The Hurry Up: Shaun Wade's Big Visit, Martell's Ever-Shrinking List, Lindsey Sets Commitment Date

By Jeremy Birmingham on June 5, 2016 at 7:45 pm
Shaun Wade at Ohio State this weekend.
Shaun Wade
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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.

SHAUN WADE'S OHIO STATE VISIT

For the first time in a year, Ohio State 2017 commitment Shaun Wade was on campus with the Buckeyes.

Shaun Wade and his parents

The Jacksonville five-star, the country's third-ranked cornerback, made his way north to Columbus with his parents, the first time the rest of his family has been able to spend time with the Buckeyes in Ohio.

Wade will return next weekend with his training group, but this visit was key for the Ohio State staff and their efforts to retain Wade from the onslaught of suitors hoping to sway him, namely Alabama and Florida.

"I thought the visit went very well," one source close to the Buckeyes shared. "It seemed like his mom and dad liked it a lot."

Urban Meyer, Kerry Coombs, Greg Schiano, Tim Beck and more were all on-hand to make sure the family saw all the angles Ohio State has to offer. The visit was a "crash course" in Buckeye culture for the Wades and should provide an excellent reference point for what the school and the football program are all about as they move towards a final decision this fall.

OKUDAH SETS DATE TO NARROW LIST

Jeffrey Okudah, the country's top-ranked safety and a composite top-10 player nationally, will be narrowing his college list down to six in July, per his Twitter.

With offers from 35 schools, the 6-foot-2, 190-pounder from Grand Prairie, Texas, is one of the country's most sought-after prospects and has had the Buckeyes at or near the top of his list since his first visit to Columbus last summer.

Okudah was in Columbus two weeks ago with his good friend and fellow Texas five-star Baron Browning. Ohio State hopes to see Okudah back on campus this June but no visit has been officially scheduled at this point.

MARTELL DROPS ANOTHER, HEADING TOWARDS FINAL GROUP

Another day, another school falls off the list for five-star quarterback Tate Martell. 

The 5-foot-10, 205-pounder at Las Vegas' Bishop Gorman High School is in California this weekend at the Elite 11 finals where he's been – as expected – one of the standout performers at the event.

Heading into today's final session, Martell was in fourth place among the 24 quarterbacks invited. 

His final schools – a list which seem to be narrowing almost every other day – are heading in an interesting direction. Ohio State, Cal and USC are the schools most associate with his recruitment currently, though some recent scuttlebutt about his desire for an Oregon offer makes the Ducks seem like a dark-horse contender, but that's probably just hype. 

In the next few days, don't be surprised to see Martell release his plans for summer visits and I'd expect a trip to Columbus happens quickly thereafter. 

NEW JERSEY WIDE RECEIVER ADDS BUCKEYE OFFER

With big name wide receivers like Trevon Grimes, Tyjon Lindsey, Jerry Jeudy, Donovan Peoples-Jones, Jaylen Harris and others all considering Ohio State, it's always kind of surprising when the Buckeyes offer another 2017 wideout but they did just that days ago.

That is Markquese Bell, a four-star prospect from Bridgeton, New Jersey, who checks in as the country's 259th-ranked 2017 player. Bell has offers from Clemson, Florida, Michigan, Penn State, Ole Miss and others and projects as a wide receiver at the next level, similar to Michigan freshman and one-time Ohio State 2016 target Ahmir Mitchell.

Ohio State will hope to see the 6-foot-3, 196-pound Bell on campus this summer. It will be interesting to see which camp he attends in New Jersey next week. The two supposed leaders for his services, Michigan and Rutgers, where Ohio State will be, are both holding a key camp at the same time just miles apart. 

TYJON LINDSEY SETS COMMITMENT DATE

The Buckeyes are in hot pursuit of the nation's top slot receiver, and five-star Tyjon Lindsey now has an announcement date set. 

The 5-foot-9, 180-pounder took a late-March visit to Columbus, and the Buckeyes have remained one of his top schools ever since. Of the nine schools still under consideration, Nebraska and USC appear to be the stiffest competition at the moment. 

The aforementioned Tate Martell also appears to be inching closer to a decision and getting Lindsey's close friend and former quarterback on board certainly wouldn't hurt Ohio State's chances.

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