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.
Cam Martinez Reacts to Official Visit
Michigan athlete Cam Martinez is one of the most coveted prospects by Ohio State, even though his composite rating doesn’t convey Martinez as the most impactful player in the class. Whatever the ratings say, Martinez brings quite a bit of athleticism and even more leadership, as he’s been leading his Muskegon team to great heights from the quarterback position since he was a freshman.
He will likely be a household name wherever he goes.
Upon his arrival at Ohio State for his official visit, Martinez was very high on the Buckeyes. They’d made their way up to Muskegon in the form of Jeff Hafley and Brian Hartline’s first trips upon to his campus. That left an impression on Martinez, as has Ohio State’s openness to trying him at a couple different positions to find the best spot for him.
But when leaving, his interest in the Buckeyes climbed even more.
“I think they did everything right this weekend,” Martinez said to Eleven Warriors about Ohio State’s big recruiting weekend. “I feel more interested. But my interest has always been high. I just feel really good about them.”
Buckeye Nation... H pic.twitter.com/DYHUpbdEoN
— Cameron Martinez (@CM240) June 23, 2019
Martinez, who has been named to All-State every year he’s played varsity for Muskegon, is in a win-win situation if he decides to commit to Ohio State. The Buckeyes would likely try him at wide receiver and safety, which has two of the best coaches in the country for their respective positions, in Hafley and Hartline.
Until Martinez has an opportunity to hit the field in those positions, he’d also be a crucial special teams player.
On his visit, Martinez said he appreciated getting to know the other recruits and players better, such as Julian Fleming, Paris Johnson Jr. and Lejond Cavazos.
“Just talking with them more and hanging out with the players,” Martinez said. “I was able to talk with Julian, Lejond, and Paris. They’re good guys too.
“You always want to surround yourself with people that you can compete with and against every day to be better.”
Following the visit, Martinez will head home to discuss his options with his family, in consideration of his strong relationship with Northwestern especially.
Ohio State Exceeded Jacolbe Cowan's Expectations
North Carolina defensive end Jacolbe Cowan made the trip to Columbus with teammate Kedrick Bingley-Jones last weekend for their official visits. Cowan came in with high expectations since he had already made two visits before.
“I think it’s fair to say they exceeded them,” Cowan told Eleven Warriors about his expectations. “My family and I had an amazing time.”
Im gonna be good, its in Gods hands... #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/zSrCXr67aY
— J C 12 (@JacolbeCowan12) June 23, 2019
Cowan spent time with the players and coaches, including some one-on-one time with defensive line coach Larry Johnson.
He said that Ohio State appealed to him by keeping his visit simple and just sitting him down to talk with him and his family about who the program sees him and what they stand for. He didn’t need much more than that.
Tennessee, North Carolina and Georgia are also among the top schools for Cowan. He doesn’t yet have official visits scheduled with the other schools, and he said at this point, some of the specifics of these visits aren’t changing too much for him but that he’s focused on making the right choice.
“Not necessarily, right now I’m just focused on making the right decision,” Cowan said.
Dead Period Begins Today
Today marks the beginning of the June-July dead period in recruiting. The dead period lasts June 24-July 24.
Coaches are not allowed to make face-to-face contact with recruits or their parents during the dead period. That includes visits to prospects’ high schools. Coaches are also not allowed to watch prospects compete either – to avoid coaches traveling to events, watching players work and then leaving without actually making contact with them.
The purpose of a dead period is to watch for the well-being of the recruits, which is understandable, as these guys typically have coaches and media texting and calling every day. The dead period does not affect the media much, though.
Many recruits will take this time to fall back into their support networks and make the commitment decision that is best for them. Most 2020 prospects typically schedule their official visits before July, but there is some time following the dead period to make visits before their senior football seasons.
Takeaways from Rivals Five-Star Challenge
Rivals hosted its annual Five-Star Challenge in Atlanta on Monday, and many Ohio State targets were there to participate. While media outside of Rivals is not allowed to attend the camp, there were some updates that came out of the camp.
BuckeyeGrove.com’s Marc Givler reported that four-star defensive tackle Darrion Henry will be committing Saturday. Henry is expected to pick Ohio State, but LSU and Tennessee are slight possibilities as well.
Rivals’ national recruiting director Mike Farrell reported that Ohio State quarterback commit Kyle McCord believes Bijan Robinson and Mookie Cooper will be the next Ohio State commits for the 2020 class. McCord was at Ohio State’s Buckeye Bash & Barbecue over the weekend, but it doesn’t seem like Cooper, who is strongly considering Illinois, will make his commitment soon. It’s also unlikely that Robinson will make his commitment this week, when the next commitments are expected. While they might not be the next commits, McCord’s confidence in them is encouraging for Ohio State.
We need to talk https://t.co/xGB7XfnTXU
— Lathan Ransom (@L8thanRansom) June 24, 2019
Farrell also reported that Jacolbe Cowan, who made his official visit to Ohio State on June 14, was wearing Georgia gear at the camp Monday. Wearing a certain program’s logo often means little, but it is worth noting going into the dead period.
Clark Phillips Vlog Post about Commitment
Ohio State cornerback commit Clark Phillips posted a new video to his YouTube channel about the process of committing and then flying to Columbus for his official visit. He made the visit with his parents and his brother, Bryce, who is rated as the No. 24 cornerback in the 2021 class.
