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.
Week 4 Friday Night Lights Preview
Ohio State is set to have 11 commits in the 2021 and 2022 cycles who will be in action as we kick off another week of high school action. That slate is highlighted by the nation's No. 1 offensive guard, Donovan Jackson, who will be making his season debut with his Episcopal (Texas) teammates against Calhoun.
Massillon Washington receiver Jayden Ballard, Ironton linebacker Reid Carrico, La Salle safety Jaylen Johnson, Revere offensive lineman Ben Christman and Ensworth (Tenn.) defensive back Andre Turrentine will also be suiting up for the 2021 class on Friday night.
South Warren (Ky.) defensive back Jantzen Dunn, however, will be sitting out his second straight game as he is currently nursing a Grade 2 quad strain. Fellow defensive back Denzel Burke and his Saguaro (Ariz.) teammates will play their season opener on Oct. 1. And it appears that Streetsboro (Ohio) defensive tackle Mike Hall will not be suiting up tonight after he tweeted this:
Crazy I cant play the game I love so much...
— (@MichaelHallJr_) September 17, 2020
Five members of Ohio State's 2022 class will be on the field Friday, with in-state commits in Marysville linebacker Gabe Powers, Archbishop Alter linebacker C.J. Hicks, the Lakota West duo of cornerback Jyaire Brown and offensive tackle Tegra Tshabola and Allatoona (Ga.) High School's Bennett Christian, who had his Week 2 game against Denmark High School canceled hours before kickoff due to Denmark having COVID-related complications.
Blue Valley North (Ks.) athlete Dasan McCullough, who was supposed to make his season debut two weeks ago, made his season debut on Thursday night against Blue Valley Southwest, and he helped lead the Mustangs to a 41-21 victory. McCullough's night was highlighted by this big hit:
this is a crime scene @Dasan2022 pic.twitter.com/LIoKSdAMj7
— BARSTOOL BVN (@BarstoolBVN) September 18, 2020
The 6-foot-5, 220-pounder – who was recruited by Al Washington as a Sam linebacker – also added a 28-yard reception touchdown.
| Player (Class) | Team | Opponent | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| OG DONOVAN JACKSON (2021) | EPISCOPAL | @ CALHOUN | 7:30 p.m. |
| WR JAYDEN BALLARD (2021) | MASSILLON WASHINGTON | BENEDICTINE | 7:30 p.m. |
| LB REID CARRICO (2021) | IRONTON | @ ROCK HILL | 7 p.m. |
| S JAYLEN JOHNSON (2021) | LA SALLE | @ DUPONT MANUAL (KY.) | 7 p.m. |
| OG BEN CHRISTMAN (2021) | REVERE | @ TWINSBURG | 7 p.m. |
| S/CB ANDRE TURRENTINE (2021) | ENSWORTH (TENN.) | @ BAYLOR SCHOOL (TENN.) | 7:30 p.m. |
| CB JYAIRE BROWN (2022) | LAKOTA WEST | @ FAIRFIELD | 7 p.m. |
| LB C.J. HICKS (2022) | ARCHBISHOP ALTER | @ CARROLL | 7 p.m. |
| LB GABE POWERS (2022) | MARYSVILLE | THOMAS WORTHINGTON | 7 p.m. |
| OT TEGRA TSHABOLA (2022) | LAKOTA WEST | @ FAIRFIELD | 7 p.m. |
| TE BENNETT CHRISTIAN (2022) | ALLATOONA (GA.) | @ KENNESSAW MOUNTAIN | 7:30 p.m. |
Pickerington North five-star defensive end Jack Sawyer has opted out of his senior season. Ohio State's two running back commits in 2021, TreVeyon Henderson (Virginia) and Evan Pryor (North Carolina), and tight end commit Sam Hart (Colorado) have opted out of their senior seasons as well, with each of their states pushing football back to February – though it's looking like there is a good chance Hart will end up playing in his senior season after all, with the Colorado High School Activities Association voting to allow schools the option of playing football this fall.
Defensive tackle commit Tyleik Williams (Virginia) will also not be in action due to the state's postponements, while cornerback Jordan Hancock (Georgia) has opted out of his senior season despite his state moving forward with a fall season.
Three other 2021 Ohio State commits' senior seasons are still up in the air.
Quarterback Kyle McCord and wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. are still facing the possibility of being unable to play this fall after the Philadelphia Catholic League postponed its fall sports season to the spring.
Cornerback Jakailin Johnson and his De Smet (St. Louis, Missouri) team are preparing to play this fall, but if and when their season will begin remains to be determined, as St. Louis County is currently not allowing high school football games to be played. De Smet head coach Robert Steeples told Eleven Warriors that they're hoping to play in October.
Our team is planning to be on the road once again this week, as Dan Hope is traveling to see Northmont face Springfield, with the spotlights on Northmont receiver Markus Allen and Springfield cornerback Delian Bradley, each of whom Ohio State is keeping an eye on for a potential offer.
Colin Hass-Hill, meanwhile, is pulling some double duty. After heading over to see Buckeyes 2022 offensive tackle target Ryan Baer and his Eastlake teammates take on Kenston on Thursday, Colin will go watch 2022 quarterback target Drew Allar and his Medina teammates take on Elyria Catholic on Friday.
Turrentine spotlight
I made the trek down to Tennessee in order to put this week's spotlight on Ohio State 2021 defensive back commit Andre Turrentine and his Ensworth teammates take on Baylor School.
The 6-foot, 175-pound Turrentine is ranked as the No. 139 overall player in the country, and he is listed as the nation's No. 5 safety and Tennessee's No. 3 player in the cycle. Even though he's listed as a safety, Turrentine was recruited by the Buckeyes as a combo safety/cornerback. He can be used all over the field on defense, and Ensworth head coach Roc Batten – a former Vanderbilt defensive back – uses him as a utility player as well.
“We’ll play him at safety, but he’ll play in the slot as well,” Batten told Eleven Warriors. “On offense, we’ll play him in the slot, out wide and at running back. We’ll move him around as much as we can so you can’t game plan for him. We’re fortunate to have a really good football team with some really good skill guys that we can move around. He’ll be in the return game as a punt returner, and he did that last year as a kick returner. A lot of options to get the ball in his hands. He can make people miss, and we’ll put him in a position where he can make plays for us on defense.”
Excited to see Turrentine in action and see how he's utilized and what he'll bring to the table for the Buckeyes as he looks to help Ensworth bounce back from a season-opening loss last week.
