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.
AN UPHILL CLIMB
Atlanta Pace Academy five-star offensive guard Jamaree Salyer has long eyed Ohio State for an official visit this fall, but put his recruitment on the backburner for a while as he geared up for his senior season. And now with the Knights now three games in, the 6-foot-4, 342-pounder has shifted his focus to wrapping up the recruiting process altogether.
5-Star OL Jamaree Salyer goes on record. Names top 2, confirms his decision date and gives the very latest: https://t.co/9z91KV1kOT pic.twitter.com/HNQEMESHtj
— Chad Simmons (@ChadSimmons_) September 19, 2017
On Tuesday morning, Salyer told Rivals.com he'll take official visits to Clemson, Georgia, Notre Dame, Ohio State and Stanford. And it should come as no suprise given the way he raved about the Buckeyes this summer.
“I'm just very interested to see how the season will go,” Salyer told Eleven Warriors at Nike Football's The Opening Finals back in July “I have to get back sometime — maybe for Friday Night Lights. Trying to create a relationship with the staff.”
That visit never happened, but his lone trip to Columbus for last year's thrilling double-overtime win over Michigan is something that continues to resonate in the back of his mind.
“[It was] obviously a really wild game. I had a great time,” Salyer said. “Just being able to see how the atmosphere was, it was definitely the loudest stadium I've ever been in. I just had a great time.”
The Buckeyes are currently looking up at the Bulldogs and Tigers in the race to land Salyer's pledge, which should be expected given the proximity to his hometown and the fact that he's been to Athens and Clemson more times than any of his other top schools. But Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer and offensive line coach Greg Studrawa constantly reach out and feel confident he'll end up in Columbus when it comes time for him to make his decision on Dec. 20.
“Stud is just like, 'Figure it out, but I feel like you'll come home to us,'” Salyer said.
Salyer hasn't decided which game he'll attend, though it's likely to be the Oct. 28 matchup with Penn State — as is the case for pretty much every other four- and five-star prospect with an offer from Ohio State. It's hard to envision the Buckeyes surpassing Clemson or Georgia, though.
THE NEXT TYQUAN LEWIS?
With Ohio State set to take as many as four defensive ends in the current recruiting cycle, the position won't be among the staff's top priorities next year. That won't stop them from extending a scholarship to one of the nation's best, though.
Such was the case on Monday night, as Clayton, North Carolina, four-star defensive end Savion Jackson announced he earned a scholarship offer from the Buckeyes.
Blessed to receive my 15th offer from The University of Ohio State #Gobucks #OhioStatefb pic.twitter.com/VbvqmVTUyL
— Savion (@savionjac11) September 19, 2017
The 6-foot-3, 245-pound Jackson is considered the fifth-best strong-side defensive end and No. 50 prospect overall in the Class of 2019, as he's recorded 72 tackles, 11 sacks and one forced fumble in his two-year varsity career with the Comets. He holds more than a dozen offers from programs such as Florida, Louisville, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Penn State, Pitt, Virginia and Virginia Tech, and is bound to add more in the coming year.
NO RELATION TO MATTHEW
Ohio State continues to be extremely active in recruiting the state of Georgia. In fact, Florida is the only state in which the Buckeyes have handed out more offers in the last year.
With that said, latest Peach State prospect to land an offer from Ohio State is Suwanee North Gwinnett three-star cornerback Warren Burrell. Ohio State quarterbacks coach and area recruiter Ryan Day shared the news with him on Monday night.
BLESSED to receive an offer from Ohio State pic.twitter.com/OoD0jjq9RJ
— 4 (@_warrenb153) September 18, 2017
The 5-foot-11, 175-pound Burrell is considered the 38th-best corner and No. 388 prospect overall in the Class of 201, as he recorded 43 tackles, four interceptions, three pass break ups and two fumble recoveries in 12 career games with the Bulldogs. He holds offers from Alabama, Kentucky, Rutgers, South Carolina, Virginia and Wake Forest.
It's still fairly early in Burrell's recruitment, especially considering the short list of offers. He'll take a number of visits as more come in over the next year, and that will almost certainly include a trip to Columbus.
BOOM!
On Tuesday afternoon, a little over a month after he was offered a preferred walk-on opportunity at Ohio State, Sunbury Big Walnut two-star linebacker Abe Myers announced his commitment to the Buckeyes.
@EronHodges @OhioStateFB @OSUCoachMeyer #gobucks pic.twitter.com/621qWVBivw
— Abe Myers (@abemyers22) September 19, 2017
"I just felt like Ohio State was just the way to go," Myers told Eleven Warriors. "It just felt right."
The 6-foot-2, 220-pound Myers is considered the 92nd-best player in the state and the No. 124 outside linebacker in Class of 2018, as he was named honorable mention all-county last season. He chose to accept the walk-on slot at Ohio State over scholarship offers from Air Force, Ashland, Findlay, Holy Cross, Kent State, Notre Dame College and Ohio.
"It was something I had to talk to my parents about and something I thought about a lot," Myers said. "Ohio State has always been my team. I just felt like it was the right thing to do because I know I can earn a scholarship, and I have a lot of confidence that I can do that."
Myers attended Ohio State's one-day camp in June, at which time he posted a 4.51-second 40-yard dash and an 8-foot-6-inch broad jump. He finished fifth in discus at the Ohio state track meet last spring, too.
"If you look at my film, I would compare it to anyone's," Myers said. "I feel like players can get noticed from anywhere."
Myers was supposed to attend this past weekend's game against Army, but broke his leg in Big Walnut's 35-10 loss to Olentangy Orange on Friday night. Even so, assistant director of player personnel Eron Hodges will still hold a spot for Myers.
"His response was just, 'Get well soon,'" Myers said. "He was just real supportive, and I was thankful for that."
