The Hurry Up: Further Breaking Down the 2016 RBs, Honors for Buckeye Assistants, Layne's Debate and More.

By Jeremy Birmingham on February 11, 2015 at 6:30 pm
Zach Smith is one of three Buckeye coaches to earn recruiting honors.
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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.


CLARIFYING A CROWDED POTENTIAL BACKFIELD IN 2016

Yesterday afternoon, we examined what could be a pretty spectacular group of 2016 signees that all currently play running back for their respective high schools. As it stands, the Buckeyes have verbal commitments from New Jersey's Kareem Walker and Hubbard, Ohio's George Hill, ranked first and fourth in the country at running back respectively. They're also the team to beat for North Ridgeville, Ohio's Demario McCall, who is ranked third in the country at the same position. Naturally, questions will arise as to A) if Ohio State would take all three B) if each player would come to Ohio State with the other two already committed and C) if A and B are answered in the affirmative, how does Urban Meyer make sure that they're each utilized effectively? 

To answer the first, yes, of course the Buckeyes would take all three players. Ohio State would never turn away two players as talented as Hill and McCall inside of their own borders and Walker is a rare, rare talent. When you're competing for national championships and Big Ten titles, you simply never have enough great athletes. Get more, win more. 

The second question, also, is a yes. Hill was the first to commit for 2016 and Walker committed nearly six months later, so the two aren't bothered by one another. McCall has gone on record stating he's not concerned or bothered by the fact that the other two are already in the class, either. 

Perhaps the reason the first two questions can be answered "yes" is because of how the third question is answered. I know we've discussed it previously, but as part of the ongoing conversation about the running back situation, it's best to reiterate it. I spoke with a source at Ohio State yesterday who confirmed what I've speculated in the past.

"You've nailed it before," the source said. "Walker is the pure running back. Hill is more of an H-back, kind of like Jalin Marshall gets used. He and McCall will be lining up all over the place, trying to keep mismatches and use their speed. Walker is Zeke, Hill is [Marshall] and McCall is more like Dontre Wilson. The nice thing is that Hill and McCall are so versatile that they could play anywhere."

The Buckeyes are still working to land a commitment from McCall, and will likely have to fend off a number of the country's top programs to do it, but right now, they're still in the driver's seat.

CHANGING LAYNES

If you recall, I had made mention a few weeks back that the next 2016 in-state commitment was likely coming soon, but it has — up to this point — not yet happened. The player I was referencing was Cleveland Benedictine's Justin Layne, a 6-foot-3, 180-pounder who is ranked as Ohio's top wide receiver for 2016. The reason for that initial post was that people close to the Buckeyes felt the impression made on Layne during his junior day visit to Columbus was likely enough to get him to make him a commitment and hopefully end his recruitment.

Layne himself told 11W that he has been going back-and-forth about the possibility.

"I got back-and-forth a lot," Layne said. "When it feels right, (I'll make a decision.)"

One of the reasons for the delay could be basketball. Layne and his Bengals' teammates are in the middle of their season and he'd like to make a few visits to other schools before committing anywhere.

"I'm considering anyone right now, for real," he continued. "Michigan State, Penn State, and Notre Dame are up there. I definitely want to get to some spring games if I can."

With the Buckeyes hot on the trail for Austin Mack, Donnie Corley, Tre Nixon, Binjimen Victor, Nate Craig-Myers, and a host of others in 2016, Layne could find himself on the outside looking in at the Buckeye class by waiting too long. At this point, expect a spring decision from Ohio's 8th-ranked player.

ALFORD, COOMBS, SMITH EARN RIVALS.COM HONORS

The old adage about the "rich getting richer" is certainly apropos when it comes to college football and college football recruiting. Today, Rivals.com released their annual list of the college game's best recruiters and it's no surprise that three current Ohio State assistant coaches are on the list.

New running back coach Tony Alford, who helped Notre Dame land four-star quarterback Brandon Wimbush, four-star tailback Dexter Williams and four-star linebacker Tevon Coney among others, finds himself on the list. Alford served as the recruiting coordinator for the Irish and was generally regarded as their top overall recruiter. 

Ohio State's Zach Smith and Kerry Coombs also made the list, each contributing heavily to the Buckeyes' 2015 recruiting class, which finished as the Big Ten's best. Smith was vital in the procurement of Matthew Burrell, Torrance Gibson, KJ Hill and Alex Stump, and capitalizing on his youth and relatability, he's become one of the country's strongest recruiters.

Coombs, as tireless in recruiting as he is on the football field, who was once described to 11W as "the best recruiter I've ever seen" by a Michigan high school football coach, also sits high on the list. The Ohio State cornerbacks' coach was instrumental in signing Mike Weber, Damon Arnette, Josh Norwood, Denzel Ward and Joshua Alabi. His Cincinnati background also helped Luke Fickell and Chris Ash land Justin Hilliard and he's gotten off to a great start in 2016 helping Ohio State land the early commitment of top in-state tight end Jake Hausmann.

SCOUT.COM'S NEW NUMBER ONE IS A CERTIFIABLE FREAK

Here at Eleven Warriors, we don't like to get caught up in the network rankings of college prospects for a number of reasons. Primary among them is this simple but often overlooked reason: they don't matter. If Ohio State, or a football program of their ilk, offers a young man, then "stars" and positional rankings be damned. However, when one sees prospects like New Jersey's Rashan GaryScout.com's new top-ranked player and the No. 2 ranked player nationally according to 247Sports.com and their composite rankings, it's impossible to not be impressed and start throwing around comparisons and superlatives. He's without question the country's best defensive tackle in 2016 and a huge priority for any program recruiting him, including Ohio State.

What makes Gary such a "can't miss" prospect? Here's his highlights.

At 6-foot-4 and 287-pounds, Gary's a physical marvel for a teenager. 

From the Scout.com article.

As a rising junior at Nike's The Opening last July, Gary measured 6'4 and 287 pounds with a 4.74 forty yard dash, 4.38 short shuttle, and 32 inch vertical jump. Without context, those numbers might not mean a lot, so let's give it some context for a kid who still had two years of high school football left to play at the time.

Rashan Gary, DE, Paramus Catholic High School, Class of 2016
6'4/287, 4.74 forty, 4.38 shuttle, 32 vertical

Aaron Donald, DT, Pittsburgh, 1st Round St. Louis
6'1/285, 4.68 forty, 4.39 shuttle, 32 vertical

Ra'shede Hageman, DT, Minnesota, 2nd Round Atlanta
6'6/310, 5.02 forty, 4.50 shuttle, 35.5 vertical

Kony Ealy. DE, Missouri, 2nd Round Carolina
6'4/273, 4.92 forty, 4.45 shuttle, 31 vertical

Louis Nix, DT, Notre Dame, 3rd Round Houston
6'2/331, 5.42 forty, 4.94 shuttle, 25.5 vertical

Before entering his junior season of high school football, Gary had better numbers than Kony Ealy who was a first team All-SEC selection in 2013 and selected in the second round of the 2014 NFL Draft. It's not that Gary's athleticism is off the charts, we just have to go to the NFL combine to find players with similar size and athleticism.

Ohio State is hoping that the commitment from Kareem Walker, as well as their continued chase of quarterback Jarrett Guarantano, both of whom are close friends with Gary, can help them make up ground with the defensive tackle from rival Paramus Catholic High School. If you recall, Paramus is the alma mater of Michigan freshmen Jabrill Peppers and Juwann Bushell-Beatty. The Wolverines recently hired Chris Partridge, who had coached the Paladins for the last five years and won two state titles and currently trail Alabama in the "crystal ball" predictions on 247Sports.com.

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