It has been an amazing few days for Ohio State recruiting- possibly even the best few days in at least the past decade if not longer.
To recap, after a dynamite recruiting weekend, Urban Meyer has locked up three elite nationally ranked prospects.
Meyer successfully flipped Tommy Schutt from Penn State, Se’Von Pittman from Michigan State, and secured Brionte Dunn from the clutches of that school up north.
Not too shabby.
The best news of all, however, is that Meyer is not done yet.
Not even close.
Here is a look at the top ten remaining targets on Ohio State’s recruiting board.
I would like to preface my list by saying that I have narrowed it to only players that have visited Ohio State or plan to do so in the near future.
There are other prospects on the board (FL DE Dante Fowler, NJ DE Darius Hamilton, AZ WR Davonte Neal, FL DB A.J. Leggett, FL ATH Nelson Agholor and others) but first they need to plan on making the trip to Columbus before we will worry about placing them on this list.
There is also a group of players, primarily in the secondary, that were targeted by the previous staff but just do not seem to be priorities for Meyer.
Based on Meyer’s offers and recruiting buzz, it seems clear that he is focusing his recruiting effort on closing the 2012 recruiting class with two offensive tackles, one or two linebackers, one defensive end, and at least one more explosive offensive weapon.
That takes the class to the very limit of available scholarships, and doesn’t leave much room for other positions.
Finally, I have ranked the players based on a combination of need and the likelihood that the player will choose the Buckeyes.
So, without further ado, here are Meyer’s top ten remaining targets.
(Breaking News: Cyrus Jones, who was very high on this list, has eliminated the Buckeyes from consideration, cancelled his trip to Columbus this weekend, and will decide between Alabama and Virginia Tech at the UA game.
This is obviously a very disappointing development which comes after an in-home visit from Nick Saban… draw your own conclusions from that.)
10. Offensive Tackle
The Buckeyes need a tackle of two in this class.
Kyle Dodson and Jordan Diamond are currently on this list and the Buckeyes appear to be in good shape for both, but if anything happens to derail the recruitment of those two, other offensive line prospects will instantly jump into the top ten.
Some potential candidates are: MN OL Nick Davidson, CO OL Alex Kozan, CO OL Joey O’Connor, or others.
Given that there hasn’t been much buzz for offensive linemen outside of Dodson and Diamond, it appears that the staff is relatively confident right now, but this is still a situation to watch very closely.
If additional offers do go out, it is a sign that things aren’t going as planned with the current two targets.
9. Joel Caleb (VA ATH)
Joel Caleb visited Columbus two weeks ago, a trip he had planned even before Meyer was head coach. He has Ohio State in his top four along with Virginia Tech, West Virginia and Georgia.
Caleb visited Virginia Tech this past weekend and said the visit was equal to Ohio State. He also plans to visit Georgia in January before making a final decision on NLOID.
I have Caleb this low on the list for two reasons: he is overshadowed a bit by Stefon Diggs and it looks like this recruitment may be an uphill battle against the home state favorite Virginia Tech.
8. Jameis Winston (AL QB)
Normally the #2 QB in the country would be much higher up on the list of targets, but QB is not a position of need in the current class- although that could change.
Another factor is baseball; Winston says that he would not turn down first round money if a MLB team came calling, which is a possibility given his talent.
Those two things aside, this is a major recruitment to keep an eye on, particularly since Winston has already visited Columbus and plans to do so again in the future.
He obviously is a big fan of Urban Meyer, and if Jameis Winston wants to play football for Ohio State, you do not say no to him.
7. David Perkins (IN LB)
At 6’2″ 209 lbs. David Perkins is a very fast and athletic LB in the mold of Ryan Shazier- which is exactly the type of LB Meyer is looking for to finish the 2012 class.
Perkins has already visited Missouri and plans on visiting Ohio State, Michigan State, LSU and Tennessee before making a decision on NLOID.
That is some stiff competition for his services, and Ohio State is heavily recruiting three LBs to fill at most two spots, so we will have to wait and see what happens.
6. Camren Williams (MA LB)
Camren Williams is a late arrival on the recruiting scene for Ohio State, but he visited Columbus over the past several days with his father after receiving on offer, so the interest is very real and mutual.
At 6’2″ 210 lbs. Williams is also in the mold of Ryan Shazier (once again, very clearly what Meyer is targeting) which is an exciting prospect for a group of LBs at Ohio State that needs an injection of athleticism and speed.
Not only did Camren’s dad play with Mike Vrabel on the New England Patriots, but he promised to visit Columbus again in January with his mom.
In recruiting, winning over the parents is a very important goal (if not the most important goal) and Ohio State’s coaches appear to be in a great position on that front.
Williams is currently a soft verbal to Penn State, where he will visit again in January before making a decision. The fact that he will likely visit Columbus again with his mom before making that decision is certainly a good sign.
5. Stefon Diggs (MD ATH)
The only reason Stefon Diggs is so far down on the list is that while he plans to visit Columbus, it doesn’t appear that he knows when or how that visit will happen at this time.
Other than the lack of visit details, you can put him right up at the top of this list as one of the absolute top targets (the Cyrus Jones news this morning makes that even more true).
Another factor that drops him down a bit is that he may wait beyond NLOID to make his decision. There is nothing wrong with that and it may actually be a good thing for the Buckeyes since it gives Diggs more time to evaluate Ohio State and Meyer more time to recruit.
However, during this mile-a-minute recruiting frenzy in Columbus- with so few spots in the class left- waiting until after NLOID drops you down a bit on the target list.
That said, like Jameis Winston, if Stefon Diggs wants to play for Ohio State, even if he waits longer than most to decide that, you do not say no to him.
If he does make it to Columbus in January, that will obviously be a step in the right direction.
4. Kyle Dodson (OH OT)
Kyle Dodson is the last remaining soft verbal who visited last weekend that hasn’t flipped their commitment to the Buckeyes… yet.
Offensive tackle is the position needed most in this class, and that has been the case since well before Coach Meyer was on the scene.
Dodson enjoyed his visit to Columbus, but he will take his time while re-evaluating the situation before coming to a final decision, but he is unsure of when he will make his final decision.
The fact that a decision has to be made at all isn’t a very good sign for the team that he is currently committed to, but that may just be my scarlet colored glasses talking.
3. Jamal Marcus (NC LB)
Jamal Marcus is one of the fastest rising recruits on the radar right now. His film is off the charts, and once again, I would highly recommend everyone watch it.
His current top three are Ohio State, Florida and East Carolina (with Auburn in the picture as well).
He previously had (childhood favorite) North Carolina among his top schools but he has dropped them. You have to imagine that the Buckeyes hiring 2011 UNC Interim Head Coach Everett Withers doesn’t hurt Ohio State’s chances.
Marcus plans to visit Ohio State in January (although exactly when appears to be uncertain) before making a decision close to NLOID.
The three linebackers on this list (Marcus, Williams, Perkins) may be playing musical chairs for one or two seats in this class. There is no music, however, and the first one(s) to sit down wins.
2. Noah Spence (PA DE)
Ohio State instantly shot to the top of Noah Spence’s list of schools when Urban Meyer was hired.
He will be visiting Ohio State this weekend, and speculation is that things will be all but a done deal for the Buckeyes following the visit.
So, watch out for coverage of his visit.
Spence is one of the top players in Pennsylvania regardless of position, and if he does choose the Buckeyes (which seems highly likely) the DL class of Washington, Schutt, Pittman and Spence (also Elflein) would arguably be the best ever for Ohio State.
Good stuff.
1. Jordan Diamond (IL OT)
As mentioned, offensive tackle is the most important position of need in this class, and Jordan Diamond would obviously fill that need quite nicely.
He was a participant in last weekends recruiting extravaganza, so things are looking up for the moment for the Buckeyes.
If Diamond decided today, Ohio State would be in very good shape. However, Diamond still has visits scheduled to Aurburn and Arkansas which will delay his decision and give him more things to think about.
If the impression that Meyer and the Buckeyes left remains following the rest of his official visits than Ohio State will still be in great shape here, but that is not guaranteed and Meyer will have to stay on his game down the home stretch.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
