The college football world is abuzz this month due to coaching fires, hires, re-retires and a whole lot more. Beyond the general intrigue of the carnival that is in full tilt-a-whirl mode at the moment, coaching changes can have serious implications in the recruiting world.

Specifically, Ohio State appears to have new life with several former Florida commits and leans, and with the Glenville situation still looking shaky at best, what better way to fill newly vacated spots than with elite out-of-staters?

Just to hammer the point home, is there any better proof that scholarships opened up in the 2011 class than the most recent Buckeye offer ($) to Georgia long snapper Bryce Haynes?

Nothing against Bryce, he is clearly the best at what he does and will make any college team very happy to have him (including the Buckeyes), but if Ohio State was still reserving spots for Glenville players, it is hard to imagine that offer going out based on scholarship limitations alone.

The bottom line is that Ohio State has some spots available and some new hope with several elite players.

DB Jabari Gorman

Gorman isn’t a new name on Ohio State’s recruiting radar, but the coaching turmoil in Florida certainly has an impact on his recruitment.

The battle for Gorman has long been rumored to be a two or three way race between Ohio State and the Florida schools. His decision will likely come down to if he is comfortable traveling all the way to Ohio for college, or if he would prefer staying closer to home and his family in Florida.

In that sense, the coaching changes and turmoil for the Hurricanes and Gators won’t directly impact his decision. On the other hand, continuity and familiarity with the Buckeye coaching staff can’t hurt Ohio State’s chances either.

LB/DE Ryan Shazier

A  Gator commit, Shazier immediately re-opened his recruitment upon Meyer’s re-retirement and scheduled a visit ($) to Ohio State right away. He may even be visiting Columbus this weekend instead of Gainesville. If not during the weekend, he plans to visit Ohio State next week.

Shazier is an amazingly athletic OLB/DE and would fit perfectly into Ohio State’s defensive scheme in a number of roles, but especially at LEO.

Out of all the players the coaching carousel may affect, Shazier seems like the most likely to actually reverse his decision and become a Buckeye. His high school teammate, fellow early enrollee, and future Buckeye Jeremy Cash doesn’t hurt Ohio State’s chances here either.

He says he will either be a Buckeye or a Gator, so fingers crossed on this one. It could be a huge late season pick-up for the good guys.

LB Curtis Grant

Despite being one of the best high school players in the country, Grant has been flying pretty low on Ohio State’s radar for most of the year. This is because few people seem to think Ohio State has much of a chance with him.

He did have Florida as his favorite with the Buckeyes in the mix, so some fans are hopeful that Ohio State’s chances will improve in the aftermath of the Meyer bombshell. Grant hopes to visit ($) Columbus next week, so we will see what happens.

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If the Glenville players are truly out of the picture in the 2011 class, Ohio State has a lot more flexibility than they did just a few weeks ago. The stir that the coaching carousel has caused could not have come at a better time in that regard.

Most of the prospects in question have official visits scheduled within the next few weeks and what looked like a routine ending to an almost full class just got a whole lot more exciting.

If Ohio State is able to land even one of the three prospects I mentioned above, that would be an outstanding coup for Ohio State recruiting.

JUCO DE Tank Carradine and Ohio CB Doran Grant also have official offers and are in the mix. Not to mention the anticipation of offers possibly going to Illinois lineman Chris Bryant and Mr. Ohio Akise Teague.

As mentioned, it should be an exciting finish to an already strong 2011 class. For an outstanding recap, check out this post from BuckeyePlanet recruiting guru wadc45.