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.
COACHES ACTIVE ON THE ROAD
As I hinted last night, today started a busy day of Ohio State coaches getting active on the recruiting trail. Today, Urban Meyer and Kerry Coombs visited Mike Weber, Josh Alabi, Daelin Hayes and the other big-time Cass Tech prospects in Detroit as planned. Coombs also visited Detroit Martin Luther King (more on that later).
Flag firmly planted n TSUN! Reception from HS players & coaches overwhelming! Even high 5s from airport personnel! #becominghomeawayfromhome
— Kerry Coombs (@OsuCoachCoombs) December 8, 2014
From Detroit, Meyer made a stop at North Ridgeville to check on 2016 dynamo DeMario McCall.
"Everyone gets really excited when (Meyer) is at the school," McCall said. "They love it."
Meyer also made an impromptu stop at Cleveland Glenville today to check in with Ted Ginn, Sr.
Zach Smith and Tom Herman were the fortunate coaches on the road, traveling south to sunny Florida and escaping the bitter cold of Ohio whilst checking in on Torrance Gibson. Named a finalist for Mr. Football in Florida, Gibson said his time with Ohio State today went well.
"It was great," Gibson said. "It's always great seeing their faces and I'm getting more and more comfortable every time I speak with them."
Ed Warinner, hit the turnpike and headed east for Philadelphia and New Jersey, among other areas. He'll stay in the area and visit Buckeye commitment Kevin Feder on Wednesday of this week.
Larry Johnson, Sr. was in Minneapolis visiting Jashon Cornell for the last time before he enrolls at Ohio State in a month.
Great in home visit with @Osurushmen1 #BuckeyeNation #RushMen pic.twitter.com/z2klZ7mth9
— Jashon Cornell (@JayRock_9) December 8, 2014
Expect a lot of updates on visits as the staff will see as much of the country as they can this week, leading up to a busy weekend.
JOSH NORWOOD HIGHLIGHTS SHOULD GET YOU PUMPED UP
Buckeyes 2015 defensive back commitment Josh Norwood senior film was released today and it's pretty impressive.
Norwood, as you can see, is criminally underrated by the three major scouting services as the nation's 1169th-ranked overall player. I know we're prone to hyperbole, but I see a young Antoine Winfield.
KEY WEEKEND OF VISITORS AHEAD
Two weeks after the Michigan game, the Buckeyes' recruiting team is looking ahead to a very busy weekend on-campus. At last count, there's nine currently committed Buckeyes taking their official visit to Columbus this weekend, a huge bonding opportunity for the "Elite '15." Which pledges are expected?
- Josh Alabi
- Rashod Berry
- Joe Burrow
- Jason Cornell
- Kevin Feder
- Justin Hilliard
- Liam McCullough
- Grant Schmidt
- Denzel Ward
There will be two major uncommitted players also making official visits, both of which the Buckeyes would love to add to their class. Mike Weber, mentioned above, will make his official visit to Columbus. He's also scheduled to visit Notre Dame on Friday, but there's some rumblings that may not happen. In fact — and I'm not making promises here — but there's a chance this weekend could be the last visits Weber takes.
Am I officially a predicting a commitment to the Buckeyes this week or by the end of the weekend? Yes, yes I am. If I am wrong does that mean he's not coming to Ohio State? Nope, not at all. Whether it's this week or the Army All-American Bowl, I think Weber to the Buckeyes is inevitable.
Beyond Weber, the visit of Connecticut defensive tackle Christian Wilkins looms large for the Buckeyes. The need at defensive tackle is glaring and Ohio State will hope that a family weekend and a heavy dose of Urban Meyer and Larry Johnson, Sr. will be a winning recipe. Penn State remains the biggest competition for Wilkins, but he himself says little, so where he actually stands is hard to ascertain.
NEW OFFER FOR 2016 WIDE RECEIVER
While Kerry Coombs was in Detroit today, he stopped by Martin Luther King, Jr. High School, as I mentioned already. At MLK, two players in the 2016 class have the Buckeyes' attention, cornerback Lavert Hill, who recently transferred from Cass Tech, and wide receiver Donnie Corley. Hill has held an offer from the Buckeyes for some time and today Ohio State extended a scholarship to Corley, the 6-foot-2, 180-pounder.
"I'm really excited about the offer," Corley told 11W.
Ohio State likely would have offered two months ago if Corley had been able to make a trip to Columbus during the season, but as he was unable to travel and the coaching staff was busy with game prep, the two sides didn't get much communicating done. Expect the Buckeyes to work hard to get into the game with the talented wideout, who is projected by many to end up in Ann Arbor or East Lansing.
