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.
Four-star safety still in contact with OSU
As Ohio State will be looking to add what we project to be at least two safety prospects in its 2022 class, the Buckeyes have dished out seven total offers to recruits listed as safeties in their 247 recruiting profiles, in addition to Keon Sabb – who was offered last week and who told us he is being targeted as a safety – plus Dasan McCullough (a Sam linebacker-hybrid safety target) and C.J. Hicks (an outside linebacker committed to Ohio State who was also recruited to be a hybrid with the ability to play safety).
One player, however, we had yet to talk to – until this week – who holds an Ohio State offer as a safety target is four-star Kamari Ramsey, a 5-foot-11, 200-pounder from California.
Ramsey plays his ball at Sierra Canyon High School, where he is ranked No. 125 overall and No. 8 at safety nationally and No. 12 in the Golden State. Ramsey holds offers from Michigan, Oregon, Penn State, Texas and USC, in addition to the Buckeyes, who offered Ramsey “during my freshman year during spring ball,” Ramsey told Eleven Warriors. “I was offered by Coach Matt Barnes.”
The two sides are still talking, despite in-person visits still not being allowed during the continued recruiting dead period.
“I am in contact with OSU’s staff but not too much because we have to follow the rules. I communicate with Coach Matt,” Ramsey said.
The rising junior is a playmaker for Sierra Canyon who racked up 80 tackles, four interceptions and 15 passes defenses as a sophomore, and he says that Ohio State’s coaches “liked the way I play, and they like how I am a true student-athlete. They want me playing safety.
“I am versatile, I can play the run and the pass. And by ‘true student athlete’ I mean I take education very seriously, and I am more than just a football player.”
On the flip side, Ramsey says that the Buckeyes stand out to him because of their overall program, “and their academics is underrated. They have a very good education (program). And the coaches have NFL experience.”
Larry Johnson’s reputation attracts five-star defensive end
Derrick Moore is ranked No. 23 overall and No. 2 at strongside defensive end in the 2022 class, in addition to being Maryland’s top-ranked prospect in the cycle out of Baltimore’s St. Frances Academy, one of the best high school football programs in the nation.
Moore, a composite five-star prospect, has offers from Alabama, Florida, LSU, Michigan, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Penn State and USC. The 6-foot-4, 245-pounder, however, says the Buckeyes are catching his eyes, he told Rivals recruiting analyst Adam Friedman:
"I know a lot about Ohio State," he said. "They have one hell of a defensive line program. Coach Johnson is a good guy. He's a cool guy. We talked about the school, the defensive line program, and how they work. I haven't been there but I'm hoping to visit.
Friedman wrote that he believes Oklahoma and Ohio State “seem to be in the best position at this point but Moore has plenty of research that he wants to do before really identifying any favorites. Expect Moore to take many visits once this pandemic is over and the recruiting dead period is lifted.”
Burton Crystal Ball
This isn't just yesterday's news. It's last week's news. But it happened about the exact same time that the Big Ten announced it was canceling fall sports in 2020, and I promptly forgot to put it in a Hurry-Up space on Thursday or Friday:
Frederick Douglass (Ky.) High School four-star offensive guard Jager Burton's Crystal Ball prediction was set on Ohio State for a while, but 247Sports national analyst Steve Wiltfong changed that prediction to Kentucky at 2 p.m. on Tuesday. The confidence level is set at a 7, so it appears there's some great momentum for Burton to eventually pick his home state Wildcats.
Burton's final five schools are Kentucky, Ohio State, Alabama, Clemson and Oregon, and he is a recruit who the Buckeyes have been in need of another visit in order to get themselves on better footing. Burton told Eleven Warriors last month that the recruiting dead period has put a delay in his decision process as he's wanting to take all five of his official visits before he makes a commitment – and he said he's even willing to wait until January to make a decision.
Here's what Burton told us about Kentucky when discussing his final five schools:
“You grow up in Kentucky and you see all their games. I’ve seen the growth with Joker and Stoops and all that and how much it’s changing. Where are they gonna be in another five years if they’ve already come this far in two or three? Just think about that and then obviously all my friends are gonna go there. Just staying local.
“I definitely wanna respond to this, too – I’ve never responded to this on Twitter – but everyone will be like, ‘why is Kentucky in this group? Kentucky doesn’t fit in with this group.’ But if you really look at the numbers and you look at the best O-line classes, one of the best O-line classes in the rankings is Kentucky. They’re one of the best O-line schools. If I wasn’t an O-lineman then it’d be different. Kentucky is on the rise, and they’ve been in the top 25 for about three years now. So I just wanted to say something about that.”
Top photo: Kamari Ramsey – Greg Biggins/247Sports
