The Hurry Up: Hausmann, Myers' Impact, Updates on Key 2015 and 2016 Visitors

By Jeremy Birmingham on January 25, 2015 at 7:30 pm
Could KJ Hill be a Buckeye?
North Little Rock, Arkansas wide receiver KJ Hill
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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.


HAUSMANN COMMITMENT: THE IMPACT

In case you missed it, the country's third-ranked 2016 tight end, Jake Hausmann, has committed to Ohio State. Hausmann's commitment itself was certainly not a surprise (100-percent of predictors had him to the Buckeyes) but the timing was; Hausmann had initially planned on waiting until post-signing day to make his announcement. Today's announcement on Twitter was bound to happen, according to those close to him. He'd made up his mind a while ago and this weekend's celebration and events served as an appropriate backdrop to make it official. 

What are the Buckeyes getting from Hausmann? A prototypical, talented and big, tight end in the mold of Jake Ballard, shorter but more athletic. Or, according to Rivals.com analyst Marc Givler "if Jake Stoneburner could block, you'd have Hausmann. He's really like the best parts of three guys they've had." 

What are the 6-foot-5, 240 pound Hausmann's strengths, according to his coach John Rodenberg? 

"He's got nice hands and has really improved his run blocking," Rodenberg told Eleven Warriors. "He can play attached or detached (from the line of scrimmage)."

There are areas that Hausmann can improve, as well.  Like any good coach, Rodenberg isn't afraid to point those areas out.

"I'd like him to assume the leadership role," his coach added. "I'd also like to see him increase his strength and keep working to be the best tight end in the country, which I think he's capable of being."

After Hausmann's commitment, the first question most people asked (because no one is happy with things just being celebrated for five minutes) was how his pledge will affect the recruitment of Perry's Luke Farrell (that's a fun name for a celebrity hodgepodge party, truly)? I asked Farrell, and he said there's not much of an impact on him.

"Not really," Farrell told 11W when asked if Hausmann would change his plans. "Ohio State doesn't have a tight end in the 2015 class."

I'd say it's still likely the Buckeyes end up with both Hausmann and Farrell, but it's likely that Farrell, the seventh-ranked tight end in the country, will wait to make a decision until at least spring.

MYERS PULLS THE TRIGGER

Jake Hausmann was not the only big-time Ohio prospect to commit to the Buckeyes today: 2017 five-star offensive lineman Josh Myers also said yes to Ohio State. Myers, a monstrous 6-foot-6, 290-pound offensive tackle from Miamisburg, had been leaning towards the Buckeyes for the last year despite a familiar tie to Kentucky, where his brother Zach is a sophomore for the Wildcats. 

Despite having two years left of high school football, Myers was a priority target for the Buckeyes and has been for much of the last year. Why? A rare combination of size, power and technical prowess for a player of his age. According to Mike Farrell, the director of recruiting for Rivals.com, Myers could be the best offensive lineman in the country.

Myers is the fourth commitment in what is going to be a dynamite 2017 recruiting class for Ohio State. 

NOTES ON 2015 OFFICIAL VISITORS
  • Terry Beckner, Jr. visited from Friday through this morning and according to the people who spent time with Beckner, things went very well between the 13th-ranked player in the country and the Buckeyes. Beckner spent much of his time with Ohio State commit Justin Hilliard and early enrollee Jashon Cornell. As good a time as the visit was, our only real chance to gather information is from those who spent time with Beckner, because the defensive tackle doesn't say much.
  • KJ Hill visited Alabama last week and then promptly decommitted from Arkansas which led many people to assume that the Crimson Tide would move into the driver's seat but according to those at Ohio State this weekend that is not the case. The Buckeyes, with one wide receiver in 2015, may very well have done enough to land the 6-foot-tall, 180-pound Hill, but a public decision isn't expected until signing day. Hosted by Florida native Johnnie Dixon, Hill and his family were treated to a lot of face time with Urban Meyer throughout the weekend. There remains a possibility that Hill will visit Arkansas this coming weekend, and if that happens things could get dicey. 
  • Da'Von Hamilton isn't saying much about how his trip to Columbus went, but sources around Ohio State have indicated that he was offered by the Buckeyes this weekend. The 6-foot-3, 285-pound Hamilton is currently committed to Kentucky and an offer being extended his direction could indicate that the Buckeyes feel they're not likely to land Beckner. No immediate decision from Hamilton is expected — people are suggesting it won't happen until signing day — but much like Rob Landers, a decision about a flip is likely to come sooner rather than later and when that happens, it will leak quickly. Don't be surprised if Hamilton has already informed Kentucky of his choice and a public switch happens in the next day or two. When these flips happen, coaching staffs of spurned schools aren't always concerned about letting a kid have his "moment" anymore. To add further kindling to the likely flip fire? Kentucky added another Ohio defensive tackle tonight, Javon Provitt, as they prepare to lose out on Hamilton.
  • Venzell Boulware left Ohio State this morning, still committed to Tennessee. He tweeted about his trip, suggesting that it went well, but I don't think we'll see much more regarding Boulware and Ohio State. Expect the four-star lineman to end up somewhere other than Columbus. He'll make a final visit to Tennessee next weekend, giving the Vols the final shot to seal the deal.
  • Kareem Orr did not make the trip to Ohio State this weekend, and is still slated to do so next weekend.

There's a possibility that some other big news about the 2015 recruiting class could come out of Columbus this weekend, but until I can verify the happenings and make sure all is well with disseminating the information, it will stay on the back-burner.

NOTES ON KEY 2016 TARGETS
  • Austin Mack and Auston Robertson made their latest trip to Columbus on Saturday morning and things went very well for each. There were rumblings on Friday night that Mack could potentially commit this weekend, but he reiterated what he's said for months: the Fort Wayne, Indiana pair will make their decision on June 7th at a camp in Fort Wayne. If I were a betting man, I'd be putting dollars on these two being Buckeyes by June 8th.
  • Donnie Corley, Justin Layne and Austin Mack are the three best wide receivers in the midwest and all three were on campus today with Ohio State and right now I feel safe saying the Buckeyes are in the driver's seat for each. Corley spent three hours today with Zach Smith and Urban Meyer and if his father would have been able to make the visit to Columbus with him today I think Buckeye fans would be celebrating another "#boom" on this snowy Ohio Sunday. Like Corley, Layne is raw but talented and the Cleveland Benedictine wide receiver had another good visit to see the Buckeyes. He was accompanied by 2015 commitment Jerome Baker, and the Buckeyes remain in great shape with Ohio's top junior wide receiver.
  • Liam Eichenberg is Ohio's second-ranked offensive lineman for 2016 and has been "trending" recently in the direction of the Buckeyes. He was back on campus this weekend and was able to spend some solo time with Urban Meyer this afternoon. Sources close to Ohio State's side of things say they felt like Eichenberg was "close" but he's made no indications of any imminent decision. 
  • Terrell Hall is a 6-foot-5, 220-pound defensive end from Washington, D.C. who made his third visit to Ohio State in the last year. Despite being ranked as a three-star prospect, Hall has offers from a who's who of college football including Florida State, Penn State, Clemson, Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame and more. Sources at Ohio State today were very optimistic that Hall ends up in Columbus and I've made a crystal ball choice for the Buckeyes based on those discussions. Expect Penn State to remain involved here no matter what happens.
  • Demario McCall is another of Ohio's top juniors who got to spend a significant amount of time with Urban Meyer today, as the Buckeyes' head coach continues to make the speedy North Ridgeville running back a top priority in 2016. McCall is likely to end up in Columbus, but sources close to his recruitment tell me that a decision is unlikely to come until spring. He hopes to make visits to Michigan State and West Virginia for junior days before a choice is made.
  • Brendan Ferns was among the last juniors to get time in the big office today and while he did not commit to the Buckeyes today, that does remain a likely outcome, and likely soon. Today's visit was another opportunity for Ohio's top 2016 linebacker to spend time with Luke Fickell and Chris Ash, who have done an excellent job keeping Ohio State in the driver's seat with Ferns and his family.
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