Ohio State is a national brand. So national that no matter where you reside in the United States, chances are Buckeyes will be nearby.
In terms of his football program, Urban Meyer and the Buckeyes have seen their scarlet and gray hue stretch even further since he took over the ship in Columbus. So much so that the 2017 recruiting class Meyer and Co. are set to sign on Wednesday is in line to have the lowest number of players from the home state during his tenure.
We discussed the balance of taking out of state players as opposed to keeping the majority of top talent from Ohio home not even a year ago. Meyer's Ohio State is continually getting less and less Ohio-flavored, however.
As of Monday morning, the Buckeyes have commitments from five Ohio players. That number grows to six if you include cornerback Marcus Williamson, who is from nearby Westerville South but transferred to IMG Academy to finish his high school career.
We will include Williamson in the Ohio crop, but even with him, the number of home state players in the star-studded group do not even make up a third of the class. Ohio State has 19 players committed or already signed and enrolled for 2017. The vast majority of them — 13, to be exact — were already committed in March of 2016, roughly 15 months after Meyer led the Buckeyes to the first-ever national championship of the College Football Playoff era.
“I think we should probably work on that,” Meyer said then when prompted with the high numbers and being so long from signing day. "[We're] kind of hot right now, guys want to come.
“So we just gotta be a little more diligent with how we're handling that. Nine guys leaving disrupted how many mid-year guys we got, everything. Those are all conversations we're having as we speak.”
The nine guys referred to in that quote are those that left school for the 2016 NFL Draft despite still having eligibility left. Roster attrition is a delicate balance at all points of the year but becomes an item of discussion around National Signing Day and right before the start of training camp in the fall. The NCAA mandates football programs can only have 85 players on scholarship each season.
As it stands two days before letters of intent are scheduled to be faxed to the Woody Hayes Athletic Center, the Buckeyes are still a few over the mark.
Ohio State's 2017 class is set to arguably its best ever — certainly the top in Meyer's now five-year stint as head coach. Complete with national names like quarterback Tate Martell from Las Vegas, cornerback Jeffrey Okudah, linebacker Baron Browning and running back J.K. Dobbins from Texas plus much more, the Buckeyes took advantage of reaching the pinnacle of the sport two seasons ago.
“I've always said many times...Ohio State's been a national name,” Meyer said last spring. “Players from all over the country come to Ohio State. You've gotta take care of your state first then go through it. That's kind of what we do.”
Here is an Ohio breakdown of Meyer's first five classes plus the one Ohio State is set to sign on Wednesday. The names listed are those players that hail from the Buckeye State. As you will note, the decrease in Ohio blood has become a trend.
| CLASS | PLAYERS | RATIO |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 |
Bri'onte Dunn, Joshua Perry, Tyvis Powell, Cardale Jones*, Justin Boren, Adolphus Washington, Se'Von Pittman Taylor Decker, De'van Bogard, Kyle Dodson, Warren Ball, Najee Murray, Frank Epitropoulos, Luke Roberts, Pat Elflein |
15/26 = 57.7 percent |
| 2013 |
Jalin Marshall, Cam Burrows, Evan Lisle, Gareon Conley, Billy Price, Jayme Thompson, Corey Smith*, Donovan Munger, Chris Worley, Darron Lee, Tracy Sprinkle |
11/23 = 47.8 percent |
| 2014 |
Marshon Lattimore, Dante Booker, Erick Smith, Parris Campbell, Kyle Berger, Sam Hubbard, Kyle Trout, Marcelys Jones, Brady Taylor |
9/22 = 40.9 percent |
| 2015 |
Justin Hilliard, Jerome Baker, Eric Glover-Williams, Dre'Mont Jones, Nick Conner, Denzel Ward, Joe Burrow, Alex Stump, Robert Landers, Davon Hamilton, Liam McCullough |
11/26 = 42.3 percent |
| 2016 |
Jonathon Cooper, Demario McCall, Jake Hausmann, Luke Farrell, Kierre Hawkins, Gavin Cupp, Jack Wohlabaugh, Malik Harrison, Drue Chrisman |
9/24 = 37.5 percent |
| 2017** | Josh Myers, Brendon White, Marcus Williamson*, Amir Riep, Jaylen Harris, Jerron Cage | 6/19 = 31.6 percent |
*Did not play in Ohio prior to joining the Buckeyes but is originally from the state. Cardale Jones is from Cleveland, Corey Smith is from Akron and Marcus Williamson is from Westerville
**Not all members of class are signed yet
As you can see, the only time the number of players from Ohio trending up compared to the previous year is in 2015. Ohio State's two classes following that year — 2016 and 2017 — are below 40 percent.
The Buckeyes are in on another Ohio player, offensive tackle Thayer Munford from Massillon, as Signing Day nears. But even if he signs with the Buckeyes on Wednesday, chances are high that the players from Ohio in the 2017 class will barely make up 30 percent of it.
Where a player is from doesn't necessarily matter when it is all said and done at the end of each football season — only what programs win championships. Getting national prospects and building a wall around the fertile recruiting ground of Ohio is a delicate balance, however, one that Meyer and his staff deal with constantly.
It is their job to come up with and innovate new ways to showcase Ohio State's brand in order to appeal to recruits. The Buckeyes want the best players year in and year out, regardless where they are from. In recent recruiting cycles, that hasn't always meant from Ohio in their eyes.
