COLUMBUS, Ohio — With a little more than a week to go until national signing day, Urban Meyer currently lays claim to the nation's second-ranked 2016 class, with the potential to reclaim the No. 1 spot, as room for two or three more prospects in the class remains.
Regardless of where Ohio State's final ranking lands, the Buckeyes are well on their way to their fifth consecutive top-seven class under Meyer, with each class ranking as the Big Ten's best in their respective years.
Yet despite Meyer's unprecedented recruiting run in Columbus, which will likely include four top-five finishes after next week, the fifth-year Ohio State head coach appears to only just be getting started.
In fact, Meyer's best classes with the Buckeyes could very well still be ahead of him.
If the three-time national champion head coach has been selling promise since arriving at Ohio State in 2012, then his 2016 class marks the first that he was able to truly pitch on results, with the Buckeyes just one year removed from winning 2014's College Football Playoff. By the time the confetti had settled in Arlington, Texas, last winter, Ohio State's 2015 class was already practically full, with Meyer adding just four of the class' 27 members between the national title game and signing day.
"I thought maybe we might turn, but that didn't happen," Meyer answered on national signing day last year when asked if the Buckeyes received a boost from their victory in the playoff. "There's a few that helped us.
"Certainly, [in] '16, you've seen a jolt."
That "jolt" has come in the form of a class that currently sits at 22 members, including 5-star defensive end Nick Bosa and 15 4-star prospects. Meyer and his staff remain in the market for at least one defensive back and potentially a defensive tackle, with the Buckeyes still in the hunt for 4-star athlete Jordan Fuller, 4-star cornerback Damar Hamlin and 4-star defensive tackle KaramoDioubate.
While the merits of Ohio State's upcoming class speak for themselves, its 2017 haul may wind up being even more impressive.
With national signing day for 2016 yet to have even taken place, the Buckeyes' 2017 class currently ranks as the nation's best. Ohio State received eight commitments to its 2017 class within seven months of its championship victory over Oregon, at which time it had already held a pledge from 4-star quarterback Danny Clark.
If the Buckeyes' 2016 class was the start of their post-championship recruiting bump, then 2017 could very well be its climax, with Ohio State already laying claim to the nation's third-ranked player, 5-star offensive tackle Josh Myers, and very much in the running for several of the nation's top uncommitted prospects.
"I tell people it was like a 30‑day infomercial," Meyer said of his program's time in the spotlight last winter. "Go pay for positive advertisement for 30 days and see what that looks like. That's basically what it was."
On top of the Buckeyes' success on the field breeding success off of it, Meyer has taken additional steps toward ensuring his program maintains its momentum on the recruiting trail.
When defensive coordinator Chris Ash—who had successfully recruited 4-star wide receiver K.J. Hill and 3-star cornerback Damon Arnette to Columbus in 2015—left to become the head coach at Rutgers, Meyer enlisted in the services of former Rutgers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Greg Schiano to fill the void. With an impressive track record on the recruiting trail with the Scarlet Knights and NFL experience as a head coach under his belt, Schiano could ultimately prove to be an upgrade to Ohio State's staff, at least as far as attracting talent is concerned.
"I enjoy the competitiveness of it and enjoy being able to acquire really good people and players to make your team whole," Schiano said upon his arrival in Columbus. "Some people, that scares them off. I actually enjoy that part."
That isn't the only change to the Buckeyes staff this offseason.
Bumping tight ends and fullbacks coach Tim Hinton to an administrative role, Meyer hired former LSU offensive line coach Greg Studrawa to serve in the same capacity at Ohio State. During his time with the Tigers, Studrawa helped land a number of highly touted prospects, including 5-star wide receiver Rueben Randle, 4-star linebacker BarkeviousMingo and 4-star athlete and Cincinnati native Spencer Ware.
Studrawa's impact—if any—will be minimal in the Buckeyes' upcoming class, but it could make a major difference in 2017 and beyond. That will hold especially true as Ohio State rebuilds an offensive line unit that will replace three starters in 2016 and at least one more in 2017.
As is often the case in recruiting, the rich get richer, and the Buckeyes appear poised to do just that. Jim Harbaugh may be generating the headlines—and will also be in contention for the nation's top-ranked class come signing day—but Meyer's program is hitting on all cylinders, as evidenced by its 50-4 record on the field in the past four seasons.
Off the field, Meyer has been arguably even more successful and is only gaining steam. Where Ohio State's upcoming class—and the one after that—will wind up slotted remains to be seen, but it won't be hard to find the Buckeyes in the recruiting rankings in the coming years.
Just keep looking toward the top.
Ben Axelrod is Bleacher Report's Big Ten lead writer. You can follow him on Twitter @BenAxelrod. Unless noted otherwise, all quotes were obtained firsthand. All statistics courtesy of cfbstats.com. Recruiting rankings courtesy of 247Sports.
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