again, Ohio State is still in a great position right now, but those other four schools are still under serious consideration as Wolfe and his family work through the recruiting process and try to get back on those campuses (he’s visited each school at least once). He has carved out some really good relationships with coaches from those programs as well.
As of right now, I’m hearing Wolfe’s plan is to commit sometime in June. At the latest, July 1 is Wolfe’s target date, and that was his original timeline. But if recruiting visits do not open back up by then, perhaps we could see that date pushed back further if Wolfe doesn’t believe he has a clear-enough picture of the best fit. The tight end’s family is very much involved in his recruitment, and by all accounts they have been doing a thorough job of gathering as much information as they can to make a decision.
Dingle another target
Wolfe is the clear-cut top target at tight end for Ohio State, but if it is unable to land Wolfe, it’s possible that the Buckeyes end up sticking with just Sam Hart in this 2021 class.
Even though they have long been planning on taking two tight ends, it does look as if it’s the position with the most flexibility in recruiting. Taking just one tight end would allow them to take an additional player at defensive back, offensive line or defensive line.
But if Wolfe ends up elsewhere, Bowling Green (Ky.) tight end Jordan Dingle is the only other player I have heard is being targeted by Ohio State at the position who currently has an offer. In-state four-star Jack Pugh is another on its radar, but Pugh does not yet have an offer as we are inches away from the calendar flipping to May.
Kentucky tight end Jordan Dingle is another player at the position Ohio State is targeting on the recruiting trail.
So it appears that Dingle is the No. 2 target right now as the Buckeye staff continues to recruit the three-star prospect. We’ve been told that Dingle is still communicating with Wilson via text every day or every other day.
Perhaps we will see an update sometime here soon in Dingle’s recruitment, and we have heard that an end-of-summer decision is the likeliest timeline for a commitment there, but that is a potentially fluid timetable.
Additional note on tight ends
For those wondering how the Buckeyes can continue landing top tight end prospects despite not using them in the passing game, Luke Farrell gave us a bit of insight back in March into why he chose a program that he knew didn’t often use the position as a heavy passing game target.
“From what I remember, every school you go to will throw up stats,” Farrell said when asked if tight end usage was a factor in his college choice. “When I was going through the process, I had a lot of things besides that in mind across the board, from schools to coach relationships to all that. So that wasn’t really a huge part of my decision.”
By coincidence, by the time he stepped foot on campus, Farrell’s rankings (No. 191 overall, No. 7 at tight end, No. 9 in Ohio) are very similar to Wolfe’s right now (No. 213 overall, No. 9 at tight end, No. 5 in Tennessee). Farrell has carved out a really good career as a Buckeye, having started 24 of 36 career games played, including all 14 games in 2019.
“I get that question a lot,” Farrell said when asked how often he’s been asked ‘When are they going to start throwing the ball to the tight ends?’
“And, I mean, a lot of times, it comes from people that don’t fully understand the position, which it’s hard to because we’re asked (to do) so much, and I feel like we offer a lot to our offense that doesn’t always get seen. But we take pride in that.”
Pryor accepts All-American bid
Over the weekend, Ohio State running back commit Evan Pryor announced he is one of the latest star juniors to accept an invitation to the 21st annual All-American Bowl in San Antonio.
See yall in San Antonio ! @AABonNBC pic.twitter.com/vBC6vQQtp2
— Evan Pryor (@evanpryor3) April 24, 2020
“I got a call from Steve Wiltfong, and he let me know that I had been invited to the game and immediately I committed,” Pryor told Eleven Warriors. “I’ve been watching that game for a long time and seen a lot of great players go on and do good things, and it would be cool to play in the same game as them.”
Pryor joins future Buckeye teammates Kyle McCord, Donovan Jackson and Reid Carrico as the fourth Ohio State 2021 commit to accept an invitation to the bowl.
“We talked about it even before I got invited because I just felt like it would come eventually, and I had my mindset on being in it,” Pryor said. “But, yeah, we talked about it and can’t wait to hit the field together.”
Nine Ohio State signees participated in the 20th All-American Bowl. C.J. Stroud, Gee Scott Jr., Lathan Ransom, Kourt Williams, Paris Johnson Jr., Luke Wypler, Josh Fryar and Cody Simon all played in the game, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba practiced for the game before suffering an ankle injury.
As for Pryor, who committed to the Buckeyes on March 16, things have been going well ever since he pledged himself to Ohio State, and he’s already eager to get on campus in scarlet and gray.
“Life has been great since I committed,” Pryor said. “Been able to chill and focus on my teammates and other things. The fan base has been great, treating me really nice. Always lets me know how much I’m going to be needed and how I can make an impact in Columbus.”
