In case you haven't heard, Christmas in February is set shine a little brighter for Ohio State this year.
Urban Meyer and the Buckeyes are slated to sign one of the most talented, most highly rated and most all-around ridiculous recruiting classes ever. As such, this is not just a typical Wednesday at Eleven Warriors.
National Signing Day 2017 is here, folks.
Per usual, the first Wednesday of February provides fans with a glimpse of the future of their favorite college football programs while they wait for the days between the national championship game and spring practice to whittle away. Nine extremely talented #teens have already signed with the Buckeyes and enrolled for Spring Semester. At least 11 more are slated to do the same on Wednesday.
At midnight, Ohio State held the No. 2 recruiting class in the country, trailing only Alabama, according to 247Sports, Rivals.com and ESPN. Scout.com had Ohio State slotted at No. 4. The Buckeyes probably won't catch the Crimson Tide due to a lack of space and sheer numbers but have an excellent chance at leading the nation in average recruit ranking. More perspective: Ohio State has a commitment from at least one top-5 player in all nine position groups.
Alabama has won the recruiting national championship an absurd six straight times. There is a reason the Crimson Tide made its way to the first three versions of the College Football Playoff. Urban Meyer and Co. are hot on Nick Saban's tail, however, making Wednesday arguably the most important day of the year. The same goes for us here at Eleven Warriors, your one-stop shop for extensive coverage of the day's events.
In addition to keeping the homepage open in a tab on your favorite web browser (even if it is Internet Explorer) and hitting refresh often, follow the 11W (@11W) team on Twitter. Director of Recruiting Andrew Lind (@AndrewMLind), beat writers Tim Shoemaker (@TimShoemaker) and Eric Seger (@EricSeger33) and the entire crew over at @11WRecruiting will provide constant updates throughout the day once Letters of Intent start flowing through the fax machine at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center.
Buckle up.
11W Coverage
The Eleven Warriors War Room will be buzzing throughout the day, starting early and ending late. We are determined to bring you the best coverage possible with a steady stream of Signed stories flooding through the gates of the Internet portal once players head back to the Stone Age and fax in their Letters of Intent.
We'll chat on the forums about the biggest news of the day from both an Ohio State and national perspective. If and when news breaks, we'll be on it.
As opposed to the first five recruiting cycles under Urban Meyer, there aren't too many potential Buckeyes announcing their decisions today. Regardless, we will monitor the news behind their choices all the way down to the wire. Here is a timeline of the current non-committed players that could select Ohio State.
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Noon • Jay Tufele • ★★★★ • South Jordan, Utah
- Tufele is the No. 3 defensive tackle in the country and officially visited Ohio State in late November for the Michigan game. While the Buckeyes desperately want another defensive tackle in this class, the smart money is on Tufele staying out west and attending either Utah or USC.
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1 p.m. • Thayer Munford • ★★★★ • Massillon, Ohio
- Munford is considered an Ohio State lean, though it is not public if the offensive tackle has an offer or not. He will decide between the Buckeyes, Pittsburgh and Kentucky.
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4:30 p.m. (estimate) • Marvin Wilson • ★★★★★ • Bellaire, Texas
- The nation's top-ranked defensive tackle, Ohio State made a late push to land Wilson's services and thus take four of the top-6 prospects from the Lone Star State. But odds are he will stay in the south and pick LSU.
Cincinnati Colerain defensive back Amir Riep, Cleveland Heights wide receiver Jaylen Harris and Cincinnati Winton Woods defensive tackle Jerron Cage are all holding afternoon signing ceremonies at their respective high schools like Munford in Massillon. Due to the travel distance of those schools and the fact Urban Meyer is scheduled to be made available to the local media at 2 p.m., the Eleven Warriors crew will be unable to attend any of them and provide live updates. Please forgive us.
Instead, Andrew, Tim, Eric, DJ, Kevin and Jason will be around their computers all day. We will keep you updated on the forums, the front page and Twitter should any sort of surprises come down the pipe during the day. From there, Andrew, Tim, Kevin and Eric will head to the Woody Hayes Athletic Center for signing day press conferences.
Unlike last year, interviews with the early enrollees are slated to take place. According to a program spokesman, the new enrollees that do not have late morning class are set to be available for questions starting at 11:15 a.m. The nine early enrollees: Baron Browning, J.K. Dobbins, Tate Martell, Josh Myers, Jeffrey Okudah, Isaiah Pryor, Shaun Wade, Brendon White and Marcus Williamson.
Meyer on the Tube and Radio Waves
Though he won't talk to local reporters until mid-afternoon, Meyer will do plenty of television spots on Wednesday.
Like past years, ESPN reporter Quint Kessenich will interview Ohio State's head coach periodically on Wednesday. And, just like recent years, Allison Hayes will also be on site and do the same for BTN. So if you want to see Meyer speak on television, keep the screen split between the World Wide Leader and conference's television network.
Additionally, Meyer is also going to sit down and speak with Paul Keels and Jim Lachey from noon to 12:30 on 97.1 The Fan. New staff additions linebackers coach Bill Davis, offensive coordinator and tight ends coach Kevin Wilson and quarterbacks coach Ryan Day are slated to fill out the final half hour of the show from 12:30–1 p.m.
As previously stated, Meyer then turns his attention to local reporters at 2 p.m. from the team room at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center. Director of Player Personnel Mark Pantoni is scheduled to follow suit around 2:20 p.m. Those press conferences are to be live streamed at ohiostatebuckeyes.com.
Live updates from the Eleven Warriors crew will follow both on Twitter and the site, along with stories after interviews conclude. Keep hitting refresh all afternoon.
ESPN COVERAGE
The World Wide Leader selected Ohio State as one 16 programs to have a reporter on site. (full list of which reporters will be where is over here) Kessenich is a friend of Meyer, so expect solid stuff from him as National Letters of Intent churn through Mark Pantoni's fax machine like in years past.
Keep it locked on ESPNU from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. for the network's coverage, then flip it to ESPN2 from 1-4 p.m. if you can't get enough. Head back to ESPNU from 5-7 p.m. for a final recap of the day's biggest announcements. In an exciting development, former LSU head coach Les Miles is slated to join hosts Joe Tessitore and Matt Schick in the studio. Analysts Tom Luginbill, Mike Bellotti, Mack Brown, Joey Galloway, David Pollack and Craig Haubert will all cycle in through the various programming to share insight and more.
Twelve players in the ESPN 300 rankings are scheduled to make their college choices live and on air. The only one really of any interest to the Buckeyes is Marvin Wilson, however, who is set to be on ESPN2 in his hometown of Houston around 4:30 p.m.
ESPN also plans to have reporters at Alabama, Georgia, Michigan, Florida State, Oklahoma LSU, Texas A&M, Auburn, Clemson, Penn State, South Carolina, Arkansas, Colorado, Kentucky and Texas.
BIG TEN NETWORK AND OTHERS
Like last year, Big Ten Network is planning to dedicate eight hours of programming to National Signing Day. Up first is Big Ten Football and Beyond: Signing Day Special from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. That will also be streamed online or through the BTN2Go app.
The network is set to show a pair of exclusive one-on-one interviews. Gerry DiNardo spoke with Maryland head coach DJ Durkin, while Howard Griffith headed north to check out what new Minnesota head coach P.J. Fleck is up to. Interviews with more coaches and early signees at nine schools — Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State, Nebraska, Maryland, Purdue, Michigan State, Minnesota and Wisconsin — are set to follow.
Additionally, fans can submit their recruiting questions during BTN's eight hours of National Signing Day coverage by fax (seriously) to Mike Hall, DiNardo, Griffith and Scout Recruiting Manager Allen Trieu at 312-275-8407. Hall will serve as the lead anchor for coverage.
CBS Sports Network will also broadcast its own Signing Day show from 10 a.m. to noon Wednesday.
Join us, won't you?
