Urban Meyer joined Paul Keels and former All-American Jim Lachey on 97.1 The Fan to talk Ohio State's 2016 recruiting haul. (For full recruiting coverage, stop by 11W's National Signing Day hub.)
Urban Meyer calls his 2016 class "a very good class." Austin Mack, "Nicky" Bosa, Demario McCall, and Dwayne Haskins draw praise. LB Keandre Jones might be "the jewel," according to Meyer. "I can't wait for Buckeye Nation to meet him."
Jordan Fuller is "a great player, with great size." His brother played at UCLA, so "there's nice pedigree there." Given the exodus in the secondary, Meyer anticipates he'll play in the fall.
The area where Ohio State hit a home run? Offensive line. Meyer called Malcolm Pridgeon a "monster" before adding he'll major in culinary arts. Meyer credited Ed Warinner for the pull.
"I'm very pleased with where we are as a staff."
"Austin Mack should probably play this year."
Nick Bosa and Jonathon Cooper are tabbed as defensive linemen that could see time immediately. "We'll see if Malik Barrow can come on."
Billy Price is the backup center to Pat Elflein.
OL Tyler Gerald came in "a little overweight" so Ohio State is in the process of "de-recruiting" him right now.
"Mark Pantoni is one of the best in the country. It's amazing how fast that [recruiting] office has grown." Dwayne Haskins is going to bring in "the best" recruiting material he received, and Ohio State will evaluate how its stuff compares to other top programs'.
"It's open season here." Meyer notes young players don't often come to Ohio State with this much opportunity to play.
Bri'onte Dunn, Mike Weber, Curtis Samuel, and Dontre Wilson will fill the void left by Ezekiel Elliott.
Joe Burrow is currently Ohio State's backup QB, but Meyer notes he saw Haskins work out and "he's better than good." Meyer anticipates a battle there come fall.
Corey Smith is coming back next year and is expected to start at receiver along with Noah Brown.
"If you want to have a bad football team have a bad offensive or defensive line." Meyer says they've had the best offensive line in the Big Ten the last few years. They got "panicky" in regards to lack of depth in the defensive line but are content the 2016 haul will help fill that need.
"[Redshirt freshman OL] Matthew Burrell is one of our best recruiters." Urban also noted Pat Elflein went out to dinner with the staff and Malcolm Pridgeon to help nail down his recruitment. "He didn't have to do that."
On Ohio State's upcoming pro day: "There will never be another pro day like what is going to happen here."
