The Hurry Up is your nightcap of Ohio State recruiting news, catching you up on the day’s events with an ear on the ground for what’s next.
TAYLOR TALKS BUCKEYES' OFFER
Ohio State made sure they didn't fall too far behind in the race for 2018 Springfield, Ohio, star Leonard Taylor, who had just made a big visit to Michigan last weekend. The Buckeyes offered the 6-foot-6, 260-pounder on Friday morning.
For Taylor, who admits he grew up a Buckeye fan, he says the experience was a bit surreal.
"Coach Meyer himself offered me," Taylor told 11W. "It's crazy. He was like 'I have good news for you' and I was like 'what good news?' He was like 'Leonard, you have just received an offer from The Ohio State University."
Now with almost 10 offers, Taylor's recruitment is bound to get even crazier. As mentioned, he visited Michigan last weekend and he'll be at Ohio State this approaching weekend.
"I can't wait to get up there this weekend," Taylor, whose uncle, Ormonde Ricketts, was a team captain under Woody Hayes, said. "I want to see how practice goes, how I feel in the community, where I would I fit in and what the coaches are like."
One of the coaches that Taylor has already gotten to know well is new offensive line coach Greg Studrawa, who is in charge of his recruitment. It was Studrawa who was working to get him his early offer from the team he grew up rooting for.
"Coach Stud and I have a real good relationship," Taylor said. "He was working to get me my offer."
Taylor is the third in-state prospect in the 2018 class to get an offer from Ohio State, joining athlete Jaelen Gill and offensive lineman Jack Carman.
HOOKER COULD FOLLOW HIS BROTHER TO COLUMBUS
While they've not yet really begun to evaluate his game, there's no doubt that New Castle, Pennsylvania's Marcus Hooker is familiar with the Buckeyes; his brother Malik is a redshirt sophomore safety for Urban Meyer.
"I have a passion for Ohio State," Marcus, a 5-foot-10, 175-pounder told Eleven Warriors. "I'm just waiting on the right offer."
As of today, the talented wide receiver has no offers, but his game tape shows an explosive athlete like his brother. He says that doctors expect him to reach upwards of 6-foot-2 and, unlike Malik, he says he'll hope to stay on offense.
Hooker visited Penn State in late February and has been to Ohio State a number of times with his brother already there. The advantage is inherent for the Buckeyes, though if they will look to take advantage of it is another thing all together. For now, the sophomore says he's going to focus on getting around the region and letting his game speak for itself.
"I've not talked to a lot of coaches yet," Hooker said. "I have a lot of camps to attend this year and I just need to see what different schools are like."
BROWNING SAYS DON'T FORGET ABOUT OHIO STATE
Ohio State recently received a commitment from linebacker Antjuan Simmons, a four-star hitting machine from Ann Arbor, Michigan but they aren't stopping their efforts with a pair of Texas linebackers, Anthony Hines and Baron Browning.
Browning, a five-star prospect from Kennedale, is a former Baylor commitment who re-opened his recruitment last month in an effort to keep an open-mind in a challenging and busy time for a player of his caliber.
This weekend, at the Rivals Camp Series outside of Dallas, Browning took time to chat with Josh Helmholdt of the Yahoo sports network about his recruiting and, near the videos conclusion, made it a point to mention Ohio State as a team to watch in the race for his signature.
LUIJI VILAIN DROPS LOADED LIST
With a less-than-pressing need for defensive ends in the 2017 class, Ohio State can afford to be a bit pickier than usual at the position and they're working hard to get a good long look at a number of options. One of them is Alexandria, Virginia's Luiji Vilain, who–if you recall–moved to Virginia with 2016 UNC signee Patrice Rene.
This weekend, Vilain, 6-foot-4 and 240-pounds, dropped his top schools on Twitter and the Buckeyes are in the mix.
After strong consideration, the schools with which I will be furthering my recruitment are the following pic.twitter.com/vqi63EMu5F
— Luiji Vilain (@luiji_v) March 19, 2016
Vilain, with 28 offers, visited Ohio State last summer for Friday Night Lights but has not been back to Columbus since. He's being recruited by Larry Johnson. While it's clear where Ohio State is on his list, what's not clear is where Vilain, the country's eighth-ranked defensive end, is on theirs. Five-star Joshua Kaindoh and Hyattsville, Maryland's Chase Young have been near the top of the Buckeyes' board for months.
