We are now less than a week away from Ohio State's spring game (crazy, I know). While everyone is going to be watching the Buckeye backfield, pass-catchers, and new faces in the secondary, there's also a lot to look out for on the recruiting front.
Since being named as the Buckeyes' head coach in 2011, Meyer has been putting together some of the nation's top recruiting classes year after year. Much of that success can be at least partially attributed to Ohio State's two most well-known offseason recruiting events, the annual spring scrimmage and July's Friday Night Light's event.
Today, we look back at some of the top spring game recruiting storylines of yesteryear.
The 2012 spring game featured two huge commitments for Urban Meyer and the Buckeyes, though only one of the two would ultimately stick with his pledge. Five-star linebacker Alex Anzalone was considering Ohio State, Notre Dame, Florida, and Penn State. However, the springtime visit to Columbus was enough to give the Buckeyes the edge.
Anzalone with Meyer, Fickell, and Pantoni.
The decision to make his third trip to Ohio State in a matter of months was a fairly telling sign of how his recruitment was trending. After photos of Anzalone and other recruits with a registered sex offender/total creep began to surface, the linebacker and his family elected to back off the commitment to the Buckeyes. He would go on to pledge to Notre Dame and eventually decommit before finding a final landing spot in Gainesville.
The biggest news of the weekend – and perhaps the biggest fish Meyer has landed since taking over – was the commitment of Fort Lauderdale's Joey Bosa. The nation's fourth-rated strong-side defensive end made a return trip to Columbus for the spring game (his second visit in a matter of weeks) and made his intentions known the following Monday as he made the pledge official.
The Buckeyes also hosted 2014 quarterback Drew Barker. At the time, it was his was second visit to Columbus in the month of April, and Ohio State appeared to be out in front for the Kentucky standout. However, the focus eventually switched over to Deshaun Watson and communication mostly cooled off between the staff and the four-star signal-caller.
The 2013 spring game had a much different feel thanks to some minor renovations that were taking place at Ohio Stadium. As a result, the Buckeyes headed south to Paul Brown Stadium for the annual scrimmage.
Playing outside of Columbus in an area that is often thought to be a little less Buckeye-friendly than other parts of the state, the event lacked some of the sizzle that we have grown accustomed to, at least on the recruiting side of things.
Several of the 2013 signees, including Vonn Bell and Joey Bosa, made the trip up from SEC territory, but the visitor list wasn't quite as star-studded as one would have hoped. Cincinnati (LaSalle) wideout Derek Kief was on hand, but the state's second-ranked wideout (behind only Parris Campbell) would go on to pledge to the Crimson Tide in June. Gary, Indiana wideout Lonnie Johnson was also in attendance. Johnson had a bit of a strange recruitment, committing to the Buckeyes a month after the spring game only to eventually sign with Western Michigan.
2014 defensive tackle Daniel Cage (Winton Woods) also made the short trip to downtown Cincy. He would go on to sign with the Fighting Irish. 2016 Michigan State signee Chameron Chambers was also on hand for the festivities.
2014's version of the Ohio State spring game didn't result in any immediate commitments, but the Buckeyes did host some of their top targets at the time.
Many were expecting commitment from Hallandale, Florida's Sh'Mar Kilby-Lane as the Buckeyes were rumored to be the heavy favorite leading up the event. While Kilby-Lane did finally make it up to Columbus, he left without pulling the trigger and would go on to commit to Florida State in June. At the time, it looked like a bit of a blow to the Buckeyes' linebacker recruiting efforts, but that hardly proved to be the case for a class that ended up with Justin Hilliard, Jerome Baker, and Nick Conner.
Hallandale Lb with Ohio State Lb pic.twitter.com/Ykd41zjkE8
— Coach Dameon Jones (@Dameon8) April 12, 2014
Cleveland (St. Ignatius) defensive end Dre'Mont Jones was also on hand, and though he too left without committing, he would go on to make his pledge in June. The Buckeyes also hosted the state's top 2017 prospect in Miamisburg's Josh Myers. The visit went a long way in helping Urban Meyer land the nation's top-ranked offensive tackle as the five-star made his commitment in January of 2015.
Thad Matta also got a bit of good news during the spring game weekend. Virginia Tech freshman Trevor Thompson was in attendance for the game and announced his intention to transfer to Ohio State the following day.
From a sheer commitment perspective, the 2015 spring game may be difficult to surpass. The Buckeyes landed five commitments throughout the weekend, but perhaps the biggest – and most surprising – came the night before the game took place.
The Buckeyes had been battling the Badgers for Bolingbrook, Illinois' Tuf Borland, but virtually everyone had the linebacker pegged to end up in Madison, where his father Kyle played in the early 80s. Borland's 247sports crystal ball had eleven predictions, all of them in favor of the Badgers. However, Luke Fickell and Chris Ash's efforts paid major dividends as the four-star linebacker made his pledge that Friday evening.
Extremely excited to say I've decided to attend The Ohio State University!!
— Tuf Borland (@Tuf_Borland) April 17, 2015
Another one of the Buckeyes' top 2016 targets also made things official as IMG Academy's Malik Barrow pledged to Larry Johnson and Co. Barrow brought his family with him to Columbus and the staff was able to seal the deal with he and his mother. The commitment was especially important considering a number of other misses at defensive tackle.
The event also brought in a trio of commitments from within the Buckeye State. Stow, Ohio's Jack Wohlabaugh had visited Ann Arbor and East Lansing in the week leading up to the spring game, but when the Buckeyes extended an offer, it was too much for the interior lineman to turn down.
Westerville South's Marcus Williamson was long thought to be a Buckeye lean, but the four-star made things official the day of the spring game. Williamson has since transferred to IMG Academy and has been an integral part of the Buckeyes' recruiting efforts since the move.
After visiting Ann Arbor for Michigan's spring game the previous week, Akron (Hoban) tailback Todd Sibley was back in Columbus for the Buckeyes' scrimmage. Sibley, a teammate of long-time 2017 commit Danny Clark, had indicated that the Buckeyes and Wolverines were at the top of his list. The four-star running back made his commitment official the Sunday following the spring game.
Hoping for some more fireworks next weekend as the Buckeyes look to add to their top-ranked recruiting class? Stay tuned to 11W as we'll have the latest in this week's Hurry Ups as well as an updated visitor list as Saturday approaches.
