New Recruiting Possibilities Under Urban Meyer

With the hiring of new head coach Urban Meyer, most people expect that the 2011-2012 recruiting season can be salvaged with some late pick-ups with the big name hire. Meyer has a tough job ahead and should be hitting the phones hard since the current staff will coach the bowl game, leaving him plenty of time to work the phones and conduct in-home visits.

We now take a look at the players who might be swayed to come to Ohio State now that Meyer has officially accepted the job. Some of these players may be committed elsewhere for now, some not committed at all, but I will rate the chances the Buckeyes have of landing these players within the next couple of months of the recruiting season.

1.) Se'Von Pittman - DE (McKinley HS, Canton OH) - Currently, Se'Von is committed to Mark Dantonio and Michigan State, but there have been rumblings of late that his commitment is wavering. Pairing him with Adolphus Washington for this class would be a huge addition, and with the hiring of Meyer you would have to think the chances go up a little. Right now I say we land him as he switches his pledge sometime in January.

Chance of being a Buckeye = 80%

2.) Brionte Dunn - RB (Glen Oak HS, Glen Oak OH) - Currently, Brionte is committed to Ohio State. There have been a couple of late visits by Dunn to Michigan, he was even on the sidelines for the Maize and Blue during "The Game" last weekend, which can't be a good sign for the Buckeye faithful. With the stable of backs that Ohio State currently has losing Dunn would hurt a lot less if we weren't deep at that position, but lets hope that Urban Meyer is able to keep him on board as losing a 5* player to your rival always hurts.

Chance of being a Buckeye = 50%

3.) Joel Caleb - WR - (Clover HS, Midlothian VA) - Currently, Joel is uncommitted. Caleb is listed as a 4* prospect in the scout database and is listed as the 32nd best WR prospect in the country. The Buckeyes are young at WR going into next season, only losing DeVier Posey to the NFL. Currently, the Buckeyes have 4 WR pledges, and seem to be full at that position. Meyer may decide to keep all 4 prospects that have committed, but if Caleb decides he wants to be a Buckeye after his official visit on December 2nd, then you have to make room on a team that needs a playmaker on the outside. He lists Virginia Tech, Florida and LSU among his offers.

Chance of being a Buckeye = 40%

4.) Kyle Kalis - OT - (St. Edward HS, Lakewood OH) - Currently, Kyle is committed to Michigan. Kalis was originally committed to Ohio State, and then famously switched his commitment to Michigan a few weeks after Tressel resigned. He has become close friends with current Wolverine commitments Tom Strobel and Chris Wormley and has been trying to sway Brionte Dunn to join them up north next season as well. I believe even if Jim Tressel were to come back to coaching, Kalis would still be headed to Michigan.

Chance of being a Buckeye = ~1%

5.) Tommie Schutt - DT - (Glenbard West HS, Glen Ellyn IL) - Currently Tommie is committed to Penn State. With all the uncertainty surrounding the Penn State program currently, there is reason to believe that Schutt would be looking around to other programs. There have been a few players come out and stand by their commitments to Penn State, however Schutt has not been one of them. With Urban Meyer on board, they may try and get Tommie to move a state over and become a Buckeye. Along with Penn State, Schutt had offers from most of the Big Ten, USC and Oregon.

Chance of being a Buckeye = 30%

6.) Jordan Diamond - OT - (Simeon Vocational HS, Chicago IL) - Currently Jordan is uncommitted. Diamond has been a hot name lately, and with the addition of Meyer the heat might turn up on his recruitment to Ohio State. He recently visited Michigan for "The Game" and came away impressed with what he saw up there in regards to Michigan. He has said that he will pair his list of schools down to 5-7 in a few weeks and hopefully the Buckeyes make the cut as they are in need of some big lineman to run Urban's spread offense.

Chance of being a Buckeye = 30%

7.) Dante Fowler - DE - (Lakewood HS, St. Petersburg FL) - Currently Dante is committed to Florida State. Rumors started swirling late Sunday evening that Dante might open up his recruitment to include Ohio State now that Meyer has been named the head coach. Dante had said that there was a 25% chance that he would change his commitment, as he was going to visit Florida and use all of his officials. Now that Meyer is at Ohio State, lets hope that we can get one of those official visits and maybe get Dante into the fold.

Chance of being a Buckeye = 10%

8.) Evan Goodman - OT - (Lakeland Sr HS, Lakeland FL) - Currently Evan is committed to Arizona State. Another Florida prospect and another kid who might be looking around after the coach Dennis Erickson was recently fired by Arizona State. Meyer still has ties down in Florida, and depending on who he brings in as coordinators, they could sure be a big help in landing quality out of state talent. Ohio State can always use quality lineman, and Goodman is that as he is ranked as a 4* tackle.

Chance of being a Buckeye = 20%

9.) Nick Davidson - OT - (Eden Prairie HS, Eden Prairie MN) - Currently Nick is uncommitted. Davidson has strong ties to Ohio State, as both his father and grandfather served as captains during their playing days at Ohio State. He still has Ohio State on his list of schools along with a host of ACC schools like Virginia Tech and North Carolina. I like the chance of Davidson joining the Buckeyes more with the hiring of Meyer than I did before, and think that he becomes the first big recruit to commit to Meyer and the Buckeyes.

Chance of being a Buckeye = 85%

10.) Keith Brown - LB - (Miami Norland HS, Miami FL) - Currently Keith is committed to Illinois. With Ron Zook out at Illinois, could this reopen the recruitment of Keith Brown? He did not have an offer from Ohio State listed, but again he hails from the state that Meyer recruited relentlessly from '05-'10. He had committed to Miami (FL) early, then changed his commitment two weeks ago to the Illini. He could be a guy that Meyer targets as he said in his press conference that Luke and him talked about LB depth and how it needed to be addressed.

Chance of being a Buckeye = 25%

Other names we could see as Buckeyes:

Taylor Decker - OT -(Committed to ND)

Kyle Dodson - OT - (Committed to Wisconsin)

Ifeadi Odenigbo - LB - (Uncommitted)

Deon Bush - S - (Uncommitted)

Demetrious Cox - S - (Uncommitted)

Alex Kozan - OT - (Uncommitted)