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.
COACHING STAFF HOT ON RECRUITING TRAIL
It was hardly 12 hours of celebrating last night's historic 59-0 trouncing of Wisconsin before the Buckeyes' coaching staff was back on the the recruiting trail. Wide receiver's coach Zach Smith headed to Cleveland to visit state champion Alex Stump. Stan Drayton was in Lorain, checking in on commitment Rashod Berry.
Rashod Berry isn't small.
The biggest visits of the week however, are yet to come. Expect Urban Meyer and Drayton to meet with Detroit Cass Tech running back Mike Weber soon. Kerry Coombs, the ace Detroit recruiter, is scheduled to visit Weber this week, underscoring the obvious: he's the priority at running back. Meyer is also likely to visit Damien Harris this week, but that visit could just be cursory and a last-minute Hail Mary to try and stay in the mix. Coombs took the opportunity to do some recruiting inside of Indianapolis on Sunday morning as well.
Later in the week, expect the Buckeyes to check in on Juwuan Briscoe, Lawrence Cager, Carlton Davis and Terry Beckner, Jr. at least as they try to finish out their 2015 class.
A recruiting dead-period begins on December 15th, so the Buckeyes will work diligently to take advantage of a game-free week recruiting-wise.
TALKING JOE BURROW OF COURSE
It seems that for some reason, people can't stop speculating on the future of Athens quarterback Joe Burrow. After a record-setting performance last Thursday night in Columbus, the scuttlebutt from all corners of the internet was fast and furious. The idea, you see, is that Burrow's father, an assistant coach at Ohio University, would somehow be taking over the Bobcat's program as Frank Solich retires, gets fired or leaves Athens for some other reason. As his father would take the reins at Ohio, Burrow would stay home and play for him; that's the rumor.
Problem: Solich is still the head coach at Ohio and it doesn't appear that he's leaving anytime soon. On Thursday night, following the state title game, Burrow spoke of his college career candidly and spoke in terms of "when I get to Ohio State" rather than "when I get to college." On Friday, he and his Athens' teammates toured the WHAC. Basically, barring something significant happening to the Ohio State coaching staff, don't expect Burrow to end up anywhere other than Columbus next year. There is, I suppose, a possibility that if Tom Herman were to take a head coaching job somewhere in 2015 that taking Burrow with him could be a goal, but even then it's unlikely.
MAKE THEM SWEAT?
Last week, I told you that Ohio State would be sending a host of coaches to visit Chesapeake, Virginia defensive lineman Josh Sweat. That visit happened on Thursday night, and Urban Meyer, Larry Johnson, Sr. and wide receiver's coach Zach Smith all made the trip just hours before the Buckeyes took off for Indianapolis. The timing of the visit is important, as it speaks to how highly Ohio State — preparing for the Big Ten championship but desperate for 2015 defensive lineman — values the country's 6th-ranked player.
The visit, I hear, went very well. Now, I'm still not optimistic that Sweat ends up in Columbus, but there's reason to believe that they're still at least truly in the discussion and not just receiving lip service. The Buckeyes are hoping to sell Sweat and his family on the idea of competing for a starting position at a position of less-than-ideal depth for a national contender that's "closer" to home than some of his other options. A decision is supposed to come Wednesday, so it may be too little too late to dethrone Florida State or Virginia Tech for his services, but the cards are all on the table and well, you just never know.
MICHIGAN 2016 SAFETY TRU WILSON
There might be nothing more fun to watch in football than a hard-hitting, wild-eyed safety. 2016 Michigan prospect Tru Wilson fits the bill. The De La Salle (Warren) product helped lead his team a Michigan state championship this last weekend, excelling at safety and running back for the Pilots. At 5-foot-11 and 180-pounds, Wilson is still waiting on his first scholarship offer, despite above-average speed and bad intentions with every single hit he delivers. Purdue, Cincinnati, Toledo, Missouri and Iowa have all begun doing their homework and it's pretty easy to see why.
