Recruiting Rewind: The 2011 Recruiting Class - Jim Tressel's last - Left Major Holes at Ohio State

There is nothing more important to the overall success of a college football program than the ability to recruit well. The challenge to find quality football players, who are also quality students and citizens, is a daunting one. No matter what your ability when it comes to x's and o's, if you can't read a living room, the concerns of a parent, or identify an over-stepping uncle, your coaching career isn't apt to last real long. 

The greatest coaches in sports have usually all possessed a number of common characteristics, but chief among them is adaptability. The knowledge that every kid is different, that generations change and so to must your approach. It's what makes men like Jim Tressel, Urban Meyer, Nick Saban, Les Miles and others successful: the ability to connect with kids and their families on a personal level. 

Of course, getting them on campus is just one part of the battle, isn't it? Jim Tressel's calling card — the ability to get the most out of less-heralded players and to create cohesion through empathy and understanding combined with just the right amount of chips on a shoulder — helped him take "three-star" players Malcolm Jenkins and A.J. Hawk and turn them into superstars.

Urban Meyer, Nick Saban and others may lack the developmental aptitude of Tresselian types, but their ultra-competitive personalities and psychoanalytical abilities have given them an edge when recruiting the high-profile player. Their "challenge you until you puke" approach works well with the alpha-male that litters college football's landscape. Those are the players, who bust out or just bust, that can make  — or break — a college football program.

Ohio State's place among college football's elite, combined with midwestern roots and geographical location, has always provided Buckeye coaches with a unique recruiting advantage. Few schools have the ability to sell themselves as "the big time" of college football with the background of a thriving cityscape and still appeal to so many from smalltown USA. That advantage has more often than not yielded positive recruiting results, and subsequently, wins on the gridiron. 

Today, in the first part of what will be a recurring series, we're going to take a look back at the history of Ohio State football recruiting. The wins, the losses, and the ghosts of talented teenagers who never realized a destiny of football glory. We begin with your current seniors, the last recruiting class of Jim Tressel and Jim Bollman: the Ohio State recruiting class of 2011. A class viewed by most reasonable observers as a disappointment, not necessarily because of a lack of productivity, but more so how many players never contributed a down to the Scarlet and Gray.

THOSE WHO NEVER WERE

With a class of 24 as the Buckeyes had in 2011, there are sure to be some hits, some misses and some guys who just don't contribute. That's the reality of college football. The Ohio State class of 2011 was exceptional in its attrition. Thanks in part to the unfortunate demise of Jim Tressel, the interim year of Luke Fickell, and the arrival of Urban Meyer, those who remain from 2011 group had three different head coaches. That is a recipe for disaster, yet the class has had its share of success.

It's impossible to review this class without shaking your head and getting a serious case of the "what-if" flu. The challenges of coaching change especially affected the offensive line. Of four true offensive lineman — longsnapper Bryce Haynes notwithstanding — two of these would be seniors (including Chase Farris, who's vacillated from offense to defense and back again) remain in the two-deep depth chart for new offensive line coach Ed Warinner. Chris Carter is another who has been back and forth between position groups. 

Brian Bobek, the highest-rated prospect along the offensive line in that 2011 class, transferred after lettering his freshman year to Minnesota, where he now serves in reserve duty. Tommy Brown departed Columbus prior to the start of fall camp to his home of Akron, where he's playing for the Zips. 

With five signatures from defensive lineman in 2011, including four players ranked in the top 15 at their position, Tressel and company had to feel very good in the group of young men they had entering the program. Toledo's Kenny Hayes, Canton McKinley's Steve Miller and Elyria's Chase Farris were a dynamic trio of defensive ends, but only Miller remains in that group for Ohio State. Hayes dealt with a serious of medical issues before transferring, and Farris, as noted, is now an offensive lineman. Miller starts for the Buckeyes, although were Noah Spence available for Larry Johnson, Sr., he too would be struggling to see the field.

The linebacker group was regarded as one of the better hauls in the country for 2011, but half of that vaunted group never played a meaningful snap in Columbus. In the wake of Tatgate, Ejuan Price as granted special NCAA status and transferred to Pittsburgh before ever enrolling at Ohio State. Maryland's Connor Crowell was another standout expected to contribute to the Buckeyes, but medical issues plagued him, and he's now out of football. 

The secondary was, unfortunately, no different. Plantation, Florida defensive back Jeremy Cash transferred to Duke in the midst of the NCAA scandals surrounding the Buckeyes, despite playing in five games as a true freshman. He's been successful in Durham, being named second team All ACC in 2013. (He attributes his transfer not just to football but a personal "revelation.") 

Toledo's DerJuan "Peewee" Gambrell couldn't find the field at Ohio State but did find legal troubles; after redshirting his freshman season, he was arrested on assault charges and dismissed from Ohio State.

In total, seven of the 24 signees in 2011 left or transferred from Ohio State before their eligibility was up. 

THE PROGRAM MAKERS

There was certainly star power in Jim Tressel's final class at Ohio State, highlighted by Braxton Miller, Devin Smith, Michael Bennett, Doran Grant and 2014 NFL first round pick, Ryan Shazier. 

A number of key contributors remain on Urban Meyer's current roster, including tight ends Jeff Heuerman and Nick Vannett, wide receiver Evan Spencer, and linebacker Curtis Grant. Grant and Miller were the headliners of the class, each earning a composite five-star ranking.

Shazier, who became a star for the Buckeyes, was the country's seventh-ranked outside linebacker. Interestingly, the Plantation High School product had committed to Florida early in the process, but re-opened his recruitment when Urban Meyer's left Gainesville. That opened the doors for Tressel and the Buckeyes, who had finished second to Meyer initially. The rest, as they say, is history.

If you count Braxton Miller, there are eight players (33%) from the 2011 class listed as starters on Ohio State's current depth chart and 12 (50%) in the two-deep of their "natural" senior season.

THE PROGNOSIS

Fifty-percent, as noted, remain and contribute as seniors or redshirt juniors, which is not a terrible number. Stars like Braxton Miller, Michael Bennett, Ryan Shazier and others have made their marks on the field, in the classrooms and in the community. Others have failed to live up to their billing. 

The offensive and defensive inconsistencies faced during Urban Meyer's tenure at Ohio State can be almost exclusively traced to this class. Whether that's fair or unfair to a group of kids who dealt with numerous transitions is up for debate. The holes left by underwhelming results on both lines, not to mention a defensive back seven (eight players) that only saw three players give meaningful playing time can't be sugarcoated.

Urban Meyer's arrival prompted an immediate overhaul at each of these positions (and wide receiver, although both members of the 2011 class remain listed as starters now). This caused a chain reaction of poor play, poor depth and overall melancholy.

Still, as a group, it's hard to say they've not done well: records have fallen, they've won 31 of 41 games in their careers and have avoided (for the most part) legal issues, academic issues and any other grand embarrassment of the university. They persevered through coaching changes, the worst season in what feels like forever, a ridiculous bowl ban and the crumbling of the Big Ten's national perception. Even if they themselves take some of the blame for that from national pundits hellbent on creating narratives, they've fought through it. The 2011 class was front and center in an unprecedented winning streak, an undefeated season, and so far, a winning mark against Michigan. 

While their work isn't done, and they'll be quick to say they're not satisfied, history may look back on this group more kindly than anticipated.