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.
Sawyer looking to hold big visit weekend at home
Over the weekend, Oklahoma held a long-anticipated recruiting weekend that was dubbed the “Sooner Summit,” in which a group of players converged on Norman on their own dime. That pow-wow was headlined by five-star offensive tackle Tristan Leigh, who is down to five schools including Ohio State and Oklahoma.
Well, since about May, Ohio State’s five-star defensive end commit Jack Sawyer has been looking to put together something similar in which he gathers up as many of the Buckeyes’ 2021 commits and arranges for them to converge on Columbus – with all of them staying at Sawyer’s family home in Pickerington.
“I’m trying to set it up,” Sawyer told Eleven Warriors. “Definitely, the local boys and some of the dudes not too far away can definitely make the trip. We’re trying to figure out the logistics of getting Donovan Jackson up here and Evan Pryor down in North Carolina up here. It’s in the works. Trust us, it’s in the works right now.
“Sometime soon, we would like to. We’re trying to figure out the schedules of the kids who are playing and the kids who aren’t. So once we get something figured out, I’m sure it’ll definitely happen here soon. So be on the lookout on campus for all of us down there. You never know, you could be out to dinner one night and see about 30 of us roll in. We might have to rent a limo or something for all of us to fit in.”
And, of course, that could wind up meaning a pretty tight fit if they get the number of players in the house that Sawyer is hoping to get.
“Really as many as we can,” Sawyer said when asked how many players he wants to come for a visit. “I want everyone to come down here. I think it would be a ton of fun. It would definitely be sweet. Since we can’t get our official visits, I’ve been telling them this for like three months of, ‘Hey guys, there might be official visits at the Sawyer house.’ Make it a couple-day stay and we can go out and do whatever, have a bunch of fun.
“They might have to bring a sleeping bag or two and sleep on the floor, but we can definitely make it work, for sure.”
Hotel Sawyer could be busy come one weekend in September or October as this class looks to build on an already strong camaraderie that’s been well-documented. Only one thing is left – coming up with a snaggy nickname.
“We’ve gotta come up with something,” Sawyer said. “I’ll text the group chat and we’ll come up with something cool, don’t worry.”
Clemons update
One month ago, Darrius Clemons was the No. 1 recruit in the state of Oregon, Now, he is the No. 1 recruit in the state of Utah following a transfer from Portland’s Westview High School to Pleasant Grove High School, about 40 minutes south of Salt Lake City.
Clemons balled out in his first game for Pleasant Grove last week, putting up 159 yards receiving and two touchdowns on three receptions. His two scores went for 63 yards and 77 yards in a 35-7 win.
4-star WR @DarriusClemons who just transferred from Westview HS (Portland, OR) to Pleasant Grove (UT) had 3rec 159yds & TDs of 63 & 77 in Viks 35-7 season opener win over Riverton Aug14.
— Northwest Ballers (@NWBallers1) August 18, 2020
Photo: @mvp7on7
Video: PG Sports Network pic.twitter.com/JOdGUdkUCJ
first game on junior year in the books. pic.twitter.com/UfNTF9RWiX
— Darrius Clemons (@DarriusClemons) August 15, 2020
In Week 2 on Friday, Clemons snagged six passes for 116 yards and a touchdown, which was good enough for 19.3 yards per catch.
That production all comes a month after he exploded for a 4.37 laser-timed 40-yard dash at the MVP Combine in Oregon in July.
Clemons holds offers from Oregon, Penn State, Notre Dame, Michigan and Stanford. If he ever gets extended an Ohio State offer, I love the Buckeyes’ chances of landing him. For now, though, it appears Brian Hartline and Co. are continuing to focus on the group of five receivers they have already offered.
