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.
NEWEST TOP 247SPORTS RANKINGS FOR 2018 LOADED WITH OHIO STARS
It's way too early to care about 2018 recruiting rankings but it's always so fun to talk about recruiting rankings so we'll do that anyway.
Thursday, 247Sports.com released its first full Top 247 for 2018, and to no one's surprise, a large group of the prospects therein have serious Ohio State interest.
The state of Ohio is well-represented, including three players in the Top 25 from the Buckeye state. Let's take a look.
- No. 19 • Jaelen Gill • Running Back • Westerville, Ohio • South
- No. 20 • Jackson Carman • Offensive Line • Fairfield, Ohio • Fairfield
- No. 22 • Leonard Taylor • Defensive Line • Springfield, Ohio • Springfield
- No. 42 • Dallas Gant • Athlete • Toledo, Ohio • St. John's
- No. 94 • L'Christian "Blue" Smith • Wide Receiver • Huber Heights, Ohio • Wayne
- No. 129 • Trenton Gillison • Tight End • Pickerington, Ohio • Central
- No. 156 • Xavier Henderson • Athlete • Pickerington, Ohio • Central
- No. 161 • Antwuan Johnson • Linebacker • Springfield, Ohio • Springfield
- No. 163 • Christopher Oats • Linebacker • Cincinnati, Ohio • Winton Woods
- No. 231 • Malik Vann • Linebacker • Fairfield, Ohio • Fairfield
It's a pretty good year in Ohio for 2018 but that doesn't mean Ohio State won't look around the country. Here are the primary targets inside the new list, including a few names at the top of the list that have recently visited.
- No. 4 • Xavier Thomas • Defensive End • Florence, South Carolina • Wilson
- No. 9 • Phil Jurkovec • Quarterback • Gibsonia, Pennsylvania • Pine-Richland
- No. 14 • Zack Kuntz • Tight End • Camp Hill, Pennsylvania • Camp Hill
- No. 15 • Taron Vincent • Defensive Tackle • Baltimore, Maryland • IMG Academy
- No. 21 • Matthew Jones • Defensive Tackle • Brooklyn, New York • Erasmus Hall
- No. 24 • P.J. Mustipher • Defensive Tackle • Owings Mills, Maryland • McDonogh School
- No. 36 • Ricky Slade • Running Back • Woodbridge, Virginia • CD Hylton
- No. 50 • Nik Bonitto • Defensive End • Fort Lauderdale, Florida • St. Thomas Aquinas
- No. 72 • Houston Griffith • Defensive Back • Chicago, Illinois • Mount Carmel
- No. 73 • Dorian Thompson-Robinson • Quarterback • Las Vegas, Nevada • Bishop Gorman
- No. 80 • Brendan Radley-Hiles • Defensive Back • Calabasas, California • Calabasas
- No. 91 • Palaie Gaoteote • Linebacker • Las Vegas, Nevada • Bishop Gorman
- No. 97 • Elijah Moore • Wide Receiver • Fort Lauderdale, Florida • St. Thomas Aquinas
…and that's just the Top 100.
Ohio State has made themselves an absolute force to be reckoned with the recruiting trail in the last handful of years and there's no doubt it's going to continue.
POTTER READY FOR OHIO STATE
It's been a relatively difficult week, at least on the surface, for the Ohio State basketball program. Still, there's talent on the roster and talent incoming, including Mentor, Ohio, native Micah Potter, now at Montverde Academy in Florida.
Thursday, Potter and Montverde knocked off Providence Day (Charlotte) 70-54 in a national quarterfinal matchup of the Dick's Sporting Goods High School Nationals. Friday, the semifinal game against La Lumiere (La Porte, Indiana) is just wrapping up on ESPN2, and though Potter and his Eagles' teammates are focused on trying to win a third Dick's championship, he took a little time to discuss what comes next for him. He wanted to start by reiterating what he said on social media as the transfer floodgates were opening.
Lol y'all got nothing to worry about
— Micah Potter (@BigJam_23) March 29, 2016
"I don't know enough to comment on the transfers," Potter said. "But (Derek Funderburk and I) will be ready to fill the void. That's all everyone needs to know. We'll be ready. Like I said in my tweet. Y'all have nothing to worry about."
Listed at 6-foot-10 and 245 pounds, Potter says he's been working hard to get himself into game shape to be as effective as possible when he arrives at Ohio State this summer.
"I'm 235 pounds now, and that's a good thing," the nation's 212th-ranked prospect said. "This is the lightest I've been since the eighth grade, and I'm six inches taller. (Ohio State) wants me to be ready to do both, outside, and inside game. They love how I can shoot so well, but I can score inside too because I still got a big body."
The move from Mentor to Montverde has been huge for Potter's personal development and his confidence. Though he's getting ready to start his college career, he considers this past year in Florida as a head start.
"I'm about to finish up my freshman year of college this year I feel like," Potter said of his growth. "I'm gonna go in (to Ohio State) and compete from the get go, but Montverde has gotten me 100 percent ready for college. It's pretty much college competition and intensity every day in practice. Then you add the game competition, I mean we beat the best team in Ohio by like 50 if that gives you some perspective. I'm competing to start."
DOBBINS AT OHIO STATE UNTIL SATURDAY
Ohio State 2017 commitment J.K. Dobbins is on campus with the Buckeyes for the first time. He and his mother arrived on Thursday and got their first taste of life as a member of the Scarlet and Gray.
THE ohio state university is where its at!
— Jk dobbins (@Jkdobbins22) March 31, 2016
Dobbins is the country's fourth-ranked 2017 running back.
I'll have a bit more of an update either Saturday or Sunday after Dobbins leaves Ohio State.
SIMMONS TALKS COMMITMENT WITH SCOUT.COM
We've tallked a number of times with and about Buckeye 2017 pledge Antjuan Simmons, the big-hitting linebacker from Ann Arbor Pioneer High School.
The 6-foot-1, 215-pounder from Michigan has talked at length about his relationships with Kerry Coombs and the Buckeyes and how that led to his commitment. This past weekend, he echoed those sentiments in an interview with Scout.com analyst Allen Trieu following a recruiting combine in Chicago.
MICHIGAN HOSTING KEY OHIO RECRUITS FOR SPRING GAME
A number of Ohio's top 2018 prospects are visiting Michigan Friday for the Wolverines' spring football game, including Springfield's Antwuan Johnson, who committed to Jim Harbaugh two weeks ago.
With Johnson will be his teammate, Leonard Taylor, who told 11W earlier this week he'd be at Ohio State for the Buckeyes' spring game on April 16.
Another trio of Ohio teammates, Pickerington's Trenton Gillison, Jeremiah Wood and Xavier Henderson are expected, as is Fairfield's Jackson Carman who told us that he'd be stopping in Ann Arbor after he finished up a trip to Michigan State.
Michigan's list for this weekend is a big and a commitment or two is expected, with St. Joseph's 2017 defensive lineman Corey Malone-Hatcher among them. The New Jersey pair of defensive tackle Fred Hansard and linebacker Drew Singleton are also worth paying attention to, though Hansard has a planned commitment date for weeks from now. Michigan may be able to make a push for him as a few of the other schools on his list seem to have pulled off the throttle. Singleton, who plays at Paramus Catholic, is at the top of their linebacker board and his connections to the Wolverines' linebacker coach, Chris Partridge, make him a real possibility this weekend as well.
MORE ON CHASE YOUNG VISIT
First of all, it's worth paying attention to this visit from Maryland's Chase Young. Young is a player that has kind of handled his recruitment quietly, as most of the East Coast's best seem to do, but he's been a high priority for Larry Johnson and Ohio State for a while, similar to how they worked on 2016 signee Keandre Jones – in silence.
The name Joshua Kaindoh gets thrown around a lot when it comes to the Buckeyes and their 2017 recruiting class, but Young is absolutely viewed at–or in some cases inside the WHAC–above Kaindoh on the "big board."
Maryland is obviously going to be involved here but if Young decides to leave Maryland this is a recruitment that could very well come down to Ohio State and Alabama. This weekend is a big one for the Buckeyes.
