Locks, Leans and Potential Longshots

Ohio State currently has nine commits in a class that could number as high as twenty by January. Just a few months ago, it looked like OSU would be severly limited in the scholarships available, possibly having just thirteen to offer in a talented class. But with a handful of transfers and the likelihood that 2-4 players could leave early for the NFL, that number has ballooned up. The Buckeyes will definitely have 17-18 scholarships to give, and the number might be growing.

The current class looks like this, with 7 of the 9 on someone's top 100 list. Williams is everyone's top 250 list and could be moving up.

QB: none
RB: Devoe Torrence
WR: Devier Posey
TE: Jake Stoneburner
OL: Mike Brewster, Mike Adams, J.B. Shugarts
DL: Nathan Williams
LB: Andrew Sweat
DB: none
K: Ben Buchanan

So with 8-11 'ships left, who's going to wearing Scarlet & Gray? I consider the following players as currently better than 50% chance to be Buckeyes. That spans a pretty wide range from Cordale Scott (a Glenville lock) to Kevin Koger (a near tossup with that school up north).

QB: Terrelle Pryor
Check out some recent articles from the Dispatch here and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette here. It sounds like Pryor has already had enough of the recruiting scene.

WR: Cordale Scott
The last time OSU missed on a big-time Glenville prospect under Jim Tressel...wait for it...

TE: Kevin Koger
One of those great recruiting battles between Michigan and Ohio State where both sides are comfortable and confident with their position. Given that Koger grew up in Toledo in a household full of Michigan fans and a sister that went to school at UM, this would be a huge compeback victory for the Buckeyes. Koger is visiting C-Bus on Tuesday and Ann Arbor on Thursday, with a decision to follow shortly. I think OSU is in the driver's seat, but the "last visit" has to scare OSU.

DL: Garrett Goebel
Goebel seemed like a Notre Dame lock early on, but they signed a number of other tackles and he started looking elsewhere. It then seemed like the Buckeyes had this wrapped up, but Goebel announced he was taking a second trip to Michigan before deciding. A thorough researcher or a chink in the OSU armor? This is a free roll for UM at this point - most had Goebel signed-sealed and delivered to Columbus. To swipe a player of his caliber, especially at a position of need, ould be a huge coup for Michigan.

DB: D.J. Woods
Woods blew everyone away on the camp circuit, and though he needs to add some weight to his frame, he's got great potential at corner and receiver. He doesn't have a Buckeye offer right now, and one might not come until later this fall. But as long as he doesn't jump the gun, it's a good bet that he'll join the class eventually. If so, he'll definitely be a sleeper in a star-studded class.

ATH: Lamaar Thomas
Thomas is still beaming from his camp experience in late June, and the Buckeyes continue to lead for his services. He's got offers from Maryland, Florida and Tennessee, but Big Ten cellar-dwellar Illinois might be the stiffest competition. First, Illinois can promise early playing time, as only Benn is any threat to a talented recruit. Second, Zook's staff has ties to the DC area has done well there in the past.

Okay, so we've added 5 prospects to the list, giving us 14. I think we can eliminate the following high profile targets: Steven Filer (ND), Brendan Beal (USC), Fred Smith (MSU), Jeff Fuller (A&M), and Keith Wells (Florida).

That would leave eight current targets that the Bucks are focused on:

WR: Michael Floyd (Notre Dame, Florida)
OL: Josh Jenkins (West Virginia, Florida State)
LB: Shayne Hale (Michigan, West Virginia)
DE: Willie Mobley (Minnesota, UCLA, bunch of others), Quinton Coples (most of the ACC)
DT: Justin Thompson (Miami-FL, LSU)
CB: Brandon Harris (Miami-FL, Rutgers)
S: Dan McCarthy (Notre Dame, Michigan)

Jenkins and Hale are the two biggest names, and they likely won't finalize anything before the season is over. All of the others are currently leaning elsewhere, but official visits could change things. I suspect no more than 2-3 of these players will verbal, that's probably optimistic.

As is always the case with OSU, look for 2-3 players to emerge during their senior campaign and earn an offer. The Buckeyes coaches have an excellent track record of identifying rising players and developing them into contributors, so the class may not be as locked up as you think.