On Sunday, Ohio State added commitment number 13 to their 2016 recruiting class, currently ranked third in the country, when Baltimore's Kareem Felder verbally pledged to the Buckeyes.
With 13 in and a class size that could range anywhere from 21-24, the numbers are beginning to tighten for Ohio State, and some tough decisions will have to be made inside the Woody Hayes Athletic Facility. Today, we're going to try and break down the list of the 11 most important players left on Ohio State's recruiting board.
11. LUKE FARRELL // TIGHT END // PERRY, OHIO
While Ohio State already has a tight end in the 2016 group, Cincinnati's Jake Hausmann, Perry's Luke Farrell is a player Ohio State offered in July of 2014, underscoring the value Ohio State's staff has assigned to him. He's planning a late summer decision and the Buckeyes are the perceived leader ahead of Penn State and Boston College.
10. KEEPING JONATHON COOPER/TERRELL HALL
Yes, Jonathon Cooper and Terrell Hall are already committed to Ohio State, but that doesn't mean protecting them in the recruiting class isn't a priority. As a duo, the pair of defensive ends could be the country's best tandem, and if the Buckeyes add another big-timer at the position, which is likely, they'll form one of the best groups ever committed together along the defensive line, rankings-wise. Cooper and Hall are two players the Buckeyes identified early and locked up early, and keeping them in the mix is of paramount importance.
9. DRUE CHRISMAN // PUNTER // CINCINNATI, OHIO
The player most likely to be the next to come off this list and onto the commitment list, Drue Chrisman is the country's top punter, and he'll be making his college choice in the next few hours. Chrisman has offers from Ohio State, Florida State, UCLA, BYU and others and will decide – according to most – between Ohio State and BYU. He's got the size (6-foot-4, 200) and athleticism to impact a game in a number of ways and a leg to replace Cameron Johnston when the Australian punter leaves Columbus, either following this season or next.
8. DONNIE CORLEY // WIDE RECEIVER // DETROIT, MICHIGAN
Ohio State is looking for two pure wide receivers in 2016 and there might not be a hotter one in the country than Detroit Martin Luther King's Donnie Corley, Jr. The 6-foot-2, 180-pounder has 33 offers, including one from Georgia most recently, and has been to Ohio State twice since February. The Buckeyes are going to have to keep fighting for this one, and Corley has Notre Dame, Michigan State, and Tennessee among his favorites.
7. JORDAN FULLER // DEFENSIVE BACK // WESTWOOD, NEW JERSEY
One position the Buckeyes would really like to add another big-timer in 2016 is safety, and right now Jordan Fuller is the one at the top of the list. Fuller could play a number of positions in college, but defensive back is where the Buckeyes are recruiting him, led by Ed Warinner. The New Jersey native visited Ohio State in mid-April and the Buckeyes have consistently been mentioned by him as one of his favorites since. He has a brother who plays at UCLA, and that is something that could work in the Bruins favor.
Pennsylvania's Andrew Pryts is another player who could fill this slot, but as a Penn State legacy most think he's almost certainly destined to end up in Happy Valley.
6. MICHAEL JORDAN // OFFENSIVE TACKLE // PLYMOUTH, MICHIGAN
After missing out on Ohio's top two offensive tackles, the Buckeyes are going to look north to try and steal the best from neighboring Michigan, and that is Plymouth's Michael Jordan. Jordan has the frame (6-foot-6, 285-pounds) and footwork that has put him at/near the top of Ohio State's list since last summer, and they've done an excellent job developing their relationship with the Michigan star since. The question is whether or not they'll be able to pull him from either of the home-state schools, Michigan or Michigan State.
5. DAMAR HAMLIN // CORNERBACK // PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA
Last year the Buckeyes went to the wire to try and land Pittsburgh's Jordan Whitehead, and this year's version is Central Catholic's Damar Hamlin. Hamlin is, and has been, at the top of Ohio State's list at the position for a while now, and he's been to Columbus almost 10 times in the last year, indicating he's got significant interest in the Buckeyes. Hamlin has the length and speed that would make him a perfect fit in Ohio State's defensive backfield.
4. AUSTIN MACK // WIDE RECEIVER // FORT WAYNE, INDIANA
While Corley would be "gravy" for the Buckeyes, getting a commitment from Indiana's Austin Mack is not, he's a "must get" for Ohio State. Forget his ranking (No. 20 at wide receiver) he's absolutely been the top target for Urban Meyer's staff since they first got to work with him last summer. Mack is 6-foot-2, 205-pounds and has the frame to turn into a prototypical big outside wide receiver. In the words of one Ohio State staffer close to the Mack situation? "He's a grown-ass man."
3. KAREEM WALKER // RUNNING BACK // WAYNE, NEW JERSEY
Another committed prospect on the list, there's no doubt about how important Kareem Walker is in Ohio State's class. He's the nation's top-ranked running back and as the Buckeye running game continues to be the focus of their offense, finding a player of his caliber to come in and take carries as a freshman will be important. Everyone in the country will be trying to rip Walker from Urban Meyer's clutches, so it will require a big effort from Meyer, Ed Warinner, and of course running back coach Tony Alford, to continue reminding him why Ohio State was the place for him.
2. RASHAN GARY/ANTWUAN JACKSON // DEFENSIVE TACKLE
The Buckeyes have one commitment at defensive tackle in 2016 from Malik Barrow but adding a verbal from either New Jersey's Rashan Gary or Georgia's Antwuan Jackson is incredibly important to the overall success of this year's class. Gary, the nation's top overall prospect is about as much of a "sure thing" as there can be in recruiting. He's got the size and quickness that is coveted not just by college coaches but NFL teams, he's that much of a difference maker. Jackson is not far behind Gary, and he and the Buckeyes are discussing a pair of summer trips to Columbus, which could move them way up his list.
1. NICK BOSA // DEFENSIVE END // FORT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA
Nick Bosa is the single most important recruit left in Ohio State's 2016 recruiting class. His family line is scarlet and gray, he's an incredible talent on the field (ranked as the country's seventh overall prospect in 2016) and he plays a position of need for the Buckeyes, even with Jonathon Cooper and Terrell Hall in the mix. Bosa is expected to make a late summer decision, and the Buckeyes are the runaway favorite, but making sure he remains a priority is very important to Ohio State. A potential defensive line haul of Bosa, Barrow, Cooper, and Hall could make the recruitment of Rashan Gary or Antwuan Jackson easier to sell and could be one of the all-time best defensive lines ever recruited - by any school.
