COLUMBUS – Some are calling the 2017 football recruiting class at OSU one of best in school history, though the Buckeyes are second in the nation to the Crimson Tide, according to experts.
Head coach Urban Meyer and his revamped staff will have 21 new players when fall camp opens later this year, thanks to the addition of 11 more commitments on National Letter of Intent signing day Wednesday.
Those come in addition to nine mid-year enrollees and a junior college player who signed in December.
Five players were listed as the No. 1 player at their position by one of the four recruiting services. Including Jeffrey Okudah, from Grand Prairie, Texas, and Shaun Wade, from Jacksonville, Fla., at cornerback and linebacker Baron Browning, from Fort Worth.
The 247Sports composite rankings says the Alabama is signing day champion for the seventh straight season as they grabbed six five-star recruits.
The Buckeyes, Georgia, Southern California and Florida State round out the top five.
With six defensive backs declaring early for the NFL the past two years, the incoming class of Buckeyes is heavy with six DB’s. It also features three offensive linemen, three defensive linemen, three wide receivers, two linebackers and one quarterback, running back, kicker and “athlete.”
The group includes seven players from the state of Ohio, three from Florida, two from Nevada and one apiece from California, Indiana, Maryland and New York.
Spring practices are set to begin March 7 with the annual spring game scheduled for April 15.