A lot has changed since the late spring, when my colleague Andrew Ellis and I last attempted to predict how Ohio State's 2018 recruiting class would unfold.
Especially on defense, as the Buckeyes have landed commitments from four prospects in as many months.
I hit the nail on the head when it came to Teradja Mitchell, who picked Ohio State over long-time favorite Florida State. But we never truly noticed fellow four-star linebacker K'Vaughan Pope's interest in the Buckeyes until he stepped on campus for a one-day camp in June.
Around that same time, former four-star defensive tackle target Antwuan Jackson announced his plans to transfer from Auburn, but things didn't start to develop between the two sides until Ohio State offered him a scholarship in late August. He pledged his services to the Buckeyes just two weeks later.
The same goes for three-star cornerback Marcus Hooker — the younger brother of former Ohio State All-American safety Malik — who landed an offer following his visit for Friday Night Lights and committed the very next day.
As we've mentioned before, prospects are added and removed from the board with each passing day. Game day visits allow the staff to make a quick and lasting impact on a recruit who — at that point in time — no one may have considered a potential commit.
So here we are, just a tad under three months away from college football's early signing signing period. Ohio State holds 18 commitments and roughly seven open spots. Who will fill them?
We wrap things up with the defense:
DEFENSIVE END
ELLIS: Brenton Cox, Jayson Oweh, Tyreke Smith
LIND: Cox, Oweh, Smith
Four months ago, it would have been a shock to see former Penn State five-star commit Micah Parsons left off this list. He'd been to campus numerous times, and all signs pointed to him eventually landing with the Buckeyes. But things have quickly trended away following his official visit for the game against Oklahoma and public advocacy for a change at the quarterback position.
Still, Ohio State sits in great position for Oweh and Smith, who interestingly enough are both set to announce their college intentions at the Under Armour All-America Game on Jan. 4, 2018. Much like Parsons, their respective recruitments are expected to come down to the Buckeyes and Nittany Lions.
One note that isn't being discussed quite enough, however, is that Penn State reportedly only has enough room to land one, maybe two more defensive ends — if they pass on some lower-rated prospects — in this cycle. Ohio State, meanwhile, could potentially take all three to pair with committed five-star Cox.
Despite Penn State trending, we both feel the Buckeyes will ultimately win out for Oweh and Smith, with their relationship with defensive line coach Larry Johnson being key. One thing to monitor, however, will be the staff's potential recruitment of other defensive ends. If they happen to make a move on someone else, then maybe we'll change our tune, too.
DEFENSIVE TACKLE
ELLIS: Taron Vincent, Antwuan Jackson, Tommy Togiai
LIND: Vincent, Jackson, Togiai
Before Ohio State landed a commitment in April from Vincent, the narrative surrounding the program was that Johnson and head coach Urban Meyer could never land the game-changing, highly sought-after defensive tackle. Boy, has that changed this cycle.
Jackson's commitment has turned an already impressive haul into quite possibly the strongest unit in the class. He was among the staff's top priorities back in 2016, and that relationship is what made the marriage inevitable from the time he announced his intentions to transfer from Auburn.
Togiai, meanwhile, would be the cherry on top. The Buckeyes planned all along to take just two defensive tackles this cycle. But a four-star prospects with legitimate and sincere interest — no matter how far away he lives — is not something you turn down. He was blown away by his first trip to Columbus for Friday Night Lights and official visit for the game against Oklahoma.
If distance truly doesn't matter, we anticipate Togiai will choose Ohio State over USC and Washington this winter.
LINEBACKER
ELLIS: Dallas Gant, Teradja Mitchell, K'Vaughan Pope
LIND: Gant, Mitchell, Pope
Our last projections came just days after Gant pledged his services to Ohio State, and the general feeling surrounding the linebacker position was that it was going to be filled with in-state talent.
Cincinnati's Christopher Oats was a prospect most often connected to the Buckeyes early in the process because of his relationship with former defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Luke Fickell, and Lakota West's Xavier Peters was among the top players at the position on the camp circuit this spring. But current linebackers coach Bill Davis had other idea.
From the time he took the job in late December, Davis identified Mitchell as his top priority. It was certainly an uphill climb with the Seminoles widely expected to pull another prospect out of Hampton Roads, but the Buckeyes made their move during Mitchell's visit for a spring practice in April.
Davis was more than impressed with Pope's skill during his visit for a one-day camp in June, though things had to be sorted out behind the scenes a bit before he committed. Now that he's in the fold, it looks as if the staff is confident with wear it stands at the position.
There's a very slight chance Ohio State could land a commitment from California four-star Solomon Tuliaupupu if all goes well during his official visit later this fall. Simply put, he's too good of a prospect to pass up, and the staff will most certainly make the numbers work. The same can't be said for Oats or Peters, though.
CORNERBACK
ELLIS: Anthony Cook, Sevyn Banks, Marcus Hooker
LIND: Cook, Banks, Hooker
Ohio State has planned to take only two cornerbacks this cycle, but don't be thrown off by Hooker's inclusion. He's considered a cornerback by every major recruiting site, but it's projected he'll slide over to safety at the next level in hopes of following in his brother's footsteps.
So that leaves the staff holding a commitment from four-star Banks and in hot pursuit of five-star Cook.
Banks, you'll recall, is the ultimate example of how a prospect's commitment can truly come out of left field. He visited for the first time for the Spring Game in April and pledged his services just two weeks later. It was so unexpected, the staff didn't have it's #BOOM.gifs ready, but he's developed into one of the more intriguing commits in the class.
Cook, meanwhile, has been circled and underlined on the priority chart for quite some time. He's set to choose among LSU, Ohio State and Texas next month, and the Buckeyes will have to withstand official visits this weekend to Austin and in two weekends to Baton Rouge.
We believe his relationship with fellow Texan and current Ohio State cornerback Jeffrey Okudah and the staff's ability to send defensive backs to the National Football League will swing this in the Scarlet and Gray's favor, however.
SAFETY
ELLIS: Josh Proctor, Jaiden Woodbey
LIND: Proctor, Woodbey
While there's been nonstop talk from outside sources about separate potential flips to Oklahoma, both Proctor and Woodbey are among the strongest pledges in Ohio State's 2018 recruiting class. They've both taken to social media to say they've shut down their respective recruitments and continue to tell anyone who asks that they are 100 percent committed.
The staff isn't actively recruiting any other safeties, either, so it's safe to say this position is shut down. Though their rankings don't necessarily match, I'd argue the Buckeyes landed the two most-explosive, game-changing safeties in the country, too.
Our next projections will be published after the December signing period.
