Yesterday, the Christmas Day of every recruiting service geek, the college football signing class rankings kept changing. At night, the Ohio State recruiting class became #1 overtaking the Crimson Tide.
OSU Coach and bane of Bret Bielema’s existence, Urban Meyer announced Wednesday a class of 24 prospects, including five already enrolled in school (hopefully they’re not like that backup QB guy who tweeted that he went to Columbus to major in football, not major in school), who have signed national LOIs to attend The Ohio State University and play football for the Buckeyes. The class, heavy along the defensive line and with significant resources in the defensive backfield and at the offensive skill positions, is possibly the best in the nation.
The recruiting class features individuals from 11 different states and includes 13 defensive players, eight offensive players and three “athletes.”
The class includes:
three top performers from Texas – five-star linebacker Mike Mitchell, running back/athlete Dontre Wilson and quarterback J.T. Barrett;
seven from the southeastern United States, including five-star defensive lineman Joey Bosa from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and five-star safety Vonn Bell from Rossville, Ga.;
a five-star cornerback from New Jersey (Eli Apple);
the top player from Missouri (running back Ezekiel Elliott); and
one of the top tight ends in the country – Marcus Baugh – from Riverside, Calif.
Ohio is well represented in this class:
five-star receiver prospect Jalin Marshall from Middletown;
four of the top five Ohio prospects, according to ESPN – No. 1 athlete Gareon Conley, No. 2 Marshall, No. 3 cornerback Cam Burrows and No. 5 offensive lineman Evan Lisle; and six more players who are ranked between Nos. 12 and 28 in the state: SAF Jayme Thompson, DL Donovan Munger, DL Billy Price, SAF Christopher Worley, DL Tracy Sprinkle and ATH Darron Lee.
Lawrenceville, Georgia prospect Trey Johnson, the No. 3 inside linebacker prospect in the nation according to two services, gives Ohio State an outstanding linebacker tandem (with Mitchell) in this class.
Paul M. Banks is CEO of The Sports Bank.net, a Google News site generating millions of unique visitors. He’s also a regular contributor to Chicago Now, Chicago Tribune.com, Walter Football.com, Yardbarker, and Fox Sports
A Fulbright scholar, published author and MBA, Banks has appeared on live radio all over the world; he’s also a member of the Football Writers Association of America, U.S. Basketball Writers Association, and Society of Professional Journalists. The President of the United States follows him on Twitter (@Paul_M_BanksTSB) You should too.