Urban Meyer's mentioned it in passing, almost downplaying the role winning a national championship has for a program on the recruiting trail.
"We've seen a boost for 2016, sure," Meyer said this spring, a month or so after closing the book on another top-10 recruiting class for 2015.
With five-star defensive end Nick Bosa's commitment to Ohio State Thursday, the Buckeyes leapfrogged LSU and Florida State in the latest composite class rankings by 247Sports. In fact, the three major recruiting sites — 247Sports, Scout and Rivals — all list Ohio State as having the top class for 2016 as of Wednesday morning.
Plenty can change before National Signing Day in February, but the Buckeyes are in pretty good shape to reel in another powerful class.
Winning the first-ever College Football Playoff National Championship has paid dividends in a multitude of ways for Meyer and Co. Ohio State's popularity is rising — if that was possible — and the head coach and his players are soaking it up on social media, television and elsewhere.
It's also tangible on the recruiting trail with players like Bosa electing to become a Buckeye. Bosa's family ties to Ohio State also play a huge factor, but with 16 of the 19 verbal commitments receiving four-star ratings or higher, you get the point.
The same can be said for the 2017 class, too, however. The Buckeyes already have 10 verbal commitments in that class, with a pair of five-stars in offensive lineman Josh Myers and cornerback Shaun Wade. Four-star safety Isaiah Pryor jumped on board Monday, adding another integral piece to the class.
Sooner or later, however, players have to wonder if there will be space for them to get on the field in Columbus during their college careers, right?
"No, not really, we don't. But we feel like we're the best class even though they've added great players with Nick Bosa in the 2016 class," 2017 running back commit Todd Sibley said after Friday Night Lights. "Even though they are pretty good, I feel like we are the better class."
Demario McCall is one of the supremely skilled ball carriers Meyer is set to have at his disposal.
Sibley's a big piece to the 2017 class when it comes to Meyer's future backfield. When he arrives on campus, though, premier talent at the position like Mike Weber (2015), Kareem Walker (2016) and Demario McCall (2016) are all set to already be there.
Even Danny Clark, the program's 2017 quarterback commit who's likely to enter into a very crowded room with Tim Beck upon his arrival, remains eager.
"It's insane," Clark said Friday of the skill expected to be around him from both the 2016 and 2017 classes. "I cannot wait to get up here."
Torrance Gibson and Joey Burrow are slated to still don the scarlet and gray when Clark gets to Columbus in 2017, and even J.T. Barrett could potentially be there as a redshirt senior.
That's a ton of talent, but it's not pushing the big names away from the Buckeyes — in either class.
"Even with people coming in and stuff, it doesn't shy away from me wanting to go somewhere else because it's packed," 2016 four-star defensive end Jonathon Cooper said Friday.
Cooper, Bosa and Terrell Hall form a pretty stout trio on the Ohio State defensive front for 2016, yet another example of the overflow of riches the coaching staff has at its fingertips.
But with spots at a premium and expectations only moving higher up the mountain for a team coming off a national championship, Meyer's been able to sell to them the inner positional battles as essential.
"I love competition. It brings the best out of you. Iron sharpens iron," Hall said Friday. "If you can compete against the best and you beat out the best players that's already here, then obviously you're going to be one of the best in the country."
