Recruiting is not only something of which Urban Meyer and Ohio State excel, it is a way of life that leads to championship-level football.
Meyer and the Buckeyes won the 2014 Big Ten and National Championship. The latter was the first in college football's Playoff era.
A large portion of starters on that team were members of the 2013 recruiting class. Vonn Bell, Jalin Marshall, Ezekiel Elliott, Joey Bosa, Eli Apple, Billy Price, J.T. Barrett and Darron Lee all started the majority—if not all—of Ohio State's 15 games that season.
All of those guys but two—Price and Barrett—left Columbus in favor of the NFL draft after helping their team beat Notre Dame 44-28 in the Fiesta Bowl New Year's Day. Other members of the class—Marcus Baugh, Dontre Wilson, Gareon Conley, Michael Hill, Corey Smith and others—should play key roles this fall, provided they stay healthy.
Many figure to be starters in 2016, but another young crop of talented youth signed and faxed their Letters of Intent to Meyer and Ohio State a week ago. That class—at least on paper—looks similar to the one three years ago that eventually served as the backbone of Meyer's first championship run in Columbus.
| POSITION | 2013 CLASS | 2016 CLASS |
|---|---|---|
| QB | 1 | 1 |
| RB | 2 | 2 |
| WR | 3 | 2 |
| TE | 1 | 3 |
| OT | 2 | 3 |
| OG | – | 2 |
| DE | 3 | 2 |
| DT | 3 | 1 |
| OLB | 1 | 2 |
| ILB | 1 | – |
| CB | 3 | 3 |
| SAF | 2 | – |
| ATH | 2 | 3 |
| P | – | 1 |
| TOTAL | 24 | 25 |
Both classes received commitments from one junior college player — wide receiver Corey Smith in 2013 and offensive tackle Malcolm Pridgeon last week. An out-of-state quarterback (J.T. Barrett from Texas three years ago and Dwayne Haskins from Maryland in 2016) also signed each time and both classes were dubbed the best in the Big Ten. The 2013 group ranked second nationally according to 247Sports, while the class that signed last week finished fourth.
Furthermore, at least five players from each class enrolled at Ohio State in January. Eli Apple, Tyquan Lewis, Tracy Sprinkle, J.T. Barrett and Cam Burrows did in 2013, while Jonathon Cooper, Austin Mack, Michael Jordan, Tyler Gerald, Antonio Williams, Malik Barrow and Tuf Borland did this year. Eleven states are represented in each group, with Ohio being the most prevalent each year.
Of the two running backs in each class, Ohio State recruited one as an all-purpose player and the other as more of a true tailback. In 2013 it was Ezekiel Elliott and Dontre Wilson, while this time around it is Antonio Williams and Demario McCall.
More specifically, each class had a Bosa — Joey in 2013 and now Nick. The latter could play defensive tackle, but is listed as a defensive end like the elder Bosa. Either way, it is pretty evident he will make an impact his first year on campus—provided his knee is healthy—just like his big brother did.
The two players listed as athletes as recruits in the 2013 class—Chris Worley and Darron Lee—both play linebacker now. Lee is onto the NFL after back-to-back stellar seasons as Ohio State's hybrid option at the spot, a position defensive coordinator Luke Fickell created when he demanded Lee receive a scholarship offer.
Fickell did the same for Malik Harrison, another athlete in the class that could very well end up at linebacker like Lee. And wouldn't you know it? Both Lee and Harrison are from Columbus area high schools.
Makes you think.
Not everything went according to plan from that strong 2013 class, however. As is almost always the case, some guys play different positions than for which they were recruited. Others leave the program completely.
From the 2013 group, outside linebacker Mike Mitchell transferred to Texas Tech in May 2014 to be closer to home (he's since transferred out of Lubbock). Offensive tackle Timothy Gardner is now at Indiana after Ohio State sent him home in July 2014 following an arrest for police obstruction. Safety Jayme Thompson also transferred out in April 2014 and eventually landed in Bloomington via a community college. Price is Ohio State's starting left guard, but was recruited as a defensive tackle.
Beyond Harrison, athletes Jahsen Wint (safety) and Jordan Fuller (corner) are headed to Ohio State in the hopes of bolstering a secondary that lost three starters upon completion of the 2015 season. Bell, Apple, Burrows, Conley and Thompson were signed in 2013 following the departures of key contributors Orhian Johnson and Travis Howard to graduation.
Recruiting wins titles, but every class develops in a different sense at different times.
"What's it really mean? Nothing," Urban Meyer said on Signing Day. "Because you had a skinny-neck kid from New Albany that played quarterback that ended up being OK and he wasn't ranked very high."
Meyer refers to Darron Lee often when he speaks of player development within his program. Could Malik Harrison or someone else burst on the scene like Lee did early in his Ohio State career? Stay tuned. The numbers, positions and other intricacies between the two classes are strikingly similar, but the Buckeyes are set to have 44 players this fall with freshman eligibility.
That includes the 24 from this year's class (punter Drue Chrisman will grayshirt), a group that has yet to play a down of Division I college football. It does, however, have the star power with Nick Bosa, Demario McCall, Austin Mack and many more to potentially blossom into a special group on the field.
Meyer sees plenty of the new blood playing this fall—a necessity after such an exodus—but how much it happens won't be seen until the season opener Sept. 3 against Bowling Green. He said he and his staff are looking at this offseason the way they did ahead of the 2014 season, with so much youth on the roster. That team won a national championship when it was presumed 2015 was the year.
There are similar feelings this year, leading to many parallels within the program then and now. That group served as the base for a title run during its second year on campus. Could it happen earlier for the 2016 haul? We'll see.
One thing is for sure — the group will be a crucial part of the next few years in Columbus.
