With National Signing Day a few weeks away, the final commitments of high school seniors across the nation will be coming to a close. An Ohio State class that in November was on the outside of the Top 25 nationally has moved up with a chance to finish in the Top 5 by signing day.

The hiring of Urban Meyer after the Michigan game has stirred the pot nationally and given the Ohio State brand a much needed revitalization on the recruiting trail. Meyer has already landed commitments from top 100 national products such as Noah Spence, Tommy Schutt and Se'Von Pittman, luring the last two away from previous commitments to Penn State and Michigan State respectively.

Right now, the Buckeyes, with their imposed scholarship sanctions of 82, are currently full. I expect some attrition to take place as well as a few guys not making the grade, which means I think we can get 5-7 more guys in this class comfortably. With things turning in the right direction, let's take a look at where the Buckeyes stand with the potential recruits that remain uncommitted or may be swayed by Coach Meyer with a few weeks left to go in the recruiting season. I will also give you my projected final class after the jump.

Jameis Winston - QB - He is visiting in late January, which is a good sign. However, he still remains committed to the Florida State Seminoles. The Buckeyes are not in an immediate need for a QB, however, if Winston wants to come aboard, you make room for him and let him develop behind Braxton Miller for a few years. I see Winston maintaining his commitment to Florida State in the end, leaving the Buckeyes with no quarterbacks in the class of 2012 besides Cardale Jones.

Taylor Decker - OT - While still maintaining his commitment to the Fighting Irish, Decker is on campus this weekend and many around him seem to think that it is a done deal that he joins the Buckeyes with a flipping of his verbal. One key factor in this situation was the hiring of his position coach at Notre Dame, Ed Warinner, who joined Meyer's staff last month. Decker never seemed to be on the radar of the Tressel staff. I believe that in the end Decker pledges his commitment to Ohio State.

Camren Williams - LB - All signs are pointing toward Williams ending his relationship with Penn State and switching to the Buckeyes, which would make that the second time that has happened this recruiting season to PSU (Tommy Schutt). Williams is on campus for the second time in a month, and although he has an official scheduled for the last week of January to Penn State, I see this one ending up good for the Buckeyes. Count WIlliams in my final class.

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Scout.com broke two bits of news regarding the Buckeyes this weekend. First, Bill Greene reported that Taylor Decker, an offensive tackle from Vandalia, Ohio, will visit Ohio State this weekend. Decker is currently a Notre Dame commitment and had previously resisted overtures from Urban Meyer and Ohio State. So what changed? Meyer hired former Irish offensive line coach Ed Warinner and former Irish recruiting coordinator Tim Hinton--the two coaches at Notre Dame with the closest relationship to Decker--to his staff at Ohio State.

Jim Tressel and his staff passed on Decker a year ago, determining that he was not the right fit for their offensive scheme. With Meyer's arrival, and a corresponding scheme change, Decker is now viewed as an excellent offensive line prospect in Columbus. If Meyer can pull him away from Notre Dame, he will partially fill a gaping hole at offensive tackle that developed over the last two recruiting cycles.

Meyer is also pursuing Cleveland Heights lineman Kyle Dodson, who is committed to Wisconsin, and uncommitted Illinois lineman Jordan Diamond. It is believed that Meyer would accept all three line prospects should they commit to Ohio State.

The second bit of news concerns a player already on the Buckeye roster. Jeremy Cash, a freshman defensive back, is transferring from Ohio State to an undetermined school. Cash was a member of the 2011 class and a high school teammate of Ryan Shazier, Ohio State's talented young linebacker. No reason was given for Cash's departure, but I'm not sure Urban Meyer cares. Cash's exit leaves another scholarship open for Meyer, who is hosting a group of players this weekend and needs the extra room in the class.

Davonte Neal, Joey O'Connor, David Perkins, and the aforementioned Taylor Decker are all visiting this weekend, and they will be joined by Camren Williams and Armanti Reeves later in the week.

Urban Meyer has been recruiting current Penn State commitment Camren Williams since he was hired at Ohio State, but the four star linebacker was hesitant to depart from the Nittany Lions until their coaching situation calcified. Now that it has, and certain coaches are no longer being retained by new head coach Bill O'Brien, it appears Williams may be looking for the exits.

Penn State blog Victory Bell Rings is reporting that O'Brien's decision to terminate offensive line coach Bill Kenney could cost the Nittany Lions Williams and fellow commitment Armani Reeves, a four star cornerback who attends the same school as Williams. Kenney was the lead recruiter for both Williams and Reeves, and it was thought that his presence was the factor keeping both players committed throughout Joe Paterno's termination and ensuing turmoil.

Williams has already visited Ohio State on an official recruiting visit, and Reeves has been in contact with Brady Hoke, Greg Mattison, and other members of the Michigan Wolverine coaching staff. Williams and Reeves were looking forward to the prospect of continuing their college career together, however, and Penn State remained a viable option as long as they were comfortable with the new coaching staff.

Now is where it gets interesting. According to Victory Bell Rings, Meyer, who previously showed no interest in Reeves, called the cornerback last night, presumably to gauge his interest in Ohio State. It's unclear whether Meyer offered a scholarship to Reeves, who holds offers from top programs across the country, or whether Reeves is even interested in the Buckeyes.

Still, it must be more than coincidence that Meyer's phone call took place. With Kenney no longer in the picture at Penn State, there is a definite opening to steal both players from the new Nittany Lion staff. Already, Meyer has a leg up on O'Brien since he's been recruiting Williams for at least a month and since O'Brien will be unable to devote full time to recruiting until the New England Patriots are finished in the playoffs.

Monty Madaris, a four star wide receiver recruit on Scout.com, holds offers from Midwestern schools Michigan State, Michigan, and Nebraska, but has received little interest from Ohio State throughout the last six months. That has apparently changed now that Urban Meyer is Ohio State's head coach. Madaris's high school coach informed Cincinnati Enquirer reporter Mike Dyer that the Buckeyes have opened contact with Madaris recently and that the Buckeyes are "back in the picture."

As far as we know, Madaris does not hold an offer from Ohio State yet. If he does receive one, we can infer a few things. First, that Meyer is looking to clear space with the current roster of wide receivers to make room for this year's class. Ohio State already has four wide receiver commitments--Frank Epitropolous, Roger Lewis, Mike Thomas, and Ricquan Southward--but Meyer is aggressively pursuing a number of others, including Davonte Neal, Joel Caleb, Stefon Diggs, and now Monty Madaris. A transfer or two at the position is not unlikely over the next few months.

Second, it means Meyer thinks higher of Madaris than the previous staff, which oddly ignored the Cincinnati Moeller product despite his rise in the recruiting ranks following a productive summer of camp tours. Madaris so impressed talent evaluators that many had him ranked ahead of Dwayne Stanford, an Oregon commit, who was long been seen as the top receiver in the state. After camping at Florida State this summer, the Seminole staff elected to offer Madaris even though they rarely recruit Ohio and are located within a state known for abundant receiver talent.

In other recruiting news, Bill Greene broke the story that Dalton Santos, a linebacker commitment to Tennessee, will visit Ohio State in January. Santos is concerned with the turmoil on the Volunteer coaching staff after defensive coordinator Justin Wilcox and linebackers coach Peter Sirmon left Knoxville to join Steve Sarkisian at Washington.

From our recent poll:

1. Noah Spence, 136 votes

2. Jordan Diamond, 88

3. Kyle Dodson, 56

4. Se'Von Pittman, 29

5. Tommy Schutt, 22

6. Jameis Winston, 15

Noah Spence, the five star weakside defensive end from Pennsylvania, is the most desired player by both Along the Olentangy voters and Urban Meyer. On his second day as Ohio State's head coach, Meyer called Spence and told him that he was the best recruit of any he had evaluated so far, and that he wanted him to come to Ohio State and fix the pass rush problem.

Jordan Diamond and Kyle Dodson, both offensive tackles, received a large chunk of the vote due to Ohio State's dearth of tackles on the roster. Bri'onte Dunn could have been included on here, but he's technically still a Buckeye commitment, although he's functionally undecided, torn between Michigan and Ohio State.

After everything that the Buckeye football program, its fans, and the university have endured the past year, who would have thought that we would be where we are today? A team that went 6-6, had multiple stars suspended for multiple games, and a less than ideal coaching situation remedied itself with the hiring of Urban Meyer last week.

Meyer has hit the ground running in his attempt to salvage the 2012 recruiting class, reaching out to players who had pared down their lists without Ohio State on them. Word is that Meyer plans on honoring all of the current commitments to the class.

By keeping former Tressel and Fickell commits, Meyer shows good will towards the Ohio High School Coaches Association, and he can selectively finish this year and then focus on the next with his own full class.

Right now the Buckeyes stand at 16 commitments, including greyshirt Cardale Jones, and can take about 4-5 more players if the current roster stays intact. I see some attrition on the team with player transfers and possibly some current commits seeing themselves out with the new offensive and defensive styles that Meyer implements. I think a reasonable estimate is 6-8 more recruits, depending upon how interested Meyer's top targets are in the Buckeyes.

After the jump, we take a look at this weekend's incredible visit list --and we do mean incredible considering how disinterested these players were in Ohio State two weeks ago--and analyze some of the tastiest rumors currently floating around the internet.

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Ohio State's roster has a sizable hole at wide receiver after graduations and transfers, and the coaches will look to sign three or four recruits at the position in the 2012 class. Two spots have been filled by Frank Epitropoulos and Roger Lewis.

Committed

Frank Epitropoulos; Upper Arlington High School; 6''3, 195 lbs.

The son of former Buckeye offensive lineman John Epitropoulos (1977-1980), Frank Epitropolous was always going to follow his father and be a Buckeye. Although he visited for the spring game and did not commit, it took little extra time for the Buckeye legacy to make it official, verbaling on April 26th.

From a pure athleticism standpoint, it's clear to see why the coaching staff offered Epitropoulos. He isn't quite a burner or a size-freak, but he does have above average size and speed, displays excellent body control, and simply makes plays. Epitropoulos could ultimately play safety once he arrives on campus, but I think he fits best at flanker.

Change by Tressel? Epitropoulos committed while Tressel was still head coach, but Tressel's exit shouldn't change his decision. Scarlet-and-grey blood runs through his veins.

Roger Lewis; Pickering Central High School; 6''1, 195 lbs.

Following an offer earned at Ohio State's recruiting camp, Roger Lewis committed to the Buckeyes on August 9th, joining a handful of mid-BCS recruits offered by new head coach Luke Fickell. Lewis held offers from Arizona, Michigan State, and Cincinnati before receiving the opportunity to become a Buckeye, an opportunity he says he coveted since childhood.

While Lewis lacks impressive offers from national programs, he is not quite a darkhorse surprising all recruitniks with his Ohio State offer. Even before Tressel retired on May 30th, Lewis was considered a candidate for a Buckeye scholarship with an impressive showing at camp.

Change by Tressel? Lewis may not have been offered if Tressel remained head coach. It's impossible to be certain, but Lewis' fate could have changed due to tepid interest from other, high-profile receiver recruits following Tressel's retirement.

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After Jim Tressel's resignation, Ohio State's recruiting world became more difficult and its recruiting pitch more tenuous. With an NCAA investigation ongoing and an interim head coach, Ohio State has little but instability to offer prospective players and their families.  We've seen two defensive linemen, Se'Von Pittman and Tom Strobel, commit to other Big Ten schools after being viewed as Buckeye locks, and one former Buckeye lean, Kyle Dodson, commit to Wisconsin days after receiving his Ohio State offer.

Our recruiting Big Board project, which we began before Tressel's resignation, has been adjusted to reflect the new developments. Now, we've added two sections, "With Tressel" and "After Tressel," to reflect the change in each prospect's situation, at least as far as we can tell.

We continue this new format with the defensive backs, the one position that has actually seen an uptick in activity following Tressel's resignation.

Committed

De'Van Bogard; Glenville High School; 5''11, 172 lbs.

Glenville has a long history of impressive defensive back prospects, and De'Van Bogard is only the latest Tarblooder to receive national attention as one of the best recruits in the country. Holding offers from USC, Michigan, and Ohio State, Bogard decided to end the suspense early and commit to the Buckeyes on June 25th.

As a player, Bogard is physical. He engages, drives, and then powers ball-carriers into the ground, leaving his imprint upon their spine as he gets up. While I don't believe Bogard can play corner, he would make an excellent star or strong safety in Jim Heacock's scheme.

With Tressel: Uncommitted but offered.

After Tressel: Committed to Luke Fickell.

Najee Murray; Steubenville High School; 5''11, 172 lbs.

Murray was the first player Luke Fickell offered after becoming head coach. He impressed Fickell and staff enough at Ohio State's Senior Advanced Camp on June 12th to earn an offer later that day, despite only holding offers from MAC schools beforehand.

He's far from an elite prospect, but there's enough talent there to be intriguing. Our evaluation of Murray at the time of his commitment highlighted his versatility as the biggest reason Ohio State offered.

There's a versatility factor with Murray because of his quickness and physicality. He's an easy projection as a free safety, but he just might be able to play cornerback. At times-- when facing the Wing-T, for instance- Murray is used (at Steubenville) as a safety with primary run support responsibility, but his natural position is at corner. In a Cover 2 scheme, I think, Murray can play corner easily; in a man scheme, I think he's best at safety.

With Tressel: On radar but not offered.

After Tressel: Offered after camp, committed within a day.

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