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.
CRUNCH TIME
One of only 23 uncommitted prospects attending this weekend's U.S. Army All-American Bowl, Waldorf, Maryland, North Point four-star offensive tackle Rasheed Walker has a little over a month to decided where he wants to play his college ball.
“I'm down to Ohio State, Penn State and Virginia Tech,” he told Eleven Warriors following the East squad's practice on Thursday afternoon.
The 6-foot-6, 300-pound Walker is considered the sixth-best offensive tackle and No. 81 prospect overall in the Class of 2018, but has quickly become the Buckeyes' top target at a position of great need following Fairfield five-star offensive tackle Jackson Carman's commitment to Clemson last month.
Walker has been to Columbus several times over the last year and has grown particularly close with offensive line coach Greg Studrawa and defensive line coach/area recruiter Larry Johnson in that time.
“They're cool. I've known the coaches there for a long time,” he said. “I've been up there a lot and I enjoy going up there. I just have a lot of interest in them because they're real genuine. I've talked to the coaches consistently since I first started getting recruited.”
Walker has voiced concerns in the past about the distance from home and he admitted last summer the eight- to nine-hour drive has stopped him from visiting more often. Proximity is the biggest reason the Nittany Lions are perceived to be the favorite in his recruitment.
Ohio State will have one final shot to sway Walker's decision, though, when he takes an official later this month.
“I don't have a date scheduled,” he said. “I want to take it as soon as possible, like right after the dead period.”
Penn State signed a pair of offensive tackles last month in four-star Nana Asiedu and three-star Bryce Effner, while Virginia Tech inked signatures from a trio of three-star tackles in Walker Culver, Luke Tenuta and Christian Darrisaw. With only four-star Max Wray in the fold and not a whole lot of depth on the current roster following Jamarco Jones' graduation, Ohio State certainly offers a quicker path to the field for Walker.
“That's what they've been saying to me all along,” he said, noting the staff was recruiting him hard even before Carman spurned them.
Walker, who seemingly put his recruitment on the backburner until after his senior season, already took his official visits to Blacksburg and State College in December. That means the Buckeyes will have the final shot to impress before he makes his decision on the traditional Feb. 7 National Signing Day.
“I've kind of seen everything I need to see, it's just that I like all of the schools. It's real hard to just choose one,” Walker said. “My main thing, when I take my officials, is that I want to get around some of the players. That's my main thing I've been trying to do.
“I do a lot of research on my own, also,” he continued. “I research the graduation rate. Who they develop and who they send to the [National Football] League. I look at their roster. Just all the stuff like that.”
All of that seems to favor Ohio State.
THE INCOMPARABLE LARRY JOHNSON
You could tell by their reactions Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer and the aforementioned Johnson weren't expecting Pocatello, Idaho, Highland four-star defensive tackle Tommy Togiai to commit to the Buckeyes during their in-home visit last month. After all, he'd planned to announce his decision on the first day of the Early Signing Period.
Meyer — who was relaxed on the sofa across the living room — nearly jumped through the ceiling and Johnson, who was sitting beside Togiai, gave him the biggest bear hug I've ever seen.
“It was just a really great moment to have them there, to tell them in person that I wanted to commit and be a Buckeye,” Togiai told Eleven Warriors during U.S. Army All-American Bowl media availability on Wednesday afternoon. “Just from their natural reaction says it all. They're amazing. They're great guys. How genuine they are. It was just an amazing moment for me and my family. It was a special moment.”
Most prognosticators assumed throughout the recruiting process the 6-foot-3, 290-pound Togiai would stay close to home, mirroring Ohio State's failed recruitment of Utah four-star defensive tackle Jay Tufele one year prior. But distance was never truly a factor for him.
“I didn't really play that too much into my decision,” Togiai said. “Either way, even if you go somewhere close, you're not going to be able to go home much. It's going to be the same thing [anywhere you go]. I wanted to try to branch out and try different things and be in a new experience.”
And Togiai got exactly that when he made his first trip to Columbus for Friday Night Lights last July. There, he and his coaches spent a considerable amount of time with Johnson, toured campus and met with players.
“Just the brotherhood the players had,” Togiai said when asked what stood out about that visit. “How they bonded so well together and how they talked to each other. I thought that was just amazing, and I wanted to be a part of that.”
Togiai and his parents returned to campus for an official visit in early September, at which time he contemplated pulling the trigger. He held off, though, in order to take official visits to Utah and Washington.
Johnson continued to heavily pursue Togiai, and attended one of his games in October and then immediately flew from the Big Ten Championship game in Indianapolis to Idaho to conduct an in-home visit in early December. That persistence certainly paid off handsomely.
“It just came down to the area, the coaches and just the vibe, really,” Togiai said. “When I went up there, it just felt different than anywhere else I visited.”
