Welcome to The Hurry Up, which runs Sunday through Thursday, serving as your last stop for recruiting news and notes nightly. We'll recap the day as it happened and preview the days ahead while keeping our ear to the ground on the Ohio State recruiting scene.
DANNY CLARK PREPARING FOR PIVOTAL JUNIOR SEASON
After a disappointing sophomore season that ended in a coaching change, Danny Clark is gearing up for an important junior year. The 2017 Buckeye commitment is the 48th-ranked player in his class but questions about his future have loomed over his off-season. Jeff Clark, Danny's father, says the focus is on improving, period.
"The off-season has been great," Jeff Clark told Eleven Warriors. "Danny has been killing himself in the gym. He's up to 223 pounds."
Clark's off-season has not just been spent in the gym, even if the folks at Unrivaled Athlete Consulting have taken up most of his time. He's continued to be the unabashed and de facto leader of the 2017 recruiting class and the relationships he's made with players like Josh Myers, Todd Sibley, Bruce Judson and others have already yielded positive results. Myers and Judson joined Clark as Buckeye commitments shortly after the national championship. Clark's love of the Buckeyes is something he wears on his sleeve, literally.
UNTIL THE DEATH OF ME! Been committed since 12-13-13! Buckeye till I die!! #Bout that life pic.twitter.com/5s3KHcXWKU
— THE PROTOTYPE (@DClarkQB) February 7, 2015
In his quest to make himself the best quarterback he can be, Clark will once again participate in pretty much any camp or competition he can find this spring and summer. You can except him at multiple Ohio State camps, the Elite 11 quarterback competitions and anywhere else he can line up and spin it. He continues to hear from schools – LSU and Georgia foremost among them – about a potential visit.
SIBLEY, JR. STAYS THE COURSE
As I mentioned above, Archbishop Hoban (Akron, Ohio) running back Todd Sibley, Jr. continues to be a top target for Ohio State's 2017 class, especially the aforementioned Danny Clark. Offered by Ohio State in mid-January, Sibley is taking his time and trying to let the recruiting process play out a bit before making a decision.
"Things have been quiet, kind of," Sibley told 11W. "I'm trying to schedule a visit to Ohio State sometime soon, I'm waiting for them to email me back some dates."
Sibley says he is hearing regularly from Clark about committing.
"I keep up with Danny a lot," Sibley said. "He wants me to commit, he wants me to be a part of what's going to be an All-Star class. I'm not rushing anything though."
Unranked in the 2017 rankings, expect Sibley's offer totals to go up the longer he's uncommitted. He's unproven but will see his star rise as he increase his exposure through different camps this summer.
WILLIAMSON WILL VISIT OHIO STATE SOON
Staying with Ohio's underclassmen, Westerville South 2017 four-star Marcus Williamson said he's planning a visit to Ohio State in the next few weeks.
"I'm having a sit down with (Ohio State defensive backs coach Kerry) Coombs and my mom within the next couple weeks," Williamson told 11W. "Besides that, there's not much new happening."
Williamson says the focus right now is getting himself ready for track and his junior season at South; not necessarily recruiting.
Ohio State, who Williamson says leads for his eventual commitment, is still fighting off a number of the region's top schools for the 5-foot-10, 180 pounder, including Michigan State, Kentucky and Tennessee. As Ohio's third-ranked player in his class, Williamson is a top priority for the Buckeyes in 2017 and they'd love to have him in the class soon.
BRUCE JUDSON PLANS SPRING GAME VISIT
We're a little less than two months from Ohio State's spring football game (Aggghhh!!! SPRING!!!) and with that we'll start hearing more and more about prospects who are planning to attend as the national champions finish up spring football. One key player who will be on hand, at least according to his Twitter, is 2017 commitment Bruce Judson.
Will be in Columbus,Ohio for the Spring gameApril17-19 can't wait to see all you Fans.#Buckeyenation #Nationchamps #SorryForTheWeightSU
— Bruce Judson JR. (@4way_lilbruce) February 24, 2015
Judson, as you know, is a former teammate of current Buckeye freshman Jamel Dean. He's also the current teammate of 2016 defensive back Chauncey Gardner, who – thanks to the recent hiring of new assistant coach Tony Alford – is becoming increasingly interested in Ohio State. Gardner has been committed twice (to Florida and Miami) during his recruitment already and is likely to make no further moves until close to signing day, but having two Cocoa teammates thinking Scarlet and Gray can't hurt the Buckeyes' chances.
