Noah Spence Commits to Ohio State, Completes the Fearsome Freshmen Foursome

Five star defensive end Noah Spence ended his recruitment on Sunday night with a verbal to the Buckeyes, continuing Ohio State's rise up the national recruiting boards. Spence is ranked as one of the top prospects in the country, and was not even on the Buckeyes radar before Urban Meyer became the head coach a few weeks ago. One of the first calls that Meyer made the evening of his hire was to Spence, who immediately put the Buckeyes on his list of schools.

It was rumored that Meyer, Mike Vrabel, Luke Fickell and Taver Johnson--Ohio State's entire defensive staff--were in Pennsylvania this past week for an in-home visit with Spence. Spence then made his way to Columbus for his official visit on Saturday. He was hosted by a group of younger Buckeyes like Braxton Miller and Curtis Grant.

Spence ended his recruitment by going to Meyer's office and telling him that he wanted to be a Buckeye. Spence spoke with Scout.com's Bob Lichtenfels about his decision and said, "I am committed to Ohio State and I just decided to do it before the Under-Armour game. We went into Urban Meyer's office, and I said 'Coach, I am done and I want to be a part of the Buckeye Nation. I'd still like to announce on TV where I am going, but I didn't want to wait anymore.'"

Spence posses great upside. He is quick off the snap and has good decision-making when it comes to defending the run as well as the pass. His tackles for loss and sack numbers show that he can get himself into the backfield and cause disruption and force the ball loose. He reminds me a lot of what we saw from Thaddeus Gibson during his junior year at Ohio State, but I think Spence can be more consistent off the edge. Like Gibson I do see Spence dropping back in coverage some and maybe playing some linebacker because of his size and speed.

With Nathan Williams, John Simon, and Johnathan Hankins all back for Ohio State next season, and some other depth on the line, Spence may see limited playing time. However, because he is such a versatile player we might see him shifted into different positions on the defense. I see him making an impact next year like Ryan Shazier made the last 4-5 games this season.

Spence had offers from nearly all of the top schools across the nation including LSU, Florida, Michigan, USC, and Penn State. Penn State seemed to be the odds on favorite to land Spence, but that was before all of the turmoil surrounding that program came out. Spence played his recruitment pretty quietly, as he did not really vocally list favorites or really talk much about it.

Read more about Noah Spence beyond the jump.

School
Bishop McDevitt HS
Harrisburg, PA

Measurements
Ht: 6'4"
Wt: 245 lbs.
40: 4.4 secs.
Vertical: N/A
Bench: N/A
Shuttle: N/A

Stats and Rankings

Spence is one of the highest rated recruits regardless of position on every recruiting board across the nation. He is either listed as #1 or #2 at his position and is a top 10 prospect regardless of his position. As a junior Spence had some impressive numbers with 101 total tackles, 22 sacks, 34 TFL, 9 forced fumbles all while earning all-state honors in Pennsylvania.

Rivals 250: 5 Stars
Scout 300: 5 Stars
ESPN 150: 5 Stars

Positives

- What a line this has become. The first domino to fall was Adolphus Washington, and now with the addition of Spence there is no better defensive line coming into college football than the one Urban Meyer has got coming to Columbus next season. As soon as Meyer was hired he keyed on Spence and called him up and got him to rethink his interest in Ohio State. Meyer had all the influence on this one.

- Once again Ohio State grabs the best that Pennsylvania has to offer. Dorian Bell (who has transferred) was #1 in 2009, Terrelle Pryor was the overall #1 player in the nation from PA in 2008. The Buckeyes have also taken Corey "Philly" Brown, Jordan Hall and the likes of Eddie George from the state next door.

- Spence brings speed, size and ultimate athleticism to the defensive end position that the Buckeyes have sorely needed the past few seasons. When Nathan Williams went down at the beginning of the year, the Buckeyes cupboard was nearly bare, and now it is fully stocked with Spence, Schutt, Washington and Pittman.

Questions

- Will the commitment train keep rolling? The Buckeyes look to only have between 3-4 spots left in this years class, and the last two weeks have brought in three of the best defensive line prospects that the nation has to offer. The Buckeyes have to pick and choose who they take with these next few spots, as it seems like a lot of kids want to play for Urban Meyer.

- The last time we really saw something of this magnitude happen was when the "Brew Crew" assembled itself in the 2008 recruiting season. Sitting back and watching that class take shape was something special to watch. The initial forming of this class did not have that luster going for it, but it has taken shape the last three weeks as Urban Meyer has stepped to the helm and gone after top flight recruits. Ohio State should be a dominate force on the recruiting trail as long as Meyer has his foot on the gas pedal.

Free Film

Click above to watch the nineteenth member of the Ohio State Buckeye recruiting class.