Fast-Rising Freshman Quarterback Colin Hurley Capturing Ohio State’s Attention

By Garrick Hodge on April 21, 2022 at 11:35 am
Colin Hurley
Twitter/@ColinHurley
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Ohio quarterback Ryan Montgomery was the first signal-caller Ohio State offered in the 2025 class. OSU, which only rarely extends offers to freshman quarterbacks, has not offered another quarterback in that class since, but that could change soon. 

One of the fastest-rising signal callers in the 2025 class, Florida prospect Colin Hurley, very well could be the second quarterback Ohio State offers in that cycle. The 6-foot-1, 213-pound Hurley visited Ohio State for the first time on April 8, one day before he earned a Golden Gun Award as a top performer at the Elite 11 Regional in Massillon on April 9. 

“My visit was excellent. I met with the whole coaching staff,” Hurley told Eleven Warriors. “Coach Day, coach (Tim) Walton, coach (Tim) Hinton, coach (Corey) Dennis and coach (Tony) Alford. They were all super welcoming and personal and professional about the whole thing. It made me feel like I was really welcomed. We had a deep conversation about family and football.

“I already knew the visit was going to be great, but it definitely exceeded my expectations.” 

Later in the visit, Dennis and offensive analyst Todd Fitch broke down Hurley’s high school film with him.

“They both said I had a very explosive arm,” Hurley said. “I made a lot of good plays and that was really it. They loved my film.” 

Hurley also toured the campus and Ohio Stadium. 

“It was a great feeling walking out onto that field,” Hurley said. “There’s a lot of great history behind Ohio State football, so it made me feel really good to be standing on that field. I’ve always watched Ohio State on Saturdays. I really love their explosive offense and they really match what I do at my high school.” 

Hurley said Ohio State has been on his radar for a couple of months. He captured the Buckeyes’ attention after leading Trinity Christian Academy (Jacksonville, Florida) to a state championship in his freshman season, throwing for 2,146 yards and 24 passing touchdowns with 12 interceptions in 14 games. He became the first freshman quarterback from Jacksonville to ever win a state title and was named the Florida High School Class 2A Overall Player of the Year.

“They made it very clear that I’m a priority recruit for them,” Hurley said of Ohio State. “They like everything about me, my size, my strength, my speed, my passion for the game, my football IQ and especially my arm talent.” 

Hurley already has 14 Division I offers, a list that includes Georgia, Miami, Ole Miss, Florida State, Florida and Arkansas. He’s hoping to add an Ohio State offer down the road.

“It would definitely feel great to me,” Hurley said of a potential Ohio State offer. “I don’t really chase offers, I take my recruiting process very seriously. I’m grateful for any college and coaches that show interest in me.” 

Day typically doesn’t offer quarterbacks until he’s seen them throw in person. He saw Hurley compete at the Elite 11 Regional. Normally, college coaches are not allowed to attend recruiting camps that aren’t hosted by schools, but Day was allowed to be there because his son, RJ, was a participant at the event.   

“The Elite 11 event was amazing,” Hurley said. “There was a lot of great coaching and competition there. I knew I threw it really well. A lot of the writers and coaches out there told me that Dante Moore and myself were the top performers of the camp and it showed at the end. Everyone really saw my arm talent and my ability to throw on the run. They saw how fast I was, how dynamic I was out of the pocket and I really competed out there and showed why I’m the top of my class and probably some other classes as well.” 

Hurley began playing football and quarterback at four years old, and fell in love with the leadership role and all the responsibilities playing quarterback requires. 

“I play this game with no regrets,” he said. “I throw a pick or I throw an incompletion, I don’t regret that pass and move on to the next play. I just really play this game with no regrets and have fun with it.” 

Hurley said he’s planning on a return trip to Columbus, though he’s not sure when exactly that visit will take place. 

“I’m going back up to Ohio State,” he said. “I’ve already planned that with the coaches, I just don’t know a specific date yet.”

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