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.
New offers
It won't come as a surprise to anyone following Ohio State recruiting in March, but the Buckeyes were back at it again on the offer trail on Thursday.
Here's a rundown of the latest prospects to be offered by Ohio State:
Hero Kanu
Kanu is ranked as a three-star defensive tackle in the 2022 class by 247Sports' lone metrics, and he has been rising quickly on recruiting boards across the country (Check out the list below for some of his top offers, many of which have come over the past two weeks.)
Hailing from Santa Margarita Catholic (California), Kanu is not ranked by the composite, but that will soon change as he progresses during the spring football season in California. We will be keeping tabs on Kanu as his recruitment picks up here in the coming weeks.
After a great call with @R2X_Rushmen1 @DB_CoachCoombs @ryandaytime I'm honored to announce that I have received an offer from @OhioStateFB @PPIRecruits @BCollierPPI @CoachRouz @BuechsRoland pic.twitter.com/Cyrb51aNh8
— Hero Kanu (@HeroKanu) April 8, 2021
Washington, Penn State and USC were the first three programs to extend offers to the 6-foot-5, 295-pound Kanu. That list has grown fivefold, though, as Ohio State, Clemson, LSU, Michigan, Oregon, Texas and Texas A&M have all offered now.
Kanu is a native of Germany who began his athletic career playing soccer before coming over to the U.S. After outgrowing the pitch (literally, because of his size), he took up football and thus far it's worked out quite well for him.
I'm a freshly turned 16year old squatting 160kg /352Ibs and that's not my heaviest@ppirecruit @SMCHS_Football pic.twitter.com/wTcrA19ouh
— Hero Kanu (@HeroKanu) September 27, 2020
Kanu has a hell of a story, which was detailed by The Athletic's Andy Staples in March with the Germany native drawing Ndamukong Suh comparisons.
Sherrod Covil Jr.
Xavier Nwankpa and Zion Branch are Ohio State's top two safety targets on the board in the 2022 class, but don't be surprised if Covil makes his way toward the front of the line as well – even if he doesn't supplant either potential five-star defensive back for the No. 1 or No. 2 spot.
Covil's offer from Ohio State this week marked his 39th total offer. Despite being ranked only No. 250 overall, No. 16 at safety and No. 10 in Virginia out of Oscar Smith High School, the 6-foot, 185-pounder is being hawked by some of America's top programs of late.
#AGTG Blessed to be offered by The Ohio State University @OhioStateFB
— Sherrod Covil Jr (@rodZilla03) April 8, 2021
Thank you @ryandaytime @CoachMattBarnes @CoachWash56 @coachcscott @OscarSmithFB @CoachEddie2 @rivalsmike @adamgorney @BrianDohn247 @DemetricDWarren pic.twitter.com/xmN4TYziib
Joining Clemson and USC (March) in recently offering is Oregon (February). Those three programs join a strong contingent of schools that includes Alabama, Auburn, LSU, Michigan, Notre Dame, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Penn State and Stanford who had already extended offers before the spring.
Though I'm going to do some more digging to see if Covil is seen as a cornerback or a safety, one thing is abundantly clear: Covil is a hit stick.
The first highlight on his most recent video package – one that begins with one of the coolest titles we've seen in a Hudl video, "Sherrod Covil: Pain Infliction" – is of him coming across the middle and sawing a receiver's head off. (Metaphorically, of course.)
Reminds a bit of Nwankpa's hard-hitting ability.
Keith Sampson Jr.
The first player to announce an Ohio State offer on Thursday was the 2023 defensive tackle Sampson.
He's not ranked either in the composite or by 247Sports, but the Buckeyes are making their early presence known for Sampson.
God we give you all praise. After great conversation with @R2X_Rushmen1 , thankful for the opportunity to recieve a full scholarship to @OhioStateFB @OSUCoachKDub @Coach_TNowell @KeithSampsonSr1 .@BrianNorth4 @DonCallahanIC @MichaelClarkPP @LemmingReport pic.twitter.com/wZR8qxlfDe
— Keith Sampson Jr. (KJ) (@ksampson94) April 8, 2021
The 6-foot-5, 295-pounder only has eight total offers (with Ohio State being his seventh) after North Carolina joined the Buckeyes later on Thursday. Must have been a slight wakeup call for the home-state Tar Heels as the New Bern, North Carolina defensive tackle had not yet gotten that offer.
Charlotte, Coastal Carolina, East Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia Tech are the only other programs to offer.
Game 6 vs. Southern Wayne. Only played 1st half. @OSUCoachKDub @drebly_32 @BMitchellNCS @LemmingReport @MichaelClarkPP @DonCallahanIC @Briandohn247 @warriordad4 @CoachCohenWake pic.twitter.com/Fwz06KqNEP
— Keith Sampson Jr. (KJ) (@ksampson94) April 7, 2021
Hicks' fifth star
We've written about this so many times over the past year that we could place at least a dozen links to previous articles just in this one sentence alone...
Ohio State linebacker commit C.J. Hicks has been deserving of being a composite five-star prospect for more than a year, and he showed that during his dominant MVP performance at the Under Armour Elite Underclassmen Camp last July.
On Friday, Hicks finally got his due as he's been moved up into the No. 18 overall spot and No. 2 OLB ranking, complete with becoming a composite five-star prospect.
Blessed to receive my 5th but never satisfied got more work to do #AGTG #GoBuckeyes pic.twitter.com/aHdCMONMUc
— CJ Hicks (@imcjhicks) April 9, 2021
With Dasan McCullough's move up to the No. 49 overall spot, the Buckeyes now have six top-50 commits in the 2022 class (all ranked in the top six at their respective position), including four five-star prospects.
McCullough, others headed to Columbus
For the first time since he committed to the Buckeyes, four-star athlete McCullough is headed to Columbus.
Columbus Saturday
— Dasan ccullough (@Dasan2022) April 7, 2021
McCullough will be back in June to help C.J. Hicks and Quinn Ewers lead the brigade of 2022 commits who have organized the Buckeye Bash 2.0.
But first thing's first, and that's McCullough cheering on his future teammates who are already committed to the Buckeyes (and maybe some others who may soon join them) as he will be in attendance for the Elite Underclassmen Camp on Sunday at Fortress Obetz in Ohio.
McCullough recently had minor surgery to fix a turf toe injury he suffered during his junior season, and he will not be competing in this weekend's camp.
Sunday's showcase is loaded with talent, including five Ohio State commits and a pair of uncommitted five-stars. We'll have more to preview that Under Armour camp on Saturday at Eleven Warriors.
Buckeyes reaching out to 2023 QB
To this point, the only quarterback Ohio State has offered in the 2023 class is five-star Malachi Nelson out of California.
As we've discussed ad nauseam, Ryan Day, Corey Dennis and the Buckeyes hate offering quarterbacks without getting the chance to evaluate them in person.
So that's going to make it next to impossible for many others to join Nelson on the list until this summer if and when on-campus evaluations and camps open up.
One player to stash away for future reference, though, is Springfield Central (Massachusetts) dual-threat quarterback William Watson.
At 6-foot, 170 pounds, Watson definitely does not fit the prototype that Day or Ohio State likes in its quarterbacks. But perhaps he will either grow or be targeted in a similar vein that Cameron Martinez was before he committed to the Buckeyes.
The Buckeyes are showing interest, Watson said in a recent interview with Recruiting News Guru's Ryan Wright. Arizona, Boston College, Massachusetts, Michigan, Oregon, Pittsburgh and Tennessee are the seven programs who have offered thus far.
Header photo: Sherrod Covil Jr. – Andrew Ivins/247Sports
