On Tuesday night, as he tried convince Mike Weber, one of the nation’s best high school running backs, to come to Ohio State to bolster its talented recruiting class, Urban Meyer was in a frantic state.
“That makes for a bad night for myself and my coaches who were involved,” said Meyer, who added, “I looked at my clock at 12:10 (a.m.) and I was still talking to (running backs coach) Stan Drayton about Mike Weber.”
In the end, the Buckeyes landed the services of Weber, a product of Cass Tech High School in Detroit who flirted with signing with archrival Michigan.
After finalizing one of the nation’s finest recruiting classes Wednesday, Meyer met with the media to discuss the program's 2015 haul of 27 commitments.
Notes:
- Meyer said sophomore running back Ezekiel Elliott “is probably our best recruiter, (redshirt sophomore wide receiver) Michael Thomas is No. 2.”
- Meyer on Ohio State’s incoming linebackers: “They’re the exact kind of body types, mentality, people you really want.” Before last season, Meyer had lamented the position group.
- Meyer said former quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator Tom Herman was watching Joey Burrow down in Athens last year, said Herman called him and “was screaming into his iPhone saying, ‘I found your next Alex Smith.’”
- Meyer said his message to talented and sought-after dual-threat quarterback Torrance Gibson was, “Please don’t penalize us because our guys played really well.” The amount of time on Torrance was ridiculous, but he seemed to be a natural fit.
- Meyer said he prefers a slower, more calculated pace to build a recruiting class. “The coaches deserve a right to see a player in his senior year.”
- In reflecting on Ohio State’s offensive line development, Meyer said, “Coach (Ed) Warinner, he’s a magician.”
- Meyer on landing Weber over newly-hired head coach Jim Harbaugh and Michigan: “We do keep score against our rival … absolutely you keep score of that one.”
- Meyer on whether the national championship helped recruiting motivation: “I think we’ll find that out … I tell people it’s like a 30-day infomercial.” He added, “I think that ESPN hard knocks thing we did a couple years ago, that got the scarlet and gray in front of a positive light.”
