The Hurry Up: Offensive Tackle Jonathan Allen Sets Another Visit While Wide Receiver A.J. Henning Hopes to Return This Fall

FLUID SITUATION

Ohio State will welcome Dayton Dunbar three-star offensive tackle Jonathan Allen to campus for the season opener against Oregon State on Saturday afternoon. The news was first reported by 247Sports and since confirmed by Eleven Warriors.

This will be the third visit of the summer for the 6-foot-5, 310-pound Allen — who is considered the 43rd-best offensive tackle and No. 489 prospect overall in the Class of 2019 — as he attended a pair of one-day camps back in June. Many had him on commitment watch, but it became clear during those camp visits that he’s a developmental prospect worth monitoring throughout the course of his senior season rather than a take at this time.

“[Offensive line coach Greg Studrawa] just kept telling me to move my hands, move my feet and work faster, move quicker,” Allen told reporters gathered after the Buckeyes’ June 8 camp. “The way he was pushing us today, I would love to be in that intensity in practice every day.”

Allen holds nearly 20 offers from programs such as Cincinnati, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisville, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State,Missouri and Penn State, West Virginia and Wisconsin, but I changed by 247Sports Crystal Ball prediction to the Bearcats this afternoon given the above-mentioned factors.

EXPLAINING MYSELF

I also placed a 247Sports Crystal Ball prediction in favor of Ohio State this evening for Frankfort, Illinois, Lincoln-Way East four-star wide receiver A.J. Henning.

The 5-foot-10, 175-pound Henning — who is considered the eighth-best wide receiver and No. 50 prospect overall in the Class of 2020 — landed an offer from the staff this spring and subsequently visited campus for the first and only time in June. He toured Ohio Stadium, the Woody Hayes Athletic Center, met with academic advisors and hung out with head coach Urban Meyer and then-wide receivers coach Zach Smith.

“Walking in Ohio State’s stadium was special,” Henning told The Chicago Tribune ahead of the Griffins’ season opener on Friday. “I hope to get back there for a game.”

Henning — who is still recovering from offseason hip surgery and sat out Lincoln-Way East’s 41-13 win over Crete Monee — had grown close with Smith, who was fired last month amid domestic abuse allegations, but hasn’t been shy about his affinity for the Buckeyes. He’s been quick to point out Ohio State was his favorite school as a child, which will certainly give them an advantage over nearly two dozen offers from programs such as LSU, Miami, Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Northwestern, Penn State, Stanford, Tennessee and Wisconsin. 

Henning has talked with interim wide receivers coach Brian Hartline in the weeks since he took over at the helm of Zone 6, and the staff is excited to get him back on campus for a game this fall. He hopes to narrow things down following his junior season, which — hopefully — ends in the Griffin’s second-straight state title.

“A big thing [for me] is academics,” Henning said. “The school has to care about me in the classroom. I have to fit in with the team, the coaches and the locker room culture. It’s going to be hard [to decide.]”

OFF TO A GREAT START

Rivals released its latest batch of rankings for the Class of 2020 on Wednesday afternoon, and five of Ohio State’s six commitments made the Rivals250.

#RivalsRankingsWeek: New 2020 #Rivals250 is Live!

RivalsRoundtable: Who was hard to rank? Who could be too high? Who could be too low? Our @Rivals Analysts debate the new list: https://t.co/H4GzZjNqP3

FULL RANKING: https://t.co/hsWGNtxlRn pic.twitter.com/v16QObTb5G

— Rivals (@Rivals) August 29, 2018

That includes:

• No. 18 (-4): Cincinnati St. Xavier four-star Paris Johnson Jr.
• No. 48 (-14): Arizona four-star quarterback Jack Miller III
• No. 90 (NR): New Jersey four-star offensive guard Luke Wypler
• No. 130 (-29): IMG Academy four-star cornerback Lejond Cavazos
• No. 250 (-7): Georgia four-star offensive tackle Jake Wray

Arizona four-star running back and Akron native Darvon Hubbard was not ranked among the Rivals250, though 247Sports — not to be confused with the 247Sports Composite Rankings — had him in their Top247 last week. All six combine to give the Buckeyes the nation’s third-best recruiting class, trailing top-ranked Miami (12 pledges) and second-place Alabama (7).

Other notable targets to make the Rivals250 include:

• No. 2 - Texas five-star running back Zachary Evans
• No. 4 - Maryland five-star defensive end Bryan Bresee
• No. 5 - Washington five-star defensive end Sav’ell Smalls
• No. 6 - California five-star cornerback Elias Ricks
• No. 9 - Washington D.C. five-star linebacker Mekhail Sherman
• No. 15 - Michigan five-star offensive guard Justin Rogers
• No. 19 - California four-star running back Kendall Milton
• No. 24 - Michigan four-star wide receiver Rashawn Williams
• No. 25 - Pennsylvania four-star wide receiver Julian Fleming
• No. 28 - New Jersey four-star athlete Jalen Berger
• No. 30 - Texas four-star cornerback R.J. Mickens
• No. 37 - Cincinnati Princeton four-star defensive end Darrion Henry
• No. 50 - Florida four-star running back Demarkcus Bowman
• No. 57 - Florida four-star cornerback Miles Brooks
• No. 58 - Texas four-star running back E.J. Smith
• No. 62 - Washington D.C. four-star wide receiver Rakim Jarrett
• No. 68 - Illinois four-star wide receiver A.J. Henning
• No. 84 - Florida four-star linebacker Derek Wingo
• No. 86 - Miami four-star athlete commit Henry Gray
• No. 87 - Kansas four-star offensive tackle Turner Corcoran
• No. 125 - North Carolina four-star defensive end Jacolbe Cowan
• No. 147 - Dublin Coffman four-star running back Michael Drennen II
• No. 151 - Cincinnati Princeton four-star linebacker Jaheim Thomas
• No. 226 - Minnesota four-star quarterback Jalen Suggs