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.
Davis visiting Ohio State this weekend
Some huge news rolled in on Wednesday afternoon, as four-star Mater Dei (California) outside linebacker Raesjon Davis told 247Sports' Greg Biggins that he will be visiting Ohio State this weekend:
"I'm really excited about it," Davis said. "I actually visited once before with my Premium 7v7 team a couple of years ago but I wanted my parents to come out and see it. We leave Friday and I'll be out there all weekend.
"They'll both be coming out too and I know they're looking forward to it. I've always said I planned to visit Ohio State at some point this year so I can't wait to go out and tour the campus again. It's a a dead period so can't see everything and even though we can't meet with the coaches, I still think it will be good for my parents to see everything there."
Davis, the No. 45 overall player and No. 4 outside linebacker in the country, is one of the Buckeyes' final two remaining targets in the 2021 class alongside five-star defensive end J.T. Tuimoloau.
Davis has visited Ohio State twice without his parents, his most recent visit coming in the spring. That was a quick trip that lasted about three hours during part of a tour featuring a group of fellow California high school players that went to visit multiple colleges that weekend.
Of that visit, Davis told Eleven Warriors, “It was super nice. The facilities and everything was great. We had a good time but were on a short schedule because we had to get to other places.”
Davis told us that getting his parents to visit Columbus was of critical importance so that he could see if there was a "spark" there like they had at LSU. And we will see if perhaps some of the 2021 early enrollees will be able to show him around town, though that would remain to be seen with the dead period intact until April 15.
Gotta work some magic this week when I move in https://t.co/emQEbB26z2
— TreVeyon Henderson (@TreVeyonH4) January 20, 2021
Davis decommitted from the Tigers on Dec. 21 and reopened a recruitment that is now down to LSU, Ohio State, USC, Oregon and Vanderbilt.
Mirco has chance to be starting punter as freshman
It didn’t come as a surprise, but the minute Drue Chrisman announced last week that he would not be returning to Ohio State for the 2021 season, it thrust Jesse Mirco into the conversation as the Buckeyes’ starting punter next fall.
That was already a likely scenario, but Chrisman’s decision made it official.
And now, with Mirco having signed with the program all the way back in September as the first official Buckeye in the 2021 class, the punter from Australia will be coming stateside with even more excitement. Which is saying something, because he was already itching to get to America when Eleven Warriors spoke with him in December about soon joining the program.
“I’ve been over there a couple times, once when I was 13 or 14, and I was over last year. But I haven’t actually been to Ohio yet so I’m looking forward to that,” Mirco said. “I’m excited for school and getting into the swing of things. It’s a bit hard when you’re stuck on the other side of the country so it’ll be nice to get around the boys and get to meet everyone.”
Though it’s been a long time since Mirco has gotten the opportunity to come to the United States, he says there isn’t any real anxiety about leaving his Australian home. When asked on a scale of 1-10 how nervous he was, he categorized it as just a “3.”
“I’m pretty excited to get over. There’s only so much training you can do before you get stuck into things and be around the guys and the facilities and get started,” said Mirco, admitting that it’s probably his parents who have the more bittersweet feelings. “They’re pretty excited as well. They’re happy for me to get over. Hopefully things get better with coronavirus for the season next year. They’re a little upset that I am leaving, I guess, but it’s a little sacrifice for a big reward.”
One major reason for Mirco’s comfortability level with the program, despite having never visited, is his relationship with special teams coordinator Matt Barnes. The two speak frequently, and Barnes has alleviated most of the pressure Mirco may have been feeling.
“He helps out with any questions I’ve got, and I touch base with him every now and then just to see how things are going. He’s been fantastic so I’m pretty excited to get over there and meet him in person and get moving forward,” Mirco said.
What Mirco brings to the table is a versatile skillset with his range of punting styles. That’s perhaps the No. 1 factor in Barnes pinpointing the Australian as the Buckeyes’ future at the position.
“I guess they wanted someone that can do a little bit of everything,” Mirco said. “With the Aussie background and the Aussie punts you see a lot of in college these days and pooch punts is something we pride ourselves on. We’re pretty accurate there. And my spirals are still a work in progress, but it’s not too bad. Just gonna keep working on that and work on everything else, and hopefully I’ll give Coach Barnes plenty of opportunities to use me.”
Oh, and it doesn’t hurt that Mirco packs in another punch as a tackler with his background in Australian football.
“I’m sure it’ll be a different technique over there, but in Australian football I’ve grown up playing since I was four or five years old, we have full-contact tackling. No pads, no helmets,” Mirco said. “It’s pretty full-on, and tackling is a pretty big part of our game. It’s a pretty contested game and contact sport so it’s not anything new, but I’m sure we’ll work on it.”
Header photo: Raesjon Davis – Gerard Martinez/247Sports
