BUCKEYES TO BROWNS
Mike Hall Jr. is selected 54th overall in the second round of the NFL draft by the Cleveland Browns.
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.
NO DAYS OFF
We mentioned how Ohio State missing out on the Big Ten Championship allowed the coaching staff to hit the road and visit recruits across the country last week, and it certainly paid off when the Buckeyes landed a commitment from five-star linebacker Baron Browning on Thursday night following an in-home visit.
During his press conference on Sunday afternoon after the Buckeyes made the College Football Playoff, head coach Urban Meyer briefly acknowledged the advantage the staff had over those having to game plan for a conference title game.
“There's only one more week of recruiting,” Meyer said, referencing the month-long dead period that begins on Dec. 12 when coaches cannot have face-to-face contact with a recruit or his parents. “That's obviously a huge deal.”
Meyer, quarterbacks coach Tim Beck and defensive coordinators Luke Fickell and Greg Schiano all sat in Browning's living room on Thursday, while Ohio State's main competition — Alabama — was only able to send linebackers coach Tosh Lupoi. And while Meyer admitted he'd rather have played in the conference championship game, it certainly didn't hurt to have an extra week to hit the recruiting trail.
Great in home visit with THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY... #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/6e79eneT8H
— Baron Browning (@baronbrwnng) December 1, 2016
“It was a bizarre year,” Meyer said, “It's a year that I don't really question anything. We just got to do our jobs every day. We won the rivalry game [against Michigan] in that fashion. We had a recruiting dinner that night. The next morning we're all on planes — I mean before dawn — and you're going. No wonder half our coaching staff got sick and everything else, because it was a lot of work that week.”
If the staff is anything like me, they grabbed a few DayQuil and headed out the door.
LOOKING DAPPER
Of all the recruits I've talked to in the last five months, the two most beloved Ohio State assistants seem to be defensive backs coach Kerry Coombs and defensive line coach Larry Johnson.
Coombs' energy and excitement for the game clicks with most players, while Johnson's demeanor and desire to develop boys into men on and off the field is beyond admirable.
It's pretty easy to see why Johnson is so well liked, too, as he joined South Jordan, Utah, Bingham four-star defensive tackle Jay Tufele and his family at church on Sunday.
Had awesome home visit with @R2X_Rushmen1 thanks for coming to church hope you enjoyed it! #GOBUCKS pic.twitter.com/g0Mtq9gFrQ
— Jay Tufele (@tufele123) December 4, 2016
The 6-foot-3, 297-pounder is considered the fourth-best defensive tackle and the No. 58 prospect overall in the Class of 2017. He listed BYU, Michigan, Ohio State, UCLA, USC, Utah and Washington in his Top 7 in late September.
Tufele recently hosted USC defensive line coach Nenechi Udeze and Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh. But it's probably safe to say neither visit was as unique or notable as Johnson's.
Had a great home visit with @CoachJim4UM And @CoachGMattison thanks for stopping by! #GoBlue pic.twitter.com/rMJ0aJdDNv
— Jay Tufele (@tufele123) December 3, 2016
A U.S. Army All-American, Tufele is expected to announce his college decision on National Singing Day.
NEXT MAN UP
Ohio State will make one final play for Jackson, Tennessee, five-star offensive tackle Trey Smith before he announces his college decision during a ceremony at his school on Tuesday afternoon, as Meyer will make an in-home visit on Monday evening.
The 6-foot-5, 310-pounder is considered the fifth-best offensive tackle and the No. 20 prospect overall in the Class of 2017. Though he was once considered a heavy lean for the in-state Volunteers, his official visit to Ohio State and an in-home visit from offensive line coach Greg Studrawa last week seemingly have things trending toward the Buckeyes.
So much so that Smith's sister, who works for the Tennessee football program, was reportedly seen wearing an Ohio State shirt to work last week.
Knoxville, TN
— Trey Smith (@smithtrey98) December 3, 2016
The Volunteers had a chance to seal the deal this weekend with Smith in town for an official visit, but their disappointing record under head coach Butch Jones may have left the door open for Meyer to land his seventh five-star recruit in this cycle — which seemed like only a pipe dream following Jake Moretti's decommitment just two weeks ago.
Smith's announcement is slated to be broadcasted live by ESPN.
