The Hurry Up: Quarterback Carousel Continues to Spin, Big Weekend Visitors List and More

By Jeremy Birmingham on March 26, 2015 at 7:55 pm
Guarantano could be next QB domino
Jarrett Guarantano
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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.


COSTELLO PICKS STANFORD, QUARTERBACK CAROUSEL IN FULL EFFECT

There's little doubt that the one thing that separates the good from the great on the football field is decision making, and usually from the quarterback. In recruiting, that same principle applies: quarterbacks making a decision usually leads to something good for your recruiting class. Today, Stanford added a commitment from California's KJ Costello, who picked the Cardinal over USC and Michigan. Costello's decision means that 66-percent of the country's top nine quarterbacks are already off the market.

Ohio State is one school that does not yet have a quarterback committed, but if the Buckeyes are going to reel in one of those top nine, it's likely that could be decided very soon. Yes, Tristen Wallace is visiting this weekend but because of Jarrett Guarantano's as-of-yet-undecided self, Tim Beck and Urban Meyer may not be able to go at Wallace quite as hard as they'd like to. Guarantano is leaning towards Tennessee right now according to all accounts, but he made sure everyone knew the Buckeyes – long his favorite – would get one last chance to change his mind.

Guarantano is Ohio State's primary option, and has been for a while. We've discussed that over and over. That said, Wallace is a very good prospect and they certainly don't want to risk passing him up, but with a likely decision date for Guarantano still at least two weeks away, the Buckeyes will have to decide for themselves this weekend if they're going to take the chance of waiting for him. 

Guarantano says he'll visit Ohio State before a choice, which, according to the 247Sports.com analysts who cover Rutgers will be April 15th. Using a little logic, if the New Jersey native is going to visit Ohio State it would have to be this weekend (which seems unlikely) or the weekend of April 10th-12th, since next weekend (April 3rd-5th) is Easter weekend. Does that mean Ohio State will get the final visit? Of course not, Rutgers is a stone's throw away so don't be surprised if they – like Minnesota did with Carter Coughlin – secures an extra visit or two.

Worst case scenario is that Ohio State should know almost 100-percent if they need to move on completely from Guarantano prior to their spring game on April 18th. If it's not Guarantano or Wallace, then the chase for a quarterback could extend into the summer.

WOHLABAUGH TAKES IN BIG THREE, OFFER COMING?

Walsh Jesuit offensive lineman Jack Wohlabaugh has taken a pretty important tour this week and it will continue this weekend.

"I've had a pretty busy seven days," Wohlabaugh told 11W. "I was at Michigan on the 21st, Michigan State on the 24th and I'll be at Ohio State on the 28th."

Michigan offered the Stow, Ohio guard during his visit, and although Michigan State has not yet offered, it'd not be a complete surprise to see it coming. As for the Buckeyes, their offensive line group is likely to be small, but a source close to Ohio State says that an offer for the country's 29th-ranked guard this weekend would not be a huge surprise. In the meantime, the son of NFL veteran Dave Wohlabaugh says he's just making sure to see all he can.

"It was really good to meet and have personal time with the coaches," Wohlabaugh said of Michigan and Michigan State. "It was especially helpful seeing my position coaches in their natural habitats and how they'd coach me if I was there."

COMMIT WATCH?

The Buckeyes have a pretty impressive list of visitors expected on campus this weekend, from in-state and out. Here's a rundown of the names that they're expecting.

QB Tristen Wallace - 2016
RB Demario McCall - 2016
WR Brad Hawkins - 2016
WR Ahmir Mitchell - 2016 
WR Kierre Hawkins - 2016 - Buckeye commitment
WR Joshua Hammond - 2016
TE Luke Farrell - 2016
TE Jake Hausmann - 2016 - Buckeye commitment
OL Jack Wohlabaugh - 2016
OL Gavin Cupp - 2016
DE Terrell Hall - 2016 - Buckeye commitment
DE Ronald Johnson - 2016
DT Rashan Gary - 2016
DB Tony Butler - 2016 - Pitt commitment
DB Nygel Edmonds - 2016
WR KD Nixon - 2017
DB Lamont Wade - 2017
DB Jaylen Kelly-Powell - 2017

Darien, Illinois 2016 defensive Joshua King is expected on Monday, so he's not on the list but that in no way diminishes the impressive nature of the group. As mentioned, an offer for Wohlabaugh could certainly make things interesting for him, but don't discount the fact that the Buckeyes could also eventually offer Butler, the Lakewood St. Edward'd product who committed to Pat Narduzzi and Pitt last week. 

Ohio State's positioning with a number of these recruits, including in-state standouts like Farrell and McCall, is well documented, but if there's one player who could be on commitment watch it may be McCall. He's really not fond of the recruiting spotlight and Ohio State's lead is substantial. 

The biggest area to make an impact is without question the quartet of New Jersey athletes, especially Ahmir Mitchell, who has the Buckeyes trailing only Rutgers on his list despite never stepping foot on campus. If the Buckeyes were to offer 2017 DeSoto, Texas wide receiver KD Nixon he's another player who may not wait long to jump on the chance.

BUCKEYES OFFER POTTER

About a week and a half ago, we talked with Mentor, Ohio center Micah Potter, a 6-foot-10 prospect ranked as the country's 24th-ranked center in the 2016 basketball recruiting class. At that time, Potter hinted that he'd been hearing a lot more from Ohio State and felt an offer was potentially coming his way. Today, his prediction became prophecy.

"They came up and visited for three hours today," Potter said of how the offer came to fruition. "It's definitely a relief to get this one."

The offer to Potter means that Ohio State has now offered three of the state's top 2016 prospects. In a class that could be limited – perhaps as small as two signees – it will be very interesting to see how Thad Matta figures out the potentially developing decision between Derek Funderburk, Nick Ward and Potter. 

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