Where Did Ohio State's Elite '15 Land in the Recruiting Services' Final Rankings?

Russell Willson's two-star high school ranking will bludgeoned over your head during the broadcast of FOOTBALL'S FINAL GAME, so if you're unaware: Recruiting rankings are not an exact science.

But that doesn't mean they're worthless. In fact, despite the inevitable misses and biases, rankings do provide a solid baseline for evaluating a school's incoming talent.

February's National Signing Day is looming, after all, and as such, the big three recruiting services (24/7, Scout, and Rivals) all released their final rankings. It should come as no surprise Ohio State prospects litter the lists of 2015 blue chip talent.

But their rankings are not uniform, so I've compiled them into trendy little tables for the reader's amusement.

So without further ado, let's see how elite the #Elite15 is.

24/7 

According to 24/7, Georgia commit DT Trent Thompson is 2015's top prospect. Ohio State's highest rated prospect, five-star LB Justin Hilliard, is the nation's 20th best prospect. Ohio State's #Elite15 is currently ranked as the nation's No. 7 class.

It's important to note these are 24/7's own rankings, not their composite rankings, which have become the recrutnik's go-to citation.

While Justin Hilliard is the only commit cracking 24/7's Top 50, I would say 24/7 is the highest of the recruiting services on the blue-chip talent coming down Ohio State's pipeline.

The CB trio of Carlton Davis, Joshua Norwood, and Denzel Ward all received a nice boost. And although Carlton Davis is the lowest rated prospect in the group, 24/7's Barton Simmons says he could be one to make an immediate impact:

Carlton Davis is the newest addition to the Top247 from the Ohio State commit list and though he's ranked lower than [Denzel] Ward, [Joshua] Norwood and Eric Glover-Williams, he is probably the best candidate to see the field early in his career. Davis' size and ability to play with physicality at the corner position should send him to Columbus ready to compete for the field.

Joe Burrow, he of the video game-like final stat line, also received a nice ratings boost that included his fourth star.

SCOUT

Tennessee's Khalil McKenzie (DT) is 2015's top prospect, according to Scout. Ohio State's highest ranking commit is Torrance Gibson (No. 52), although Scout only considers GIbson a "soft verbal" to Ohio State at this point. Scout ranks Ohio State's #Elite15 as the nation's No. 6 class.
 

Ohio State has two of the fastest-risers in the 2015 class (via Scout.com's Brandon Huffman):

"Ohio is where we saw the most movement," said national recruiting analyst Allen Trieu. "Two Ohio State commits, quarterback Joey Burrow and cornerback Denzel Ward moved up quite a bit on the strength of outstanding years. Burrow threw an incredible 63 touchdowns to just two interceptions."

Mathew Burrell carried his lowest rating here (No. 168), although Scout and Rivals (No. 155) both had Burrell lower than 24/7 (No. 93).

Dre'Mont Jones used a solid performance during the Army All-American week to turn some heads, but Scout was not impressed; they ranked Jones No. 220, the lowest of any service by 150 spots.

Denzel Ward was the only member of the fast-rising Norwood-Davis-Ward triumvirate to make Scout's final cut as well. They were also the only service to rate WR Alex Stump.

RIVALS

According to Rivals, the nation's top prospect is uncommitted Floridian DE Byron Cowart. Ohio State's top player is Cleveland St. Benedictine's Jerome Baker, and the #Elite15 checks-in with the nation's No. 7 class. 
 

At first I was incredulous Rivals didn't consider Torrance Gibson to be within the nation's top 250 prospects, but according to The Lord of Whispers, this is because they consider Gibson solely as a QB prospect, and not a QB/ATH combo. Obviously, Rivals doesn't rate Gibson's quarterbacking skills as elite.

Rivals, however, was high on Carlton Davis:

"Davis was the most consistent player on either roster at Semper Fi. He is as versatile a defensive back as there is and can cover like a cornerback despite having the build of a safety. Davis was a standout in every practice and in the game itself. He says he will play cornerback at Ohio State, but it's hard to imagine a scenario in which the Buckeyes don't use his impressive size at safety." -- Cassidy

And Dre'Mont Jones:

"We had seen both dominant and pedestrian performances from Jones during his senior season, but he was close to dominant all week at the Army Bowl. Built with an ideal five-technique defensive end frame, Jones is stout enough to hold the edge and stuff the run, while also being athletic enough to rush the passer and get backfield penetration." --Hemholdt

Rivals was the only service to rate Kevin Feder in their final crop and were in much more agreement with Scout about Eric Glover-Williams (No. 147 and No. 140, respectively) than 24/7 (No. 102).

Rivals was the only service not to rate Athens gunslinger Joe Burrow.

A BIG THREE COMPOSITE LOOK: 

Overall, it's easy to see the recruiting services aren't sleeping on Ohio State's incoming talent, despite it seeming to lack a true five-star flavor.

As Brady Hoke found out, recruiting stars can only take a coach so far. In the end, it's up to Urban Meyer to develop the talent, but it's clear to see he'll have a diverse group of talent to shape in his image: