Can Urban "Put a Fence" around Ohio?

Urban's goal: lock down Ohio recruits

As we wind closer to National Signing Day, it's time to look at how well Coach Meyer has done. Certainly, one can conclude that he has made a significant impact in raising the profile and quality of recruits for Ohio State. Perhaps most importantly, he has reinforced the long-held importance of keeping as many top-shelf Ohio recruits as possible here.

In the words of Gene Smith during the introductory press conference: "We wanted a football coach who..would create the environment here with the aspiration for every single football player in the state of Ohio is to be a Buckeye..and have no other thought."


Did Coach Meyer accomplish that? Of course, we won't know for certain for a couple of days, but let's look at what we know so far, especially in relation to TSUN. We'll also take a look at how Urban's immediate predecessor did in HIS first recruiting season.


According to Rivals.com, 15 of the Buckeyes' 23 commits for 2012 hail from Ohio. Michigan's class shows 8 soon-to-be former Ohioans on their list--notably five-star recruit Kyle "Blood on the Field" Kalis, a former Tressel recruit who flipped when the Vest got scapegoated resigned.

Looking back to the 2002 class--Tressel's first class--18 of 24 recruits were from Ohio. Michigan only had 19 that year, and only two Ohioans. Tressel's class had several names who would make a significant impact over the years: Clarett, Hawk, Carpenter, Hall, and Heisman winner Troy Smith, among many others.

Is this an indicator of a lack of focus on Urban's part to keep Ohioans home? Perhaps. In my opinion, however, the quality of the person and the player doesn't necessarily diminish at the border.

E.B. Cooper had an excellent piece on Ohioans going north a couple of days ago. He makes an excellent point: If not for Ohioans like Bo Schembechler, Jim Harbaugh, Charles Woodson, Desmond Howard, and others, Michigan wouldn't be the program they are today. Michigan just doesn't seem to turn out the talent like the Buckeye State. I perhaps take a perverted sense of pride that it took a bunch of Ohioans to make this rivalry great.