The Hurry Up: Ohio State Offers Cincinnati Defensive End Darrion Henry While Hawaii Defensive Tackle Faatui Tuitele Eyes Visit

By Andrew Lind on February 19, 2018 at 6:50 pm
Elijah Eberhardt, Darrion Henry and Jaheim Thomas
Elijah Eberhardt, Darrion Henry and Jaheim Thomas
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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.

WE KNOW WHERE THIS IS HEADED, RIGHT?

Cincinnati Princeton defensive end Darrion Henry became only the third in-state sophomore to pick up an offer from Ohio State while on an unofficial visit on Monday afternoon, joining Akron Archbishop Hoban four-star linebacker DeaMonte Trayanum and Cincinnati St. Xavier four-star offensive tackle Paris Johnson Jr. in that exclusive club.

The 6-foot-6, 260-pound Henry — who, like most prospects from the Class of 2020, is not yet ranked by any major recruiting sites — was on campus for an unofficial visit with his teammates, cornerback Elijah Eberhardt and linebacker Jaheim Thomas.

Henry also holds early offers from Cincinnati, Indiana, Iowa, Miami, Michigan, Michigan State, Rutgers and Toledo, as he recorded 38 tackles, three fumble recoveries, two interceptions and one defensive touchdown for the Vikings last season.

The aforementioned trio participated in the Under Armour All-America Camp Series near Cleveland on Sunday and then traveled to Columbus together. Henry earned rave reviews from those in attendance for his efforts at defensive end, though there's a belief that he might move to offensive tackle at the next level given his overall size and athleticism.

BOREN-ESQUE?

Speaking of Sunday's camp, Cincinnati four-star guard Zeke Correll and Archbishop four-star offensive guard Nolan Rumler were the only two prospect invited to participate in the Under Armour All-America Game in Orlando next January.

The 6-foot-4, 270-pound Correll remains among Ohio State's top targets at the position, though he reportedly favored Notre Dame until offensive line coach Harry Heistand took at job with the NFL's Chicago Bears last month.

Rumler, meanwhile, is a life-long Michigan fan and committed to the Wolverines last summer. His father and grandfather are both alums of the university, too, but that isn't stopping the Buckeyes from trying to flip him from his pledge.

From my good friend Ryan Donnelly at Land of 10:

“Ohio State has been coming at me pretty hard,” Rumler said. “They want me to play center for them and that’s what they’ve been telling me. They keep saying they really like me and that I’m still a priority for them. They’re still swinging, for sure.”

It's difficult to imagine Rumler changing his mind, but it wouldn't be entirely unprecidented.

You may recall Mike Boren played for legendary Michigan coach Bo Schembechler and taught his children — Justin, Zach and Jacoby — to root for the Wolverines. Justin, the oldest, transferred from Michigan to Ohio State after the Wolverines hired Rich Rodriguez in 2008, and then Zach and Jacoby eventually followed him to Columbus, something that was also once perceived as unimaginable.  

LOOKING IN EVERY CORNER OF THE COUNTRY

Before the last recruiting cycle, Ohio State had never signed a player from Idaho (Tommy Togiai) or Oklahoma (Josh Proctor). The Buckeyes would love to cross Hawaii off the list, as well, when they welcome Honolulu St. Louis five-star defensive tackle Faatuiolemotu “Faatui” Tuitele to campus for an unofficial visit later this spring — though a specific date has not been set in stone just yet. 

And, please, don’t mention former punter Scott Terna in the comments below. He was from Punahou, but walked on to the program in 1991. 

The 6-foot-4, 299-pound Tuitele is considered the second-best defensive tackle and No. 26 prospect overall in the Class of 2019 holds 30 offers from programs such as Clemson, Florida State, Georgia, Notre Dame, Oregon, Penn State, Stanford, UCLA and USC. 

Defensive tackle isn't a priority this cycle, not with the Buckeyes bringing on the aforementioned Togiai, five-star Taron Vincent and JUCO transfer Antwuan Jackson Jr. in the last class. But I imagine Tuitele — who is named after the chief of the western region of America Samoa — will likely land an offer during the visit.

And, in case you’re wondering, Ohio State has never signed a player from Alaska, Iowa, Maine, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont or Wyoming either.

GOT OPEN

Hundreds of the top prospects descended upon Miami's Gibson Park on Sunday morning for Nike Football's The Opening South Florida Regional, the first of at least eight scheduled stops across the country. Only six punched their ticket to The Opening Finals, though, which will take place at the Nike Headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon, in late June or early July.

Five of those prospects currently hold an offer from Ohio State, including IMG Academy five-star running backs Noah Cain and Trey Sanders, Florida State four-star cornerback commit Akeem Dent, Chaminade-Madonna four-star wide receiver John Dunmore and Palm Beach four-star cornerback Kaiir Elam.

The Midwest Regional, meanwhile, will be held at Massillon Washington on May 5. Eleven Warriors will, of course, be in attendance and we'll have a full list of prospects expected to participate in the week leading up to the event.

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