For the fourth consecutive year, Urban Meyer and the Ohio State Buckeyes have signed the Big Ten's best recruiting class.
It was a pressure-packed morning for the coaching staff, but the Buckeyes officially welcomed 27 incoming freshmen on Wednesday—an impressive group that ranks sixth nationally in the recruiting standings. Unsurprisingly, Meyer helped Ohio State surge to a strong finish, getting commitments from three players in the 48 hours leading up to national signing day.
Even more importantly, the Buckeyes hung on to prized pledges who were wavering on their commitments down the stretch.
Coming off their surprising run through the Big Ten title game and the first-ever College Football Playoff, Meyer reflected on the positive roll the Buckeyes are on.
“Lot of momentum right now at Ohio State," Meyer said at his signing day press conference, according to Eric Seger of The Ozone.
Let's meet the 27 new Buckeyes.
Building the Fence
Year in and year out, one of Meyer's top priorities is securing the best talent Ohio has to offer. Dating back to the 2012 class, the Buckeyes have landed 15 of the state's top 30 players, highlighted by last year's class, which featured six of the Ohio's top seven recruits.
This year wasn't any different. Meyer and the Buckeyes cleaned up with their in-state recruiting efforts, signing eight of Ohio's top 13 prospects.
Justin Hilliard, Ohio State's lone 5-star recruit, headlines the group. The 6'0", 225-pound standout from Cincinnati is rated the No. 2 outside linebacker in the country, and he's joined by Jerome Baker, another linebacker prospect who's rated as OSU's third-best prospect.
CornerbacksEric Glover-Williams and Denzel Ward, defensive end Dre'Mont Jones, linebacker Nick Conner, wide receiver Alex Stump and quarterback Joe Burrow—all of whom are 4-star prospects—joined Hilliard and Baker, giving Meyer the homegrown talent he was looking for.
Loading the Trenches
Anyone who watched Ohio State's improbable run through the College Football Playoff saw the importance Meyer placed on winning the battle up front. On offense, he needs his line to be strong enough to bully its way downfield, but he also needs agility to trigger the Buckeyes' second-level blocking. On the other side of the ball, he wants his defensive line to confound the opponent with a combination of power and speed.
Winning the trenches was the difference for Ohio State this postseason, so it shouldn't be a surprise that Meyer aimed to load up on big men.
Nearly 45 percent of the Buckeyes' 2015 class is made up of linemen.
The centerpiece of Ohio State's defensive line haul is Jashon Cornell, a 4-star edge-rusher out of Saint Paul, Minnesota, who enrolled early to get a head start on his collegiate career. He was one of six defensive linemen to pledge to the Buckeyes this year—a group that's bolstered by intriguing prospects such as Robert Landers (3-star defensive tackle) and Joshua Alabi (3-star defensive end).
Offensively, the Buckeyes sealed one of the surprises of the day when they got a commitment from Isaiah Prince. The 4-star offensive tackle decommitted from Alabama in late January, and many thought he would wind up with home-state Maryland. But his visit with the Terrapins last weekend wasn't enough for Prince to turn away the opportunity of joining the reigning national champions.
Along with Prince, the Buckeyes bolstered the interior of their line with 4-star guard Matthew Burrell and 3-star Mirko Jurkovic. A trio of 3-star offensive tackles—Grant Schmidt, Kevin Feder and Branden Bowen—give Ohio State excellent depth on the edges.
The Ones Who Almost Got Away
It wasn't a drama-free day for the Buckeyes.
Ohio State had to sweat out the final decisions from its top offensive commitments on Wednesday. Torrance Gibson, a 4-star dual-threat quarterback hailing from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Michael Weber, a 4-star running back from Detroit, committed to the Buckeyes months ago, but both wavered down the stretch.
First up was Gibson, who began to explore his options after the emergence of Cardale Jones during Ohio State's improbable national title run. The dual-threat signal-caller recently visited Auburn, LSU and Miami, all of which were closer to home and had favorable depth at quarterback.
As it turned out, none of that mattered. Gibson reaffirmed his commitment to Ohio State during a press conference at his school on Wednesday, giving Meyer another outstanding quarterback to develop.
Once the Gibson news broke, all eyes turned north to Weber, who was feeling immense pressure from the home-state school. After Michigan hired Jim Harbaugh, the Wolverines went after the talented ball-carrier with everything they had in an effort to regain his commitment.
It was too little, too late for Harbaugh, though. Weber, who ran for 2,268 yards and 29 touchdowns during his senior year, stuck with the Buckeyes.
With Gibson and Weber on board, Ohio State's future backfield looks to be very dangerous.
Sprinting to the Finish
Recruiting classes can be made or broken on the final day of the recruiting cycle, and fortunately for Ohio State, Meyer is one of the best closers in the country. Not only did the Buckeyes manage to keep Gibson and Weber, they also secured three big commitments down the stretch.
On Monday, Meyer recovered from Carlton Davis' deflection by flipping South Carolina commit Damon Arnette. The 3-star cornerback joined defensive backs Glover-Williams, Jamel Dean, Ward and Joshua Norwood, giving Ohio State the depth it was pursuing for its secondary.
To close things out, Meyer beat Nick Saban and Alabama for a pair of 4-star prospects on signing day. K.J. Hill, a blazing pass-catcher out North Little Rock, Arkansas, is rated the No. 16 wide receiver and the No. 152 prospect nationally. He was joined by Prince, the 6'6", 272-pound offensive tackle who decommitted from the Tide last month.
Ohio State's strong recruiting finish matched the way it closed out the 2014 season on the field. And with the way Meyer is recruiting, the Buckeyes are primed to continue their domination of the Big Ten and compete for national titles.
All recruiting rankings and information via 247Sports.
David Regimbal covers Ohio State football for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter @davidreg412.
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