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.
Visitor list with lifting of dead period
Oh, hey there, recruiting dead period. You can get the hell out.
In case you somehow missed it, this afternoon finally and mercifully brought forth the news we have been steadily and optimistically hearing for weeks now – the dead period is finally set to end.
Nothing is officially official until the end of the NCAA Division I Council's meeting on Thursday, but aside from some dotting of the t's and crossing of the i's (or something like that), we are just about 24 hours away from the last 15 months of deadness coming to a close in the recruiting world.
What exactly that means we will find out soon. There are plenty of lingering questions that still need to be answered – such as whether or not college coaching staffs will be able to hold on-campus evaluations, drills, camps, etc., the maximum number of players allowed on visits, whether a quiet period will be implemented or if a live period will be put into effect, what social distancing measures and other guidelines will be in place for these in-person visits with coaches and plenty more.
But at least we can be assured that there will be in-person evaluations and coaches will be able to meet face-to-face with recruits. We know all of this after The Athletic's Nicole Auerbach reported that the dead period's end is nearly a done deal:
The approval of the recruiting calendar means that, on June 1, sports that would be in a live period or quiet period will return to whatever format they would normally be in at that time in a non-pandemic year.
The normal football recruiting calendar includes a dead period from June 28-July 24, so the Council is also expected to adopt some corresponding measures for football for just this summer and fall, including allowing on-campus evaluations in June and July and increasing the number of evaluation days in the fall from 42 days to 56 days, a source said. It’s also expected that there will be a waiver for phone call rules, too.
So, after all those weeks of commits and targets tweeting out official visits graphics to Ohio State and other programs, those visit dates will soon be allowed. And there's a long list of future Buckeyes and potential future Buckeyes who will be converging on Columbus in what is certain to be a madhouse of a summer.
The following is certainly not an exhaustive list, and it's one that will keep growing as we inch closer to June and July:
2022 class
Commits
All 11 of Ohio State's commits are set to visit on June 4-6 for the Buckeye Bash 2.0:
- Quinn Ewers
- Jaheim Singletary
- C.J. Hicks
- Caleb Burton
- Gabe Powers
- Dasan McCullough
- Jyaire Brown
- Kyion Grayes
- Tegra Tshabola
- Benji Gosnell
- Bennett Christian
Targets taking official visits
- RB Nicholas Singleton – June 25
- RB Omarion Hampton – June 25
- RB Dallan Hayden – June 18
- WR C.J. Williams – June 11
- WR Kojo Antwi – June 18
- OT Tyler Booker – June 21
- OT Joe Brunner – June 11
- OT Addison Nichols – June 25
- OT Aamil Wagner – June 4
- DE Enai White – June 25
- DE Marvin Jones Jr. – Sept. 11
- DE Omari Abor – June 4
- DT Nick James – June 4
- CB Toriano Pride – June 4
- CB Austin Jordan – June 18
- CB Ryan Turner – June 11
- CB Jayden Bellamy – June 25
- S Zion Branch – June 4
- S Xavier Nwankpa – June 4
- S Jake Pope – June 18
Also of major note is the recruitment of priority offensive tackle Kiyaunta Goodwin. The No. 54 overall player and No. 7 OT in the 2022 cycle is set to announce his commitment at 6 p.m. ET on Saturday. Goodwin has been adamant that he needs to make official visits and meet with coaching staffs in person before he makes a commitment anywhere, and the only staff he has met in person and is truly comfortable with is Kentucky. That is the presumed destination when he announces on Saturday.
If the NCAA officially announces that official visits are opened up before that Saturday announcement, could Goodwin delay an announcement and instead opt to take those visits before making a commitment? We think it's certainly possible.
2023 class
Ohio State does not yet have a commitment in the 2023 class, but that could certainly change this summer with visits opening up. Some notable players have set up unofficial visits in that cycle as well, and we will gather that list in the future.
Buckeyes offer another 2022 DT
Another player who is already looking to set up an official visit at some point this summer is a defensive tackle who was offered less than 24 hours ago and who is already peaking as a top target for the Buckeyes.
That would be four-star William Amos Hough (North Carolina) 2022 DT Curtis Neal, the No. 322 overall player and No. 23 DT in America, who is a former teammate of current Ohio State running back Evan Pryor.
Blessed to receive a offer from THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY#Osu #Buckeyes @SC_DBGROUP @JibrilleFewell @coachswill58 @HoughAthletics @HoughFB @ElitePositionTr @DLInstructor91 pic.twitter.com/OOAzbjcOHz
— Curtis Neal (@CurtisNeal97) April 14, 2021
When Neal was offered by Larry Johnson on Tuesday night, it brought forth some strong emotions both from Neal and Pryor.
"I was excited. I cried tears of joy," Neal told Eleven Warriors. "I like everything about OSU. I think it would be a great fit for me! ... (Evan and I) have been talking about me getting an offer from OSU since he’s been there. We’re definitely fired up. We've been talking all day."
It wasn't just Pryor who had Larry Johnson's ear about Neal. He also had a former Pro Bowl tight end hyping him up.
"Evan and Greg Olsen put in a good word for me, and Coach Johnson loved my film," Neal said. "(Olsen) was at my game. Told me I was the best high school player he’s ever watched. It really touched me last week."
With Ohio State looking to take a minimum of two defensive tackles but likely three at the position, Johnson and crew have been busy on the recruiting trail the last couple weeks, offering three-star prospects Domonique Orange and Chris McClellan before the Neal offer. Johnson has already built up a good relationship with all three of those players, and they're taking notice.
"He’s the best DL coach in America," Neal said. "His résumé speaks for its self. We just started talking (Tuesday).
Neal is being recruited as a 3-tech in the Buckeyes' four-man front and believes he would be a good fit with how they move their defensive linemen around on the line. He has an official visit at Wisconsin already locked in so he will not be able to visit during the BB2.0 unless he moves his trip to Madison around, but he says he is looking to set up an official visit to Columbus this summer.
Michigan recruiting director resigns
Matt Dudek, Michigan's Director of Recruiting, has resigned from his post with the Wolverines and is headed to take the same position at Mississippi State, 247Sports' Sam Webb reports:
This news comes on the heels of a developing story first reported on TMI last Friday that has former UCLA, San Jose State, and Fresno State Director of Player Development Courtney Morgan soon joining Michigan’s staff in the same capacity.
Sources further indicated that Morgan, a former Wolverine lineman (1999-2003), had himself been on the verge of heading to Mississippi State to run its recruiting department when his alma mater came calling. His decision to head home left an opening in Starkville that is now expected to be filled by Dudek.
Header photo: Dasan McCullough
