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.
Quiet period coming?
We are coming up on a whole calendar year since recruits were able to make official or unofficial visits to schools. (Not including the self-guided tours, or however you'd like to phrase it, that players such as Raesjon Davis, Zen Michalski and other recruits have made to see Ohio State.)
The NCAA's current dead period runs through April 15, but there could be some important news on the way regarding the recruiting calendar.
Yahoo Sports' Pete Thamel reported this week via Twitter that it has been recommended to NCAA administrators to implement a quiet period beginning after the April 15 date. This quiet period would run from April 16 to June 30, which would be a crucial game-changer to get things back on track in the recruiting world.
We should see an update soon on the end of the NCAA's recruiting dead period, which is slated through Apr 15. A note sent to administrators obtained by @YahooSports indicates a recommendation for a quiet period -- "depending on medical guidance"-- in all sports Apr. 16-June 30
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) January 27, 2021
As Thamel notes, during a quiet period on-campus visits – and face-to-face interactions with college coaches while on campus – are allowed.
With how well Ohio State performs in recruiting when allowed in-person interactions, this could be a time – once the news is official – for the Buckeyes to gain some momentum on the recruiting trail this spring and summer.
This is also welcome news for five-star Washington defensive end J.T. Tuimoloau and his camp. Tuimoloau's father told 247Sports this week that he would be waiting until “at least April” to make a college commitment because he wants to have the opportunity to make visits.
It's possible Tuimoloau waits even longer in order to take visits and get those on-campus interactions with the coaches at Alabama, Ohio State, Oregon, Washington and USC, his final five schools. That could give each of those programs (most notably Ohio State and Alabama, the two presumed favorites) some time to make their final push for the nation's No. 3 overall player in the 2021 class.
Buckeyes pick up PWO
Ohio State landed a #BOOM on Thursday night, though of the smaller-stage variety.
Cayden Saunders, a 5-foot-10 running back/cornerback out of Northville (Michigan) High School, announced that he has accepted an academic scholarship at Ohio State and that he will be joining the Buckeyes' football program as a preferred walk-on.
As Dan pointed out, Saunders' father previously played for Ohio State and is an agent for one of Ryan Day's former quarterbacks:
Ohio State lands a preferred walk-on commitment from Cayden Saunders, whose father Cedric Saunders also played for the Buckeyes and is now one of Dwayne Haskins' agents. Saunders, a running back/cornerback from Northville, Michigan, received an academic scholarship to Ohio State. https://t.co/NZIdvaRlOD
— Dan Hope (@Dan_Hope) January 29, 2021
Pretty certain the Buckeyes had a success story with a previous walk-on with the last name Saunders.
Dunn's fourth star
Safety signee Jantzen Dunn finally got a much-deserved boost in his rankings this week.
Dunn, who is probably the most underrated recruit in the Buckeyes' 2021 cycle and one of the most underrated in the entire country, was finally given his fourth star by Rivals.
Ya thx rivals....
— Jantzen Dunn (@JantzenDunn) January 27, 2021
It was a long time coming for Dunn. He is ranked No. 146 overall and No. 7 at safety via 247Sports' rankings, but Rivals has him all the way down at No. 26 among safeties.
There had been some frustration for a while from Dunn's camp that he was not rated as highly by Rivals, but he finally got his due. And that led to his nice response on Twitter when he heard the news.
Burton still solid
We already touched on this a couple weeks ago, but there has been a triple-down from one of the Buckeyes' best recruits in the 2022 class.
Five-star receiver Caleb Burton, who has been committed to Ohio State since Nov. 23, made it clear in mid-January that he “ain't going nowhere.”
This week, Burton told recruiting analyst CJ Vogel that he is still locked in with the Buckeyes despite Steve Sarkisian becoming Texas' head coach and that his relationship with Brian Hartline remains as impactful as ever.
The No. 1 WR in the country for 2022, Caleb Burton (@calebburtoniii) remains very firm with his pledge to Ohio State.
— CJ Vogel (@cjvogel3) January 28, 2021
Says the relationship between he and tOSU WR Coach Brian Hartline is very strong. #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/pV092JEHkZ
Stockton picks Bulldogs
One of Ohio State's former top quarterback targets in the 2022 class is off the market. Again.
Five-star Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton, who committed to South Carolina in August before decommitting two weeks ago, has announced his commitment to his home-state Bulldogs.
COMMITTED GO DAWGS@KirbySmartUGA @Buster_Faulkner @CoachToddMonken @Mansell247 @ChadSimmons_ pic.twitter.com/x2gVPYcbmk
— Gunner Stockton (@GunnerStockton) January 28, 2021
Stockton is the No. 27 overall player and No. 1 dual-threat quarterback in the country out of the Peach State's Rabun County High School.
OSU commits named All-Americans
Five Ohio State commits in the 2022 class were named All-Americans this week, as Quinn Ewers, Jaheim Singletary, C.J. Hicks, Gabe Powers and Dasan McCullough were each named Junior All-Americans by MaxPreps.
Singletary was named a first-team defensive All-American while Ewers, Hicks, Powers and McCullough were all second-team selections.
Other Buckeye targets who made the list, among others, include cornerbacks Denver Harris and Will Johnson and defensive lineman Caden Curry.
