Ohio State Recruiting

If Meyer lands both Bell and Wilson then they will probably end up in the top 5.  There's a lot of blue chippers out there still who are looking at the other teams with current top 15 classes, so who knows how the final class rankings will be.

 

I'm still a doubting Thomas when it comes to Bell.  He's an SEC fan and I don't see him taking tOSU over the Tide or his Vols.  But, not being privy to what's going on in his life or between him and Meyer I'm as clueless as anybody else on here.

 

What does concern me is the over-signing that's going on now.  At the beginning of January, the Buckeyes had 60 returning players remaining on the roster and had 19 commits for the 2013 class for a total of 79.  So I was glad to see that they were going after some top talent to round out the final three.  They added Trey Johnson, Mike Mitchell, and Chris Worley; so great, they filled their 82 scholly limit.  But, then I see that they were still pursuing more commits.

 

At first I thought, Meyer must be thinking some of the commits were waffling and being pulled elsewhere; after all, Munger and Elliot both scheduled visits to other schools so that was a possibility.  But I was disappointed when the news came out that they dropped OL Joey O'Connor and LB Conner Crowell before adding JUCO transfer Corey Smith.  That sort of thing never used to happen at my school, and I would like to see the practice ended now.

 

That puts the team at 81 schollies promised right now, with just one remaining... but there are a lot of offers still out there.  If Wilson does commit to be a Buckeye this evening, I hope that Meyer pulls the remaining offers instead of pushing others off of the roster.  I'm not the only alumnus concerned about the over-signing practice.  Some are already planning to bring it to the Board of Regents and the OSU Board of Trustees.  The last thing tOSU needs is bad press about something like that... and it certainly will make the headlines if those two boards have the matter on their agenda.

Wilson guarantees a top 5 class for the Buckeyes and Bell would put tOSU in the top 3 of just about every recruiting service!  I think Urban gets both and the coaches bring a loaded class to Columbus.  

I don't think some of these guys are being dropped.  They are having medical issues or transferring to somewhere closer to home like O'Connor or just looking for somewhere they can get playing time.  Next years class will probably max out at 20 and that may be a high number unless a few more guys transfer.  I trust Meyer and if you want to compete with the SEC then your gonna have to recruit your a$$ off and get the best players in the country. 

pdmagic113: Wilson guarantees a top 5 class for the Buckeyes and Bell would put tOSU in the top 3 of just about every recruiting service!

If time stood still, I would agree with that assessment. But until we see who the other programs sign we can't know how they will be rated at the end.

pdmagic113: I think Urban gets both and the coaches bring a loaded class to Columbus.

+10.  Although (as previously stated) I have doubts about getting Bell, I agree that the staff has already recruited a loaded class. With the talent already on the roster plus this class (even as it already is) the Buckeyes will be national title contenders. I don't really care about how elite our elite class is ranked by the scouting services. When evaluating talent of this caliber, I think that trying to ordinally scale them is inexact at best.

Bucknuts88: ...those players decided to leave for different reasons than being pushed out. You are going to see players get injured and not want to make it worse so quit. You are also going to see players transfer to get play time.

You do not believe that yourself (evidenced by the rest of your response, below) so I would suggest that you save yourself the effort of trying to convince anyone else of it, either.  Crowell could be medically redshirted until he fully recovers. O'Connor didn't make the two-deep, but an athlete of his caliber is no quitter and would remain if not for being pushed to leave. Right now, none of us know for a certainty about them. But I promise you that they will be consulted about the context of their leaving the team.

pdmagic113: I trust Meyer and if you want to compete with the SEC then your gonna have to recruit your a$$ off and get the best players in the country.

Yes, pdmagic113, I agree we want to see our coaching staff recruit the best players in the nation.  tOSU has done so for a very long time without compromising integrity by over-signing.

Bucknuts88: If you are so worried about those type of issues than you need to lower your expectations for OSU vs the SEC. They do hat every year and its why they are head and shoulders above every school in crappy big 10. Our conferences recruiting is a joke I do not see the Big 10 as a conference being better than the PAC 12 Big 12 or SEC for quite some time

To have this kind of thinking associated with tOSU is embarrassing. I refuse to lower my expectations for tOSU in any fashion. Your belief that the SEC is "head and shoulders above every school in the B1G" is nonsense.  The head-to-head record of the B1G vs SEC during the BCS era is a virtual tie.  I do agree that most of the B1G schools are not recruiting up to their potential, but that is not the case at tOSU.  Over-signing is not the answer in any case. High ideals of integrity, honor and commitment matters, and sweeping students under the rug to make room for other highly rated prospects is immoral.  End of discussion.

The Buck Guy those players decided to leave for different reasons than being pushed out. You are going to see players get injured and not want to make it worse so quit. You are also going to see players transfer to get play time. If you are so worried about those type of issues than you need to lower your expectations for OSU vs the SEC. They do hat every year and its why they are head and shoulders above every school in crappy big 10. Our conferences recruiting is a joke I do not see the Big 10 as a conference being better than the PAC 12 Big 12 or SEC for quite some time

Wilson is a Buckeye! 

Wilson down, Bell to go!!  This could be such a huge close by Meyer and company.

I'm still a doubting Thomas when it comes to Bell. He's an SEC fan and I don't see him taking tOSU over the Tide or his Vols.

The Buck Guy, maybe it's a good thing you're such a "doubting Thomas".  If Bell does sign with us, it will make it just that more special for you.  I really believe Alabama is off of his list at this point, and Tennessee and Ohio State are in a dead even race here.  He has been a fan of Tennessee since childhood, but has a much closer relationship with the Ohio State staff.  The Alabama hat might be present at his announcement ceremony for drama purposes only, and I'm giving Ohio State a slight lead over UT going into tomorrow.

What does concern me is the over-signing that's going on now.

Sir, there is no oversigning going on here.  Meyer had over 140 offers on the table for the 2013 class, knows what the needs limitations are.  He didn't oversign at Florida, with the exception of one year by one guy I believe.  If I remember correctly, that one came down to an error when he thought a player would be medically ineligible that became eligible right before fall camp, and a signee was grayshirted.  Tressel grayshirted guys during his tenure, so I don't think we should criticize Meyer for something he hasn't even done yet at Ohio State.  Crowell is a prime example of what happened at Florida.  Crowell is currently declared medically ineligible to compete, and no longer on scholarship.  If he were to become eligible in July, I would expect Meyer to honor his scholarship and reinstate him.  If they are at the 82 limit if this happens, someone is going to have to grayshirt, and it could very well be Crowell himself.  On another note, the staff did not force O'Conner out, most especially when the kid is an O-lineman...a position in dire need of depth.

Additionally, don't be surprised if Meyer is aware of more attrition that isn't being made public right now.  There is alway a Spring or early Summer story about a player or two having to leave the program.  It happened all the time during Tressel's time, and quite often before that. 

There are actually two scholarships remaining to give going into signing day tomorrow, and I deeply believe one of them will be had by either Clark or Bell.  Maybe both.  If Jacobs signs with Maryland, we'll have three.  Perhaps Meyer might pocket one or two for the 2014 class, which has promise of being even better than this one. 

Great post Silver_Bullet!  It sounds like a done deal with Clark!  I've seen multiple reports saying Clark will sign with tOSU tomorrow and become a Buckeye.  I think Meyer knows Jacobs may be on his way to Maryland and he just replaced him with a better player in Clark.  On a negative note it seems like the confidence in Ez Elliott is going down.  Some believe he may flip to Missouri tomorrow and that would be a tough loss to this class.  

Watching the basketball game with Ohio State leading that team from a wierd place called Ann Arbor at the half.  Good game.

 It sounds like a done deal with Clark!

pdmagic113, I don't think it's a done deal my friend.  I'd call it a 60% lean right now.  I just don't know where Clark would fit in the Florida offense in the next couple of years.  They say they have a plan for him, but they've told all of their WRs of a "plan".  There is only so much they can do with all of those guys, so maybe Clark will come our way.  

I think I may have calculated wrong on the scholarship count.  We should have just one to give, but Jaime Wood is going to end up in Crowell's court at some point so there will be an additional to give later.  Well, game back on.  Go Bucks! 

James Clark is in so that's great news!!  Another weapon for Herman and Meyer.  It sounds like Jacobs is gone and staying home at MD and Elliott is still a mystery.  Bruce Feldman is reporting Vonn Bell to Tennessee which sucks but still a very solid finish on offense for the Buckeyes recruiting class.  I don't know if the Buckeyes will be top 3 without Bell but they should finish 4th or 5th at the worst on just about all recruiting sites.

Tavion is not done yet!

Baugh and the punter Townsend are the two remaining committed players left to sign. Eze willl announce later today, Bell in 20 minutes.

The class is basically done and waiting on EZE.  Jacobs is going to MD and Bell to TN.  Sucks tOSU didn't land Bell but the Wilson and Clark finish works for me.

disagree with that... Bell is not done yet..

Bell to OSU!!!!!

Wooooooooooooo!!!  Good call gobucks!!!  Vonn Bell to tOSU!!!  Buckeyes baby with the strong finish.  Bruce Feldman is an idiot with reporting Bell to TN.

Top 3 class locked up for Urban Meyer and the Buckeyes!!  I think Bama is probably gonna be #1 but there is a great chance tOSU finishes as the #2 overall class on all recruiting rankings!

after Add James Clark, Tavion Jacobs signed with Maryland. Good luck to the kid. He has some serious jets and real promise as a receiver..

Johnny Townsend is pushing his signing to 4pm today instead of right now which is interesting and many believe he is about to switch to Bama.  I know he is a punter but the Buckeyes need one and he is going to be very good.  After the awful punting last year I was actually happy Townsend was about to pick tOSU.  I guess we will see at 4 but it doesn't look good and someone else will have to step in as the punter.  Maybe they will just score every possession or go for it on 4th down all the time!!

we need a punter..

Frank E from last years class is listed as a WR but was actually a very good punter in high school so he could take the job if Townsend switches.  Also Drew Basil could have double duty and punt as well.  I hope Townsend signs with tOSU because it would be great to have a guy kick 40+yards just about every damn time rather then the crap we saw the last couple years.

I never know what to think about kicker prospects.  Remember how Ben "Buck-Cannon" Buchanon was a record kicker at high school and the highest rated kicker in the history of Rivals recruit rankings...never even won the starting kicker position as a Buckeye and is only the #55 punter in FBS.

Hoping Meyer finds the next Nugent/Sander duo from somewhere.

Latest vibe is Townsend to Bama and EZE to tOSU.  It would suck to lose Townsend but you gotta have faith Urban will find a solid replacement for the time being and many believe Basil can handle both duties.

I think both still go OSU....

Just look at the weapons urban brought in on this class.... Wow! 

Nothing official yet but Meyer said they do expect 1 more player to sign but isn't able to disclose any names or information until its done.  That player is EZE so it looks like the Buckeyes will end with 24 players in this class and Townsend is probably off to Bama.  This class is going to finish top 3 on every recruiting service regardless so big props to Meyer and the coaching staff for closing strong.

Elliot was supposed to declare/sign at 5:00.... anybody hear anything else about what's going on with him now?
I don't know, but Dave Biddle (Editor at Bucknuts.com) tweeted that he now thinks EZE has flipped to Mizzou.

Elliott signed with the Buckeyes!  Not sure what Biddle was saying but the LOI is signed and delivered.  Townsend is the only one remaining and most reports think he is switching.

Looks like tOSU will finish ranked #2 on Rivals and 247, #3 on ESPN, and currently Scout has the Buckeyes #1.  

The Buck Guy are you finally convinced this is a top 5 class?  Haha JK man but you have to be pumped with this great finish and basically a top 2 class! 

pdmagic113: The Buck Guy are you finally convinced this is a top 5 class?  Haha JK man but you have to be pumped with this great finish and basically a top 2 class!

Yeah, pleasantly surprised to say the least.  Clearly the #2 class IMO.  With Clark and Bell added, plus having Ole Miss swipe some away from the competition kept this in the top 5.  But to be honest, I'm really not so concerned about how the recruiting sites rank the class as I am about how the class addresses the needs for the program going forward.  Meyer and his staff put together a brilliant class to fill the roster.  The Buckeyes certainly will contend for the final BCS-NC as well as the first few NC-playoffs.
O - H !!!

pdmagic113: Elliott signed with the Buckeyes!  Not sure what Biddle was saying but the LOI is signed and delivered.  Townsend is the only one remaining and most reports think he is switching.

Biddle's tweet was from last night.

 [davebiddle] Dave Biddle RT [@Miles11W]: I think I'm going to switch my [Ezekiel Elliott] prediction to [#Missouri].

The reason I was confused about EZE is because he was not shown as signed yet on 247Sports or Bucknuts; although they were the ones who initially claimed Elliott was signing with the Buckeyes according to source Steve Wiltfong (a PSU blogger); but that is the only source I see out there making the claim.  The supposed video feed link by Wiltfong is an erroneous link ...

But the OSU official site showed Elliott signed at 5:14 today, so I finally found it.