The Hurry Up: Four-Star Defensive End Discusses Official Visit While Urban Meyer Address Recruit's Critical Tweet

ON THE BRIGHT SIDE

Blairstown, New Jersey, Blair Academy four-star defensive end Jayson Oweh was among the nine Ohio State commits and targets who took an official visit for Saturday's 31-16 loss to Oklahoma.

“It was great,” Oweh told Eleven Warriors. “The atmosphere was electric and I had a lot of fun.”

It was actually the first-ever college football game for the 6-foot-5, 236-pound Oweh, who only began to see his recruitment take off in January. And though it didn't end in Ohio State's favor, the result of the game has very little impact on how he views the Buckeyes.

“It was actually good to see how everyone reacted to a loss and how they prepared the next day,” Oweh said.

Oweh was last on campus for Friday Night Lights, and — outside of the game itself — said the visit wasn't all that different from those in the past. That includes a one-day camp in June.

“Coach [Larry] Johnson and I have our usual meeting where he recites his plan for me and studying my technique on tapes,” he said.

By this point, Oweh has seen and heard everything he's wanted from Notre Dame, Ohio State and Penn State — other than game in Happy Valley and South Bend. So how will he eventually reach his decision, which will be announced at the Under Armour All-America Game on Jan. 4, 2018?

“A lot has to do with how each team does this year and how each official visit goes,” he said.

So long as the season doesn't take a dramatic and completely unexpected turn for the worst, I'd say the Buckeyes have put themselves in a great position to land his pledge.  

HIDDEN ADVANTAGES

Acworth, Georgia, Kennesaw Mountain four-star tight end Ryland Goede, meanwhile, made his first trip to Ohio State on Saturday.

“It was great,” Goede told Eleven Warriors. “It was top notch, especially the atmosphere and tradition.”

The 6-foot-7, 235-pound Goede is considered the seventh-best tight end and No. 118 prospect overall in the Class of 2019, as he hauled in 39 catches for 437 yards and five touchdowns for the Mustangs last season. He holds offers from more than a dozen programs such as Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, LSU, Michigan, Nebraska, Notre Dame and Tennessee, but mentioned an advantage Ohio State may have over some of the other schools.

“I have family up there, so [playing away from home would] be fine with me,” Goede said, noting they live about 20 minutes away from campus.

Goede stayed through Sunday, at which time he got a tour of the facilities and spent time with head coach Urban Meyer and offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson.

“I also got to sit in on the tight ends meetings Sunday,” he said.

Goede plans to make a decision his his future this winter or next spring, and he's certainly intrigued with the possibility of making a one-two punch with tight end commit Jeremy Ruckert.

HARD TO FIND THE TIME

Because Virginia Beach Bishop Sullivan plays a national schedule that includes games or travel days on Saturday, Ohio State four-star linebacker commit Teradja Mitchell will find it difficult to get to a game this fall. In fact, the Crusaders were in Massachusetts when the Buckeyes played the Sooners.

On Sunday, though, the 6-foot-2, 243-pound Mitchell hinted at the possibility of attending this weekend's game against Army. Bishop Sullivan plays at home on Friday Night, and the 4:30 p.m. kickoff would allow him to catch a flight or make the nine-hour drive from Hampton Roads the morning of.

Might be in Columbus next weekend

— 7 E R A D J A . (@WhosThatNumber7) September 10, 2017

It's not the ideal game for any prospect to attend, as the atmosphere will be nowhere near what it was against Oklahoma, but it's what Mitchell's schedule permits. He won't be able to attend the highly anticipated game against Penn State on Oct. 28, either — Bishop Sullivan plays at noon. 

This would mark Mitchell's first visit since committed to Ohio State over Florida State in early June.

BETTER TO KEEP IT TO YOURSELF

During his weekly press conference on Monday morning, Meyer was asked how he handles a recruit tweeting something critical of his team while on an official visit — which, as we all know, was in reference to Pennsylvania five-star defensive end Micah Parsons sharing his thoughts on the quarterback situation following the Buckeyes' loss on Saturday night.

Meyer can't comment on recruits specifically because of NCAA rules, but he knew exactly why the questions was asked.

“I was made aware of it,” Meyer said.

The 6-foot-3, 235-pound Parsons got the royal treatment from Ohio State this weekend, as he started the visit with an appearance on the set of ESPN GameDay, where he met former Buckeyes Kirk Herbstreit and Eddie George. Shortly after that, he told Eleven Warriors he was having the time of his life.

But then Ohio State fell flat in one of the most-anticipated games of the season, and Parsons — who later said he let his emotions get the best of him — was critical of the Buckeyes' decision to keep J.T. Barrett as the starting quarterback and said he would replace him with backup Dwayne Haskins.

I would and his name is @dh_simba7 https://t.co/MZGrGyvPt0

— BLESSEDMVP (@Micah_parsons23) September 10, 2017

What Meyer did not answer to — not that it's a conversation to be had in a public setting, but behind closed doors — is whether or not Parsons' tweet will impact his potential standing within Ohio State's recruiting class.

Point blank, the staff isn't going to just move on from Parsons because of the tweet. After all, he is among the best players in the country and someone whom the Buckeyes will likely face if he doesn't land in Columbus. Showing such emotion speaks to how engaged Parsons was on Saturday night, too.

But as Land of 10's Jeremy Birmingham pointed out on Sunday, this is just the latest in a long line of questions surrounding Parsons' maturity.

You just don’t know what you’re going to get. What happened Saturday night is just a teenager making a bad decision and according to sources in Columbus, players in the Ohio State locker room were “pissed” about them.

I've long believed Parsons wants to be a Buckeye and that he will be when things are all said and done. He's good friends with commits Emory Jones and Jaelen Gill, and the aforementioned Johnson is great coach who can mold him into a man on and off the field.

Whether or not the marriage would be successful, though, all depends on how much Parsons wants to change. Otherwise, there are other schools that better fit his demeanor.