The Hurry Up is your nightly dose of updates from the Ohio State football recruiting trail, keeping tabs on the latest from commits and targets from around the country.
NFL LEGACY EARNS OHIO STATE OFFER
Patrick Surtain was once a highly sought-after cornerback in the National Football League. Nearly a decade later, his son — Patrick Surtain Jr. — has more than 30 scholarship offers from some of the top schools in the country.
Very Honored and Blessed To Receive An Offer from The Ohio State University.... pic.twitter.com/JJFIqhTYQt
— PS2 (@SurtainJr) August 5, 2016
Ohio State joined the race on Friday, offering the 6-foot-2, 181-pounder from American Heritage in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. It was the second scholarship the Buckeyes extended to a Stallion in as many days, as Surtain's teammate Tyson Campbell was offered on Thursday.
The Buckeyes are on the outside looking in at the moment, as the top cornerback prospect in the Class of 2018 announced a top five list of Clemson, Florida, Florida State, LSU and Miami earlier in the day.
2018 5 CB Patrick Surtain's (@SurtainJr) Top 5:
— Evan Petzold (@EvanPetzold) July 15, 2016
Clemson
Florida State
Florida
Miami
LSU
“I would say LSU is the leader, but it might change,” Surtain told Maize N Brew.
Surtain is considered by 247Sports Composite as the No. 13 overall player in the 2018.
TO THE TOP OF THE LIST
The Buckeyes offered several athletes from the Sunshine State last week, including Xavier Williams of Chaminade-Madonna in Hollywood, Florida.
The 6-foot, 180-pound Williams has shown significant interest in programs like Clemson, Florida, Florida State and Georgia, but he told Rivals that Ohio State has also caught his eye ($).
“Ohio State offered, so they're right up there now,” Williams said. “They are at the top. That's the only thing that changed.”
Williams expects to visit Ohio State next summer.
“They're telling me that I could be the guy there,” he continued. “They already have a lot of South Florida guys that are gonna come in and play this year, so I like that.”
LOOKING AROUND?
Wide receiver Trevon Grimes is considered all but certain to choose Ohio State when he announces his college decision on Aug. 24. However, the St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, Florida) product is set to visit Miami within the next week.
“Everyone thinks they know where I'm going,” Grimes told Rivals.com ($). “I tell them all the same thing: 'I could shock the world or I could go where everyone things I'm going to go.'"
Grimes, who is considered the third-best wide receiver prospect in the Class of 2017, also lists Alabama, Florida, Florida State and Georgia among his top six schools.
TARGETS DESCEND UPON MICHIGAN'S BBQ
Several Ohio State targets attended Michigan's inaugural BBQ at the Big House recruiting event on Friday, including five-star cornerback Darnay Holmes of Calabasas, California; five-star wide receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones and four-star safety Jaylen Kelly-Powell of Detroit, Michigan; and four-star athlete Markquese Bell of Bridgeton, New Jersey.
Holmes was at Ohio State's Friday Night Lights camp in July and plans to officially visit Columbus this fall before making his decision. UCLA is the favorite to land the No. 2 overall cornerback in the Class of 2017.
With looming announcements from five-star wide receivers Trevon Grimes and Tyjon Lindsey (Corona, California) expected to go in their favor, the Buckeyes are a long shot to land People-Jones. Both he and Kelly-Powell, teammates at Cass Tech, are trending toward Michigan.
Bell, meanwhile, included Ohio State in the Top 7 he released last week. He is schedule to visit Columbus when the Buckeyes play host to Michigan on Nov. 26.
VANDARIUS WHO?
Alabama commit VanDarius Cowan has been bashing Ohio State's 2017 recruiting class on Twitter for a while, so it makes a lot of sense that the four-star recruit told 247Sports ($) that he is planning to take an official visit to Columbus this fall.
He hasn't set a date for any of his visits, which also include trips to Alabama, Georgia, LSU and USC.
I'm taking all five of my visits
— VanDarius Cowan (@vandarius98) August 7, 2016
Cowan, you'll recall, cut off reporters at Nike's The Opening when asked to compare Alabama's class to Ohio State's.
“I'm not even worried about Ohio State, so don't even ask me any questions about Ohio State.” he said. “That's ranked off of all those stars and junk, but we're talking about Alabama having goons and savages in this class. I'm talking about boys who want to play and give it their all. I'm tell you, all of my boys that are committed are savages. We are straight dogs.”
The fourth-best outside linebacker in the Class of 2017, Cowan is set to announce his decision at the U.S. Army All-American Game in January.
