The Hurry Up: Lexington Linebacker Cade Stover Recaps Visit While State Playoffs Begin For Several Commits

By Andrew Lind on November 3, 2017 at 6:50 pm
Cade Stover
Cade Stover
17 Comments

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.

TAKING HIS TIME

Every time Lexington four-star linebacker Cade Stover steps on campus, there’s a great chance he commits to Ohio State. After all, the Buckeyes are without a doubt the established leader in his recruitment.

But, point blank, Stover isn’t ready to make a decision on his future. He’s focused on getting better as a football player and enjoying the recruiting process as a whole. 

That means attending some of the best college football games of the season, including Ohio State’s thrilling 39-38 win over Penn State on Saturday. He was also at the Nittany Lions’ blowout win over Michigan the week prior. 

“Honestly, [it was] the coolest time I have ever had there, no doubt,” Stover told Eleven Warriors. “[It was] awesome.”

This marked the second time on campus this fall for the 6-foot-4, 227-pound Stover — who is considered the sixth-best linebacker and the No. 92 prospect overall in the Class of 2019, as he recorded 126 tackles in only seven games for the Minutemen this season. He spent time with head coach Urban Meyer, linebackers coach Bill Davis and several other coaches, building upon an already strong relationship. 

“I love those guys,” Stover said. “[They’re] so much like family.”

Stover plans to take trips to Notre Dame and Oklahoma later this season, and Penn State has made quite an impression on him already. It’s hard to envision him anywhere other than Ohio State, though.

VISITOR LISTS ARE FLUID

Ohio State five-star defensive end commit Brenton Cox has seemingly been on Alabama’s reported list of visitors for every Crimson Tide home game this season, but he’s only been to Tuscaloosa just one time. He’s expected back this weekend, too, but sources close to Cox told Eleven Warriors he once again won’t make the trip.

The 6-foot-5, 247-pound Cox hasn’t been to campus since Friday Night Lights in July, but I wouldn’t worry about the strength of his pledge. He is set to take his official visit for one of the final two home games against Michigan State or Illinois, and he’s focused on signing with the Buckeyes in December.

FILLING OUT THE ROSTER

Ohio State has given out a handful of preferred walk-on offers in the last month or so, but all of them went to underrated in-state prospects. This week’s offer to Somerset, Kentucky, tight end and defensive end Collin Hartmann.

The 6-foot-5, 250-pound Hartmann is not ranked by any major recruiting sites, but currently leads the Briar Jumpers in sacks. He holds one Division I offer from Morehead State.

“[He] is as disruptive a player as we have had at our school,” Somerset head coach Robbie Lucas recently said.

Hartmann has never been to campus, but hopes to make that happen before the season ends. 

The Buckeyes, meanwhile, have already added three walk-one this cycle, including Big Walnut’s Abe Myers, Piqua’s Ben Schmiesing and Dublin Jerome’s Cade Kacherski.

TALKIN' BOUT PLAYOFFS

The first round of the Ohio High School Athletic Association State Playoffs begins this evening, with Ohio State commits Dallas Gant and L’Christian “Blue” Smith hitting the field for what could very well be the last time in high school. 

Same goes for Jeremy Ruckert (New York) and Marcus Hooker (Pennsylvania). Others are hoping to finish the regular season strong.

A full list of games:

2018 Ohio State Football Commits
name pos high school opponent
EMORY JONES QB FRANKLIN (GA) HEARD COUNTY SPENCER (GA)
JAELEN GILL RB WESTERVILLE (OH) SOUTH SEASON OVER
BRIAN SNEAD RB SEFFNER (FL) ARMWOOD @ DURANT (FL)
MASTER TEAGUE RB MURFREESBORO (TN) BLACKMAN @ HENDERSONVILLE (TN)*
JEREMY RUCKERT TE LINDENHURST (NY) COMMACK (NY)*
L'CHRISTIAN "BLUE" SMITH WR HUBER HEIGHTS (OH) WAYNE PICKERINGTON NORTH (OH)*
MATTHEW JONES OG BROOKLYN (NY) ERASMUS HALL GRAND STREET CAMPUS (NY)
MAX WRAY OT FRANKLIN (TN) SEASON OVER
BRENTON COX DE STOCKBRIDGE (GA) UNION GROVE (GA)
ANTWUAN JACKSON DT BRENHAM (TX) BLINN COLLEGE @ NORTHEASTERN OKLAHOMA A&M (OK)*
TARON VINCENT DT BRADENTON (FL) IMG ACADEMY @ HOOVER (AL)
TERADJA MITCHELL ILB VIRGINIA BEACH (VA) BISHOP SULLIVAN OPEN
K'VAUGHAN POPE ILB DINWIDDIE (VA) COLONIAL HEIGHTS (VA)
DALLAS GANT OLB TOLEDO (OH) ST. JOHN'S JESUIT @ AVON (OH)*
SEVYN BANKS CB ORLANDO (FL) JONES OPEN
MARCUS HOOKER CB NEW CASTLE (PA) MONTOUR (PA)*
JOSH PROCTOR S OWASSO (OK) EDMOND NORTH (OK)
JAIDEN WOODBEY  S BELLFLOWER (CA) ST. JOHN BOSCO @ JSERRA CATHOLIC (CA)
2019 Ohio State football Commits
name pos high school opponent
DOUG NESTER OT HUNTINGTON (WV) SPRING VALLEY GREENBRIER EAST (WV)

*Playoffs

I'm on the road to Iowa right now, but I'm hoping Gant and Smith are able to help their teams move on to the next round so I can attend one of their games next Friday.

Make sure to follow me on Twitter for links to other matchups. And, as always, stay tuned to Eleven Warriors on Sunday morning for the Supreme '18 Tracker, which will recap the weekend's events.

17 Comments
View 17 Comments