The 2011 Ohio State Recruiting Class

Now that all of the LOIs have been submitted to the Buckeye coaching staff, we have seen a few late surprises.  Ohio State has a class of 23, and ranks in the top 10 on the top three recruiting services (if you include ESPN).  According to Scout, the class is third-best in the country, seventh-best, according to ESPN, and tenth according to Rivals. A really solid class with needed positions filled across the team.

Before yesterday, the Buckeyes had commitments from 22 players, but managed to add two more players on Signing Day.  Unfortunately, offensive lineman Chris Carter, who had already committed, found himself in legal trouble at school and will only join the Buckeye team if he is not charged. 

The first to join the class yesterday was Cardale Jones, from Cleveland Glenville. He was given a gray-shirt since he will be going to prep school to increase his academic standing.  The current top linebacker in the US, Curtis Grant, announced his choice at a live press conference on ESPNU to be a Buckeye in 2011. The Tressel era seems to have its best linebacker class so far in this current crop, with Grant joining Connor Crowell, Ryan Shazier and Ejuan Price.

The Buckeyes did lose out on offensive tackle Aundrey Walker, also from Cleveland Glenville, as expected.  Walker chose to join the under-suspension USC Trojans instead.  This class is now slightly weak on the offensive line with the two loses, especially after Carter's departure. Ohio State will need to do a good job recruiting 2012 lineman to replace four departing seniors.

It is too late to be concerned with the players that OSU did not sign.  Jim Tressel and the staff have found an impressive class and we must concentrate on the players we have now.  Out of the thirty players that came on official visits, 23 of these players chose Ohio State, which is an impressive statistic for any major football program.