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.
BUILDING BLOCKS
When Ohio State landed five-star defensive tackle Taron Vincent on Sunday night, I mentioned how his relationship with defensive line coach Larry Johnson played such a large role — they've known each other for several years, as Johnson recruited Vincent's older brother when he was at Penn State.
The same could eventually be said about Owings Mills, Maryland, McDonogh School four-star defensive tackle P.J. Mustipher, too, who made his third trip to Columbus this past weekend.
“I had a great visit,” Mustipher told Eleven Warriors. “I wouldn't say [the trip] was any different from other schools, but going out to breakfast with coach Johnson and coach Randall [Joyner] this morning, sitting down with coach Meyer and coach Johnson yesterday and spending time with the guys all of last night showed me what Ohio State is all about.
“I have had a close relationship with him since I was in elementary school when he was at Penn State recruiting my brother, so this trip I wanted to just talk about everything, not just football,” he continued. “Being at breakfast and being in his office all of this morning was a lot of fun.”
ESPNJr300 DT PJ Mustipher visiting Ohio State today, took the same picture he took as a 12-year-old on an OSU trip pic.twitter.com/iiu70Z2bue
— Tom VanHaaren (@TomVH) April 2, 2017
The 6-foot-6, 285-pound Mustipher — who is considered the sixth-best defensive tackle and No. 65 prospect overall in the Class of 2018 — first visited Ohio State in 2012 with his older brother, Sam (pictured above). And even though Sam eventually signed with Notre Dame, the experience was invaluable for P.J., who hopes to return for an official visit this fall.
“Every school had a shot with me right now. [I'm] not closing any opportunities I have,” Mustipher said. “Every visit is crucial, so [I'm] just taking my visits, praying and talking with my family for now.”
SO YOU'RE SAYING THERE'S A CHANCE?
Hillsborough, North Carolina, Orange four-star linebacker Payton Wilson, meanwhile, made his first-ever trip to Ohio State this past weekend.
The 6-foot-4, 220-pound Wilson plans to make his college decision on May 1, but there's a feeling within the program that he'll push it back following his trip to Columbus. That's certainly good news, as he also plans to narrow his list of Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, North Carolina, Ohio State, Penn State and Virginia Tech down to four before that date.
Top 4 coming soon!
— Payton Wilson (@payton_wilson21) April 2, 2017
The issue, however, is that even if the Buckeyes make the cut for Wilson — the fourth-best outside linebacker and No. 107 prospect overall in the Class of 2018 — they'll presumably still be looking up at the Tar Heels and Tigers. While his interest in Ohio State is sincere, his relationship with Clemson and North Carolina goes back quite a while.
Therefore, the Buckeyes had a lot of ground to make up in a short period of time. If he returns to either of the aforementioned schools in the coming weeks, look for that program to be his choice.
THREE-STRIPE LIFE OR CLICK-CLACK?
More than half of Ohio State's 2017 recruiting class was selected to play in either the U.S. Army All-American Bowl or Under Armour All-America Game earlier this year. If the Buckeyes continue their current trajectory on the recruiting trail, they could certainly match or exceed that number again in 2018.
With that said, keep in mind two potential cornerback commits — Houston, Texas, Lamar five-star Anthony Cook and Alpharetta, Georgia, three-star Jaycee Horn — who announced their respective intentions Monday afternoon to play in the high school all-star games.
Its crazy what god can do for you , I'm blessed to be in this position. I am a U.S Army All-American!! #3StripeLife pic.twitter.com/OV2UM0HBqZ
— Anthony Cook (@_ACook21) April 3, 2017
Blessed and excited to announce that I'm committing to play in the Under Armour All American Game! #IWILL #AllAmerican pic.twitter.com/0vHBVOAKS8
— Jaycee Horn (@jayceehorn_10) April 3, 2017
The 6-foot-1, 168-pound Cook is considered the second-best cornerback and No. 9 prospect overall in the Class of 2018. He holds more than 30 offers from programs all over the country, but most believe Texas is the favorite with LSU not far behind.
Ohio State certainly has a strong chance to land Cook, however, thanks to his friendship with Jeffrey Okudah and Baron Browning. He hasn't been on campus yet, but is expected to attend the Spring Game later this month.
The 6-foot, 174-pound Horn, meanwhile, is considered the 55th-best cornerback and No. 626 prospect overall. He included the Buckeyes in his Top 15 last month alongside Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Louisville, LSU, Mississippi State, Missouri, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Tennessee, Wake Forest and West Virginia.
Horn grew up a big-time fan of former Ohio State and current Denver Broncos cornerback Bradley Roby. He's already been to campus once before and is looking forward to taking an official visit this fall.
NOT SO FAST, MY FRIENDS
If you're someone who uses 247Sports' Crystal Ball to gauge the possibility of an incoming commitment, you may have been on high alert thanks to the site's director of recruiting Steve Wiltfong. Following the above-mentioned Vincent's pledge on Sunday night, Wiltfong put in a prediction for Ohio State to land four-star cornerback Houston Griffith, his teammate at Bradenton, Florida, IMG Academy.
However, 6-foot-1, 192-pound Griffith — son of former Illinois fullback and current Big Ten Network analyst Howard Griffith — has no plans to make a decision on his future any time soon.
"I'm committing in the summer," Griffith told Eleven Warriors.
The Ascenders kicked off spring practice this afternoon and he is currently focused on that.
Griffith, the seventh-best corner and No. 47 prospect overall in the Class of 2018, was on campus last week. And though he holds nearly three dozen offers from programs such as Florida State, Georgia, Michigan, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Oregon, Tennessee, UCLA and USC, Ohio State is undoubtedly one of, if not the team to beat when he finally does make a decision this summer.
“The tradition the university has in general [stands out],” Griffith told Eleven Warriors. “Just the fact that you would compete against the best in practice and play the best. And to compete for a national championship.”
