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.
DeWine approves fall sports
In a highly anticipated announcement, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine approved a plan for all high school sports, youth sports and middle school sports in the fall of 2020 to move forward as planned.
During a press conference on Tuesday, DeWine said that the state took in many recommendations before making a decision. That decision is basically one that puts the power in the hands of coaches, athletic directors, players, parents and other school personnel to determine whether they want to play a season in the fall:
DeWine said that him and his staff have spoken with athletes, parents, coaches, medical health experts, superintendents and others to evaluate whether or not a season should go forward, and on Tuesday the decision became official that the state will allow all sports – including youth and middle school sports – to be conducted in the fall.
No spectators other than family members or people who are close to the athlete will be allowed as fans at the games. DeWine said they will leave that up to the school to determine which family members and other “close” relatives are allowed into the games.
The decision on whether or not to play fall sports is now going to fall in the hands of the individual high schools, athletes, parents and coaches. That includes a decision on whether or not masks will be required for players during practices and games, or for coaches to wear them on the sidelines.
"This is really the best guidance that can be provided by the medical health experts," DeWine said. "It's really about how we can provide the best advice on how sports in Ohio can be conducted.
“Just as going back to school in person increases the risks, sports – and especially contact sports – does as well. The more spread there is in community and the school, the higher the risk is in the community. On the other hand, we know the importance of sports. Sports matters and makes a difference. ... If that young person is not playing sports, they will be doing something else with their time, and that needs to be taken into account as well.”
The decision affects nine Ohio State commits in the 2021 and 2022 classes combined, in addition to other in-state targets such as 2022 offensive tackle Blake Miller of Strongsville High School, 2022 running back Gi'Bran Payne of Cincinnati La Salle and 2023 defensive end Brenan Vernon of Mentor High School, among others.
Washington ranked No. 1
Al Washington is an Ohio State assistant who we have discussed ad nauseam in this space, and other spaces, in terms of his effectiveness as a recruiter, how he builds relationships and the resounding seal of approval from a multitude of Buckeye recruits – both committed and uncommitted ones.
In October, Reid Carrico and Jack Sawyer talked about some of their favorite moments being recruited by Washington.
“He’s got something that makes you wanna run through a brick wall,” Sawyer said. “He can just get stuff out of you that you never knew you had in you.”
In January, it was Cody Simon explaining how close he is with Washington.
“He’s just a really personable guy. It’s so easy to talk to him," Simon said. “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.”
In May, Washington said he thought he was hitting his stride in year two at Ohio State, and we later detailed how Washington cut his recruiting teeth early in his career and learned how to develop relationships.
On Tuesday, Washington saw all of those efforts pay off, not only by securing his third linebacker commitment of the 2022 class in Dasan McCullough – during a cycle in which linebackers are one of the program's biggest positional needs – but also by being tabbed as the No. 1 recruiter in the 2022 class by 247Sports. (He was actually already No. 1 prior to Tuesday, but he padded his stats with McCullough's commitment.)
Washington is credited with being a large helping hand in the commitments of outside linebackers McCullough, C.J. Hicks and Gabe Powers, in addition to offensive tackle Tegra Tshabola, whom Washington was the one to actually offer back in November.
Let me edit this real quick. LB coaches @CoachWash56 & @CoachCibene are ranked as the No. 1 recruiters in the 2022 class by 247Sports. https://t.co/1pN1YBcytY
— Nick Sebastian (@NickSebasOSU) August 18, 2020
“I’m closer with Coach Al than I am with any other coach,” McCullough told Eleven Warriors earlier this summer. “He’s really a technician coach. He tells me that he can just look at my body and tell that with the techniques he’s gonna be adding to it that it’s gonna be dangerous. And, really, him as a person is definitely a coach I wanna work hard for. He’s definitely a player’s coach. Obviously, I’m not in the locker room or anything, but I can see videos of him hyping the team up.
“All those little things makes me feel stronger and stronger about him because that’s the kind of coach I wanna be around – someone who pushes me and someone who wants me to be my very best efficiently and knows what they’re doing, obviously. You see the type of linebackers he’s gotten in the league, like Malik Harrison and there’s gonna be a couple more. Plus, you see what he did at Michigan, and it’s just real special.”
Buckeyes offer two more prospects
Ohio State wasn't done recruiting on Tuesday with McCullough's commitment.
About five minutes before the linebacker's announcement, 2021 strongside defensive end Justus Boone announced that the Buckeyes had extended an offer, and 2022 offensive tackle Kenji Swanson announced an Ohio State offer about two hours later.
Blessed To Receive An Offer From THE Ohio State University .. @R2X_Rushmen1 @SumterFootball @OhioStateFB pic.twitter.com/9ZiqkbTH1j
— Justus Boone (@justusboone6) August 18, 2020
Grateful And Blessed To Receive An Offer From THE Ohio State University Big Thank You To @CoachStudOL @CoachCookOL @ryandaytime @CoachJoeBolden @OhioStateFB & @SierraCanyonFB #GoBuckeyes pic.twitter.com/cpEran4D1U
— Kenji Swanson (@KenjiSwanson) August 18, 2020
Boone is a 6-foot-5, 250-pounder ranked No. 307 overall, No. 19 at SDE and No. 2 in South Carolina out of Sumter High School. Boone has been committed to Florida since February, and he holds other offers from Georgia, North Carolina, Oklahoma and Penn State.
Swanson is a 6-foot-6, 310-pounder ranked No. 303 overall, No. 29 at offensive tackle and No. 36 in California out of Sierra Canyon High School.
Swanson holds offers from Oregon, Stanford and Tennessee, and he told Eleven Warriors that the Ohio State one “is a huge offer for me, and I'm very excited about their keen interest in me. Ohio State is a winning program with a great reputation and great coaching.”
Swanson added: “The offensive line coaches at OSU express that they like my size along with my athleticism. ... I’ve talked to multiple coaches at OSU over the past few weeks and have been building a relationship with each of them. I look forward to building a stronger relationship with their coaching staff over time. Coach (Greg) Studrawa was the one to let me know that they have decided to give me an offer, and I was really excited to have received an offer from Ohio State.”
