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.
WON'T BE MUCH LONGER, IT SEEMS
Houston Lamar five-star cornerback Anthony Cook received his honorary U.S. Army All-American Bowl jersey during a ceremony on Thursday morning, after which he fielded several questions about his looming college decision.
He was set to commit to a school on Oct. 30, but remains torn among LSU, Ohio State and Texas. Now with only a few weeks before early graduation, Cook has set another deadline for himself.
Where does 5-star CB Anthony Cook stand in his decision?
— Sam Spiegelman (@samspiegs) November 9, 2017
The newly minted U.S. Army All-American breaks down his options and where #LSU stands. He also gave himself a deadline for making his choice | https://t.co/lf8xWuwiTV pic.twitter.com/gq2xL8DM6S
“Within the next week, I’ll be making a decision. It has to be soon,” Cook told SEC Country’s Sam Spiegelman. “I just know I’ve got to make a decision. It’s tough. I feel like at this point, they all have pros and cons, so it’s going to come down to where I can see myself playing the next three or four years. It’s been tough every time I think about it. Honestly, I don’t think about it that much, but now it’s coming to the point where I have to think about it. It’s been tough the last couple of weeks.”
The 6-foot, 168-pound Cook hasn’t been to Columbus since early September, when he took an official visit for the loss to Oklahoma. A trip to Austin just a few weeks later seemed to have changed the tide in his recruitment, with the Longhorns reportedly selling him on the ability to see the field early and play alongside several friends and current teammates.
With Cook slipping away, head coach Urban Meyer and defensive coordinator Greg Schiano flew to Houston during the Buckeyes' open week in late October and helped convince him to delay his decision. The hope was Cook would make it to Columbus once more before choosing a school — maybe even after the season, when the staff could give him one-on-one attention — but it appears he won't take any more visits.
That certainly doesn't bode well for Ohio State.
Nevertheless, the Buckeyes aren't giving up just yet. Assistant coordinator Kerry Coombs continues to pitch the staff's knack for sending cornerbacks to the National Football League, and the hope is the staff's nearly two-year relationship with Cook wins out.
“Coach Coombs showed me how [Jeffrey] Okudah plays a lot,” Cooks said. “He showed me his snaps compared to Denzel Ward to show how the young guys do play at Ohio State.”
As I mentioned in today's recruiting mailbag, Ohio State has a lot of talent already waiting in the wings at the cornerback position, and early playing time is something Texas and LSU can offer by comparision. Cook would have to wait his turn, likely taking a redshirt eason to build muscle on his small frame.
Is that something he'd be willing to do? I can't speak for him, but I don't imagine that's the case.
ADDING ANOTHER WITH A CHIP ON HIS SHOULDER?
Ohio State already holds a commitment from Huber Heights Wayne four-star L'Christian “Blue” Smith and feel confident of their standing with St. Louis four-star Kamryn Babb, but it's looking more likely the Buckeyes bring on three wide receivers in the current recruiting cycle.
The top candidate for that spot is San Marcos, California, Mission Hills three-star Chris Olave, who will take an official visit this weekend.
Ohio State Official this weekend !! #GoBuckeyes pic.twitter.com/ChtWS4Qdtz
— Chris Olave (@chrisolave_) November 9, 2017
“[I] can’t wait,” Olave told Eleven Warriors.
The 6-foot, 160-pound Olave is considered the 135th-best wide receiver and No. 981 prospect overall in the Class of 2018, making him one of the most underrated recruits in the country. He missed his entire junior year after transferring high schools, but has seen his stock soar in recent weeks as he's recorded more than 1,300 yards receiving and 19 touchdowns for the Grizzlies this season.
Michigan and USC have also extended a scholarship offer to Olave in recent weeks, making this weekend's visit all the more important. He's been talking to quarterbacks coach Ryan Day for several months, and is excited to make his first trip to Columbus.
“I want to see how the academics are, how I fit in and how they treat me,” Olave said last month, noting he wants to major in business in college. “Just [want to see] how the vibe is out there.”
I get the sense Ohio State is Olave's top school, and there's a small chance he commits this weekend. It's much more likely he takes a few more official visits and makes a decision in January or early February.
“I don't want to rush and I don't want to be promised anything,” Olave said said. “[It'll come down to] how I fit in and if I can see myself there.”
As I mentioned in the aforementioned mailbag, there's no doubt in my mind Olave would be among the nation's highest-rated wideouts if not for the missed season. He's a very talented prospect who runs very polished routes and was clocked at 10.8 seconds in the 100-meter dash last spring. If he wants to play for the Buckeyes, the staff will make sure they has the room.
IT'S BEEN A WHILE
Ohio State four-star linebacker commit K'Vaughan Pope will also take his official visit this weekend. It'll be his first time on campus since he committed to the Buckeyes in early August.
...614 this weekend #BeatMSU pic.twitter.com/4Tz2AymObM
— THE POPE (@Pop3Bad_81) November 9, 2017
The 6-foot-2, 210-pound Pope led Dinwiddie, Virginia, to a perfect 10-0 record for the second-consecutive season. He recorded 63 tackles, 15 tackles for a loss, seven quarterback hurries, six pass break ups, three sacks, one interception and one blocked punt for the Generals this year, and was named one of 16 semifinalists for the high school Butkus Award as a result.
Future teammates Dallas Gant and Teradja Mitchell also made the list.
Dinwiddie plays Huguenot in the first round of the Virginia High School League playoffs on Friday night. The Generals are hoping to avenge last season's 31-27 loss to Salem in the state championship.
AN OBVIOUS OUTLIER
By and large, most recruiting analysts look to 247Sports' Team Composite Rankings when figuring out which school has the top recruiting class in the country.
USA TODAY Sports took it a step further on Thursday morning, however, piecing together the rankings from the four major recruiting services — ESPN, Rivals, Scout and 247Sports — thus giving a more accurate assessment of where each program stands a little over a month before the December Signing Period.
The results were as follows:
| Rank | School | 247 | ESPN | Rivals | Scout | Avg. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | OHIO STATE | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1.25 |
| 2 | TEXAS | 2 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 2.75 |
| 3 | PENN STATE | 3 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 3.00 |
| 4 | MIAMI | 5 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4.25 |
| 5 | OREGON | 8 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 5.00 |
| 6 | GEORGIA | 4 | 5 | 6 | 10 | 6.25 |
| 7 | OKLAHOMA | 6 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8.25 |
| 8 | FLORIDA | 7 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 9.00 |
| 9 | NOTRE DAME | 9 | 10 | 11 | 8 | 9.50 |
| 10 | TENNESSEE | 11 | 11 | 8 | 11 | 10.25 |
It's no surprise to see Ohio State atop the standings, though Scout gives Oregon a lot of credit for a class that doesn't seem to stack up elsewhere.
If the Buckeyes finish out the class with any combination of Cook, Babb, five-star offensive tackle Jackson Carman, four-star defensive end Jayson Oweh, four-star defensive tackle Tommy Togiai and/or four-star offensive tackle Rasheed Walker, I like their chances of finishing No. 1 across the board.
