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 make five-star's top list
Though Ohio State has a few highly prized defensive end prospects in the 2022 class – headlined by guys such as five-star Shemar Stewart and four-star Derrick Moore to name a couple – perhaps the top player on the board at the position right now is Philadelphia five-star Enai White out of Imhotep Institute.
White, a 6-foot-5, 230-pounder, was the lone defensive end and only the second defensive lineman on Andrew's initial big board, coming in at No. 8 to join four-star Caden Curry who's at the No. 4 spot.
On Monday night, the Buckeyes took a teeniest-tiniest step forward in White's recruitment by cracking the priority five-star's top 13 list.
TOP13 #STILLSEARCHING Blessed pic.twitter.com/duxTUxzrUk
— Enai White (@younggbenji0) November 9, 2020
White's list is a who's who of national powers, including Clemson, Alabama, LSU, Oklahoma and Oregon, and he also has Penn State, Texas and Florida on the list.
White is Pennsylvania's top-ranked player, the No. 25 overall player and No. 2 weakside defensive end in America, and he has been compared to All-Pro defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul by 247Sports' Brian Dohn:
Long, wiry frame needs to fill out. Can easily add 20 pounds. Strong basketball player. Outside linebacker potential in 3-4 scheme. Athletic and uses length. Gets off quickly at snap. Runs well and chases backside. Can disengage and find ballcarrier. Plays controlled and understands assignments. Ability to drop into coverage. Has to develop ability to play in three-point stance. Needs to work on exploding off change of direction. Strength at point of attack must improve. Multi-year starter at top 20 program. Early-round NFL Draft potential.
He talked briefly with Dohn about his recruiting update, telling Dohn, “What is important to me is education, for sure, and relationships. I want it to be like family. It's not just coach-player. It's family. And I want a place I could call home. ... I probably do want to get away, but I will go any place I can call home.”
Jackson's Michigan trip still a go
Though he has an official list of his top 10 schools (one that he's privately whittled down a bit), Ohio State's recruitment of five-star cornerback Domani Jackson – a transcendent talent in the 2022 class who's ranked No. 3 overall and is the nation's No. 1 cornerback in America – is a perceived battle between the Buckeyes, Michigan and USC.
A couple weeks ago, we touched on Jackson's recruitment, which included his father telling Eleven Warriors that the family is planning on making a trip to Ann Arbor for the Wolverines' matchup with Wisconsin this weekend. On Tuesday, Jackson's father confirmed with us that the visit is still a go.
That visit will be Jackson's first to Michigan's campus, and it is in conjunction with fellow five-star cornerback Will Johnson, the nation's No. 7 overall player and No. 3 cornerback in 2022 and a player who has said he would like to play at the same school as Jackson. That elite duo being on the same campus for a visit is obviously very important.
As for a possible trip to Ohio State, there are no tentative dates yet set up for Jackson to visit Columbus, but they are interested in making a trip before Mater Dei's (California) season begins in January, possibly for the 2022 commits' Buckeye Bash 2.0 that C.J. Hicks, Dasan McCullough and Co. are cooking up.
Race for No. 1
Though it's still looking like Ohio State's quest to land the No. 1-ranked class in 2021 and nab the program's first-ever recruiting crown is still slipping, there is a path for the Buckeyes (304.22 points) to win out over Alabama (310.25 points) though that margin is still small.
247Sports' Steve Wiltfong broke down some of the top prospects that Ohio State would likely need to land in order to eventually secure that top spot in 2021:
The prospect that could ultimately decide who finishes No. 1 overall is J.T. Tuimoloau, the five-star defensive end out of Sammamish (Wash.) Eastside Catholic. The No. 2 prospect overall has the Buckeyes and Tide near the top of his list with a handful of others. Ohio State is the 247Sports Crystal Ball favorite and if they are able to secure a signature from Tuimoloau that puts them at 311.62 with a couple more spots to go.
Ohio State has long been the favorite for the country’s No. 1 ranked receiver in five-star Emeka Egbuka, another Washington product. Those two are likely the nail in the coffin this cycle if OSU is able to wrap up with Tuimoloau and Egbuka.
If Alabama can rally for Tuimoloau, he’d boost the Tide’s score to 316.63 with a couple spots remaining in their class. Nick Saban is shooting for his ninth No. 1 finish over the last 11 cycles.
Tuimoloau has not set a date yet, but it seems more likely than not he will be waiting until February at least to make a decision.
Adeleye Crystal Balls
Another player who could likely help determine the outcome in the race for the No. 1 ranking is four-star defensive end Tunmise Adeleye, a former Buckeye commit who is down to a final three of Alabama, Texas A&M and Florida.
It's looking like we could be inching closer to an Adeleye-to-Bama decision, as a pair of Crystal Ball predictions on the Tide's side came in this week.
If Alabama lands Adeleye, that would give the Tide a score of 315.09 points and yet another extra edge in the race.
Goodwin's new goal
If you've been following along here at Eleven Warriors of late, you know how high we are on potential five-star offensive tackle Kiyaunta Goodwin and how big of a priority he is for the Buckeyes in the 2022 class.
You also would know of his incredible physical transformation over the past 11 months and how it has helped skyrocket him into the upper echelon of national recruits.
Well, it looks like Goodwin isn't done completing some major goals. He has a new one he's trying to reach:
Numbers dont lie dropped my body fat down another 5 percent over the last 4 months and now Im 10 percent body fat while gaining 5 pounds of muscle and now I weigh 304 with @Aspirationsgym. Goal is to be 315 at 8 percent body fat next season pic.twitter.com/uoRk51mFDA
— Kiyaunta Goodwin (@K_Goodwin2022) November 10, 2020
I, too, would like to be 6-foot-8, 315 pounds with an 8 percent body fat. Alas, I'll settle for 5-7, 170 pounds and in the 12-16 percent range, I guess.
Header photo: Enai White – Brian Dohn/247Sports
