It's May 10 and we're eight months, give or take, from signing day 2017.
As of Tuesday, the Buckeyes have the Big Ten's – and the country's – top-ranked recruiting class. It's a group that has been, for many, the most likely to stop Alabama's reign as recruiting national champion. In recent weeks, as the severity of Ohio State's numbers' crunch has come to light, some of the momentum in the class seems to have waned, but the program continues to be the standard-bearer for the conference.
Perhaps though, it's the strength of the Ohio State program that has helped buoy the rest of the conference, because the Buckeyes aren't alone in their current success. Seven (Ohio State, Michigan, Iowa, Northwestern, Wisconsin, Maryland and Penn State) of the nation's top-20 recruiting classes as of Tuesday hail from the Big Ten.
How do the Buckeyes stack up, position-by-position, in the loaded Big Ten? Let's take a closer look and see who's got a winning hand across the conference.
QUARTERBACK
Ohio State: Ohio State has four-star, pro-style quarterback Danny Clark, who has been committed to the Buckeyes since December of 2013. The program is on the lookout for a complementary option to Clark, and have told the Akron Archbishop Hoban star as much. Clark's been in the national spotlight for years and has maintained his spot among the top-15 quarterbacks nationally.
Rest of B1G: The best quarterback committed to a Big Ten school right now belongs to Jim Harbaugh and the Michigan Wolverines. Five-star Dylan McCaffrey, the younger brother of Stanford Heisman finalist Christian McCaffrey, is the country's top-ranked pocket passer and the 6-foot-5, 200-pounder is a perfect fit for the offense the Wolverines want to run.
Winner: MICHIGAN, McCaffrey is a potential early starter and All-American-type of talent.
RUNNING BACK
Ohio State: Todd Sibley Jr. and J.K. Dobbins give the Buckeyes two players ranked among the country's top-20 running backs, an excellent start for a class that will absolutely need two tailbacks in it. While there are questions about Sibley's eventual place in the class, he continues to work exceptionally hard to improve his game and national standing and was one of the best this past weekend at The Opening in Columbus. Dobbins stated that he's solid with Ohio State, but a number of schools from Big 12 country continue to pursue him aggressively.
Rest of B1G: Again, it's the Michigan Wolverines that are giving the Buckeyes the best run for their money. New Mexico's O'Maury Samuels is one of the most physically imposing running backs in the country and Massachusetts A.J. Dillon has had a impressive spring: both are headed to The Opening in July. Michigan also has a commitment from Georgia's Kurt Taylor and Jacksonville, Florida's Chase Lasater, a pair of three-stars. It will be interesting to see if they go the way of the dodo come fall.
Winner: MICHIGAN, because of numbers and security of their top commitments.
WIDE RECEIVER/TIGHT END
Ohio State: Simply put, the wide receiver group for the Buckeyes in 2017 is on its way to being boom or bust. Right now, there's not a single wide receiver or tight end committed despite a number of highly-ranked players who are very seriously considering Ohio State. Donovan Peoples-Jones, Trevon Grimes, Tyjon Lindsey, Jaylen Harris and a host of others may find their way into this place eventually.
Rest of B1G: Nebraska has eight commitments and 25 percent of them are wide receivers. Keyshawn Johnson Jr. and Jaevon McQuitty are both highly-talented and interesting prospects that have just begun to scratch the surface of their potential. McQuitty gives them the slight advantage over Michigan State, who boasts Hunter Rison and three-star Cody White.
Winner: NEBRASKA, and the Cornhuskers are making a serious push for Tyjon Lindsey and others.
OFFENSIVE LINE
Ohio State: The Buckeyes have two of the country's best committed along the offensive line in Josh Myers and Jake Moretti. You'd be hard-pressed to find another pair as good anywhere in the country. Myers is a five-star prospect and a top-five player nationally and Moretti, who is just really starting to get noticed on a national stage, has some people thinking he may be the better player longterm.
Rest of B1G: As usual, the Wisconsin Badgers are making a major splash inside the trenches. Top-100 player Kayden Lyles turned down an early Ohio State offer, tackle Tyler Beach is a prototypical Badger mauler at 6-foot-8 and 270 pounds and guard Logan Bruss is the state of Wisconsin's second-ranked player. After a rough start to his recruiting career in Wisconsin, Paul Chryst has once again turned Madison into the place to be for offensive linemen.
Winner: OHIO STATE, because two great players are better than three good ones.
DEFENSIVE LINE
Ohio State: Larry Johnson's next wave of Rushmen currently consists of two players, both interior linemen (Jerron Cage and Haskell Garrett) that rank among the top-10 at defensive tackle nationally. Because of the numbers' issue, it's uncertain how much more this class could expand, but the thought is that one more defensive tackle and one defensive end could make their way into it.
Rest of B1G: Iowa, Northwestern and Maryland are all doing a great job collecting defensive line talent for 2017. The Hawkeyes have five-star defensive end – and Iowa legacy – A.J. Epenesa leading four defensive linemen in their class. Northwestern has a trio of high three-star prospects in the bag, including two from Texas. It's Maryland and DJ Durkin though, with five-star Joshua Kaindoh and four-star Cam Spence who lead the way in the conference.
Winner: MARYLAND, but holding onto to Kaindoh may be a challenge.
LINEBACKER
Ohio State: Depending on who you ask, the Buckeyes could have as few as one linebacker in this class or as many as three. We know that four-star Antjuan Simmons, who was invited to The Opening following a strong performance this past weekend, will line up for Luke Fickell, but the discussion around Brendon White and Isaiah Pryor since their commitments have been similar. It seems less and less likely that Pryor plays anything but defensive back, though.
Rest of B1G: With Orchard Lake St. Mary's Josh Ross leading the way, it's Michigan who is giving the Buckeyes the best competition at linebacker. Three-star Ben Mason, from Newtown, Connecticut, is the most recent addition to the Wolverines' class and he's got a lot of potential as an inside linebacker down the road.
Winner: OHIO STATE, Antjuan Simmons is just really becoming a pure linebacker and the odds are high that Brendon White will line up alongside him. Their athletic ability, speed and size give the Buckeyes the edge.
DEFENSIVE BACK
Ohio State: Ohio State's defensive back group for 2017 could be one of the best all-time if things work out as predicted. Right now, with five-star Shaun Wade and four-stars Marcus Williamson and Isaiah Pryor, the Buckeyes are in a pretty great spot. Come signing day, they could add five-star Jeffrey Okudah, four-stars Lamont Wade and Amir Riep among a host of very interested in prospects.
Rest of B1G: The rest of the Big Ten is trailing the Silver Bullets by a wide margin, individually and collectively. Northwestern has three defensive backs committed with Cameron Ruiz, the country's 65th-ranked cornerback, their best. Michigan has two three-star prospects, including Alabama safety J'Marick Woods, but no one really has a commit that "pops" at the position like the Buckeyes do.
Winner: OHIO STATE, by a lot.
SPECIALISTS
Ohio State: Urban Meyer has a commitment from the nation's second-ranked kicker, New York's Blake Haubeil, who verballed to the Buckeyes last summer after Friday Night Lights.
Rest of B1G: Zilch.
Winner: OHIO STATE
There's a long way to go until signing day and a lot of things can change, but the Buckeyes recruiting machine doesn't seem to be slowing down anytime soon.
