Welcome to The Hurry-Up, which runs Sunday through Thursday, serving as your last stop for recruiting news and notes nightly. We'll recap the day as it happened and preview the days ahead while keeping our ear to the ground on the Ohio State recruiting scene.
STUMP DECISION COMING SOON
Kentucky commitment Alex Stump was offered by Ohio State on September 21st, and since then, the wide receiver has been relatively quiet. A difficult decision about his future has kept him low-key off the field, and a season-ending foot injury has kept him silent on it. Expect the first part of that to be remedied soon.
"I feel like I'm getting close to a decision," Stump told Eleven Warriors. "I've done a lot of thinking and I think things are clearing up a bit."
Ohio State, Stump's lifelong home and "dream school," is 4-1 and winning games big with an offensive gameplan centered around a young, up-and-coming quarterback that excels in spreading the ball around. The development of J.T. Barrett is something the Lakewood star has been watching closely.
"I like what I've seen from (Ohio State's) offense," Stump said. "It's great to see them opening up the passing game and more guys involved. They're getting better each week and I've always loved Ohio State."
So easy decision right? Not exactly.
"Kentucky has a lot of things going for them," he continued. "They're playing great football and are really headed in the right direction. That doesn't make my choice any easier, I can tell you that. I know no matter what I choose there's going to be some disappointment, so I'm just trying to focus on what's best for my future."
MICHIGAN COMMITMENT SETS OFFICIAL VISIT TO COLUMBUS
Last week, I talked briefly about a quartet of Michigan commitments who'd expressed a renewed interest in hearing from and possibly visiting Ohio State. Each of them asked me to reference them anonymously until they were ready for things to be public. Today, Garrett Taylor told 11W he was ready to let it be known he's looking around.
"Yeah," Taylor, the country's 10th-ranked cornerback said. "It can be public. I'm officially visiting Ohio State on November 22nd, for the Indiana game."
Committed to Michigan since March 24th, Taylor says the Buckeyes have never stopped their pursuit.
"I've always continued to talk with coach (Zach) Smith and coach (Kerry) Coombs," he added. "I'm going to the Indiana game might take another visit there in December."
Two visits in a short time period would indicate that the Buckeyes could be a legitimate option for the 6-foot-1, 195-pound defensive back. He said he's going to take all five of his official visits, and interestingly, I don't believe that the University of Michigan will receive one. Taylor indicated that he'd take officials to Ohio State, Penn State, Tennessee, and Virginia Tech. The fifth visit, according to Taylor, could go to Michigan but right now he's certain, and that's likely a death knell for the Wolverines.
WARIBOKO SETS FIRST OFFICIAL VISIT
Ohio State is getting an official visit from one of the premiere uncommitted offensive lineman in the country next weekend. Earlier today, Oklahoma City lineman Josh Wariboko took to Twitter to announce his first official of the fall.
THE OHIO ST. UNIVERSITY WILL BE MY FIRST OFFICIAL VISIT!! #BuckeyeNation #Elite15
— josh. (@JoshuaJ45) October 9, 2014
Viewed as sort of "darkhorse" candidate to land the former Oklahoma commitment, the Buckeyes have been working hard to secure a visit from Wariboko, the 6th-ranked guard in the country. Wariboko also has an official visit scheduled to UCLA for late November.
DON'T FORGET GUARANTANO
For months we've heard about Ohio State's 2016 quarterback situation. No matter who you speak with, the names that come up are the same: Jarrett Guarantano and Dwayne Haskins, Jr. While Haskins continues to be the name most closely associated with the Buckeyes, one source close to the situation said that it'd be unwise to think it was a done deal.
"Look, Haskins is a great quarterback and the Buckeyes love his game, and him," the source shared. "They like Guarantano just as much. There's no 'first or second choice,' it's about who wants 'in' first. If that's Guarantano, then maybe Penn State gets a gift in Haskins. They're both really special players potentially. This isn't a situation where Ohio State is trying to keep one on the warmer while the other makes up his mind. They'd be thrilled to have either of them leading their 2016 class and they'd like it to happen soon."
Does that mean they're pressing either quarterback for a commitment?
"No, absolutely not," the source replied. "It'd be dumb to 'pressure' a junior to commit, especially since in today's recruiting world a commitment doesn't mean what it used to. They are definitely reminding each quarterback that it's important to have a leader, a verbal one especially, in the class early. They believe 2016 can be a really special class and they want to get it started soon."
OHIO STATE OFFERS IN-STATE 2016 WIDE RECEIVER
In July, Cleveland Benedictine wide receiver Justin Layne went to Friday Night Lights with the Buckeyes with one thing on his mind: earning an offer from Ohio State. Unfortunately, a leg injury slowed him down and he didn't compete nearly as much as he, or the Buckeyes, would have liked. Despite offers from Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame and Penn State, the home state Buckeyes still hadn't pulled the trigger: until today.
A high school teammate Jerome Baker, Layne is the country's 14th-ranked wide receiver for 2016 and his 6-foot-3, 180-pound frame — combined with his 4.49 in the 40 — make him an intriguing talent. This past weekend, Layne visited Michigan State and now the Buckeyes are going to make a play for him. While that's likely just a coincidence, one source in Northeast Ohio says to not ignore the timing of that offer.
"Layne just came back from MSU, and today the Buckeyes offer," our source said. "I think that's interesting, don't you? Dantonio already 'stole' one when they landed Cam Chambers, and maybe Urban is trying to prevent that from happening again? I know they like Layne a lot, but they don't usually offer in-state guys in season. They're not evaluating them nearly as much during the year as they can during the summer before their junior or senior year."
