The Hurry Up: Former Penn State Pledge Talks Decommitment While Five-Star Linebacker Remains High on Ohio State

By Andrew Lind on April 24, 2017 at 7:15 pm
Teradja Mitchell
Teradja Mitchell
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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.

THE FIRST STEP

Late Sunday night, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, five-star defensive end Micah Parsons decommitted from Penn State. It was a move that many — including myself — felt was inevitable, mostly because the 6-foot-3, 235-pounder has taken four trips to Ohio State in the last six months.

The timing of Parsons' decision is a little surprising, though, seeing as he was just in State College on Saturday for the Nittany Lions' Spring Game. But in an interview with Rivals' Adam Friedman, he explained how he may have rushed into his pledge last year.

“I decommitted right before the summer because I just feel like I need to take this offseason to focus on football, my senior year and making sure I make the right decision,” Parsons said. “I took a lot of visits and a lot of people are shaming me for it and I just think I may have committed a little too early. I'm going to take the full experience to make sure I make the right decision.”

Parsons, the top-rated weak-side defensive end in the Class of 2018, became the second Penn State commit to reopen his recruitment in a matter of three days. But he reiterated the Nittany Lions still have a shot to land him — for good — down the road.

“I felt like my visit to Penn State this weekend went amazing,” Parsons said. “Everything was good for me but at the end of the day it came down to family. I talked to coach [James] Franklin in person there and over the phone today and thought this would be the best decision for right now. They're still my top school right now, but I fell like I need to focus on other things right now.”

Now he'll be able to take unofficial and official visits to Alabama, Clemson, Florida State, Ohio State and Penn State this summer and fall without having to feel the weight of his commitment — as well as the hundreds of Twitter messages that undoubtedly critique every move he makes — hanging over his head. And when Parsons finally does make a decision again, it'll be final.

"I think I'll commit on Signing Day or before the first signing period," he said.

SOMETHING BREWING

Already holding commitments from seven four- or five-star prospects, Ohio State is once again on pace to finish with one of the top-rated recruiting classes in the country. But if the Buckeyes were to land Parsons and Virginia Beach, Virginia, Bishop Sullivan five-star linebacker Teradja Mitchell, the 2018 class could quite possibly be the best of all time. 

While landing both may seem like a far-fetched idea, it's not out of the question after Mitchell recently included Ohio State in his Top 5 alongside Alabama, Clemson, Florida State and LSU. 

The 6-foot-2, 232-pound Mitchell said as much in a short interview with my friends at The Virginian-Pilot. That, and his plans for an announcemen, come on the heels of a trip to Columbus earlier this month. 

“I was planning on committing in November or December, but I think I’m going to make my decision within two months or so,” Mitchell said. “It's very stressful, but a blessing at the same time. I'm just enjoying it and making the best out of it. I'm glad to be in this situation.”

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

Ohio State defensive backs coach Kerry Coombs would much rather be watching in-state prospects practice right now.

Since he cannot, Coombs traveled to Indianapolis, Indiana, Cathedral on Monday to see Michigan four-star offensive guard commit Emil Ekiyor Jr. and Notre Dame four-star running back commit Markese Stepp instead.

Neither Ekiyor nor Stepp have an offer from Ohio State or appear to be wavering in their commitments, but let's not forget the Buckeyes flipped former Cathedral four-star linebacker Pete Werner from Notre Dame late in the process in the last recruiting cycle.

Coombs can't meet with either prospect beyond the exchange of a greeting, per NCAA rules, so he just watched practice and met with coaches this afternoon. Laying the groundwork may come in handy down the road, though.

TAG TEAM

Another prospect Ohio State will certainly check out in the next few weeks is Hyattsville, Maryland, DeMatha Catholic three-star cornerback Judson Tallandier II, who recently made his first trip to Columbus for the annual Spring Game.

“It was great, man,” Tallandier told Eleven Warriors. “The atmosphere and love up there is unmatched.”

The 6-foot-2, 180-pound Tallandier is considered the 70th-best cornerback and No. 765 prospect overall in the Class of 2018. He holds a dozen offers from programs such as Arizona, Kentucky, Maryland, Pittsburgh and Syracuse, but may add a 13th after spending most of the weekend with Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer, defensive coordinator Greg Schiano and defensive line coach Larry Johnson.

“They should pull the trigger real soon. They really like to take the time to get to know players personally before they offer,” Tallandier said. “It would definitely mean a lot. It would be a game-changer.”

Even though he's getting familiar with the coaching staff, Tallandier knows quite a bit about the Buckeyes. As you may have figured out by now, he's the former teammate of 2017 defensive end signee Chase Young.

“He has [talked up the school],” Tallandier said. “Just by the way he acts, he's really anxious to get up there. The visited definitely lived up to what he's told me.”

The Terrapins are the front-runner in Tallandier's recruitment, but Ohio State would certainly take the lead if the staff offers. It wouldn't be a bad pipeline to have, either, as the Stags have won four-consecutive Washington Catholic Athletic Conference titles.

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