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.
Catching Coombs’ and Barnes’ attention
When Kerry Coombs flipped on the junior year film of Chaminade-Madonna Prep (Florida) cornerback Ryan Turner, the Buckeyes' defensive coordinator and cornerback recruiting guru didn't care about his ranking or his stars. (Turner is a three-star prospect ranked No. 561 overall, No. 55 at cornerback and No. 68 in the state of Florida's 2022 class.)
Coombs could immediately tell that Turner can play, and that was enough incentive for him to extend an Ohio State offer to the 6-foot, 180-pounder.
“I talked to Coach (Matt) Barnes and Coach Coombs. Coach Barnes was saying how he loved my film and as soon as he watched my film he knew I could play at the Ohio State University,” Turner told Eleven Warriors. “Coach Coombs was telling me he watched my film last week and he loved it. He was telling me he only offered about seven corners so he doesn’t offer just anybody. He was saying he really sees a lot of potential in me.”
Extremely Blessed To Receive An Offer From The Ohio State University!! #GoBuckeyes @Dameon8 @CoachMattBarnes @Andrew_Ivins @DB_CoachCoombs @ArturoFreeman @ChadSimmons_ pic.twitter.com/4ugGIcwRwx
— Ryan Turner (@RyanTurner_20) February 3, 2021
Turner flashes some impressive qualities during that junior tape, including some nice ball skills and hands, closing speed and a willingness to attack receivers physically and the ability to lock down receivers on the outside in one-on-one coverage. A bit of relentlessness out of the cornerback spot is something the two Ohio State defensive coaches spotted, as is the ability to push receivers toward the sideline on routes going down the field.
All of Turner's junior highlights came as an outside cornerback. He says the Buckeyes haven't discussed whether or not he would be more suited for an outside cornerback spot or a slot cornerback position, but the main takeaway is they like what they see out of him.
“I feel like I’m a very physical DB that can blanket your best receiver,” Turner said. “They like me as a corner. I love how they use their corners from the games I saw. I saw a lot of man-to-man.”
A man-to-man scheme is what Turner believes he fits best in at this point in his young career, and being able to cover in on-one-on situations has a handful of top-tier programs already officially interested with offers.
That includes Clemson, Florida, Oregon, Penn State and Texas A&M thus far, and the offers will continue to flow in. And now that the Buckeyes have entered the race, the three-star prospect has them in the front of his mind in his recruitment.
“My reaction (when I got the offer) was I was really happy because Ohio State is one of the best schools in the nation so I was very proud of myself,” Turner said. “I like how they are known for putting their defensive backs into the NFL. I also like that they are always a winning school. They changed head coaches a few years ago and it’s like nothing changed.”
Reactions to Barnes’ promotion
Throughout the past year, there have been a number of defensive back recruits and their families who have been impressed with Barnes and his knowledge of the game.
“We’re gonna be hearing about Coach Barnes for a long time in this sport. He really knows his football, and he knows how to build relationships with kids,” Mitchell Dunn, the father of Ohio State safety signee Jantzen Dunn, told Eleven Warriors last summer.
Barnes was a big reason Dunn wound up committing to Ohio State, and Barnes' underrated background with X's and O's is well-known among recruits such as Dunn.
“Coach Barnes’ intelligence,” Jantzen told us in the summer when asked what stood out about his future coach. “When I went to the spring practice (in March), Coach Barnes told me to look at my position and imagine myself in that position and go through mental plays. Not every coach is gonna do that, you know what I’m saying?”
On Wednesday, Ryan Day officially promoted Barnes to be Ohio State's new secondary coach. And while it wasn't necessarily a flashy hire, Day believes Barnes is fit to get the job done.
“I think Matt Barnes will do this job better than anybody else in the country for what we need. And if I didn't think that, we wouldn't do it,” Day said.
Barnes has done a solid job in recruiting of building and maintaining relationships, and that includes during Andre Turrentine's visit in November 2019 in which his parents said Barnes made them feel comfortable and at home.
Turrentine's father, Antonio Turrentine Sr., told Eleven Warriors on Wednesday that his son is excited about the promotion of his future position coach.
“I congratulated him on it and Andre is looking forward to learning from him,” Antonio said. “(Andre) just said can’t wait to get on campus and learn from him. Andre is all action, not a lot of words. But he is happy for his promotion.”
Jaylen Johnson, meanwhile, is a three-star safety signee who (like Turrentine) will not be getting to campus until the summer. Though it's possible Johnson winds up sliding down into a linebacker spot under Al Washington, Johnson was also happy about Barnes' promotion.
“I'm very excited and proud for Coach Barnes,” Johnson told us. “Can't wait to get to Columbus and work like I've never worked before.”
Header photo: Ryan Turner – Gary Urrutia/247Sports
