So as is the case every year the Buckeyes are in a numbers crunch for the recruiting class. This is the last year of a 3 year 3 scholarship reduction from the punishments handed down from the NCAA. Any normal year and OSU would be looking to get to 85 scholarship players but alas this is the last years for the 82 mandate. On top of all of that this is an extremely small Senior class due to the same NCAA issues mentioned among other issues.
So as a service to those recruiting fans out there we thought we would take a look at where we sit right now and where we think they will end up come next February. So lets get started but just a reminder these numbers are extremely fluid and changing so while it might be true today an hour from now it might now be.
Basil, Drew K/P SR
Barnett, C.J. SS SR
Brown, Corey WR SR
7Norwell, Andrew OL SR
Guiton, Kenny QB SR
Brown, Corey DB SR
Blackman, Ivon OL SR
Linsley, Corey OL SR
Makridis, George LS SR
Hall, Jordan RB SR
Hall, Marcus OL SR
Mewhort, Jack OL SR
Bryant, Christian S SR
Fields, Chris WR SR
Wood, Jamie DB SR
Hyde, Carlos RB SR
So as you can see we have 16 SRs on the team as of May 28, 2013 two of which are walk-ons in George Makridis and Ivon Blackmon. This is taken directly from www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com. There were of course rumors that Jamie Wood had quit football last winter but as you can see from this story on the Ozone he is still on the team and playing. So as best I can tell all 14 of these guys are still on scholarship and will be leaving this year for the pros or future in the real world.
The next area where OSU has some scholarships available to them is from player transfers.
Se’Von Pittman– Transferred out and is now at Akron.
David Perkins– Transferred out and is now at Illinois State.
Luke Roberts- Transferred out and will attend Harvard.
Now we also have to add back in though new punter Cameron Johnston who transferred into OSU back in June from Australia.
So that puts us where we are right now as we speak at 16 spots for the Ohio State 2014 football recruiting class. Again the number is SIXTEEN lol.
Now where can OSU pick up some more numbers? There are several JRs who could declare for the NFL after the season is over. Lets take an educated guess of all those who could do it. Not saying they will but they could.
Braxton Miller
Bradley Roby
Ryan Shazier
That is about it right now but you never know what could happen in the next few months to give any of the other JRs the itch to jump to the NFL. If all 3 of them did leave that would put OSU at 19 scholarships for the 2014 class.
Finally based on recent and past history OSU will have a few more guys transfer out or get kicked off the team before February 2014 comes upon us. Is it so unreasonable to think OSU could get to 20-22 in the 2014 class? Based on the research I have just done I don’t think it is.
What do you guys think? Make your prediction for the size of the 2014 class in the comments section. Maybe I will give a prize to the 1st person to guess the correct number.
***Edited to include the fact that 2 SRs listed are in fact walk-ons who I cannot confirm were given scholarships ever.
*UPDATED*
Since I wrote this article there has been more issues come to light. Here is the updated list as of August 15th.
Tim Gardner- Kicked off the team for legal issues.
Najee Murray- Suspended indefinantly still possible may be off the team for good.
Adam Griffin- Injured possible career ender.
By my count that puts the number at 17 for sure 18 very likely and 19 semi-likely.
The 2014 class size at this point could get up to 24-25 depending on early departures and transfers.
**Updated** 8-17-13
Blake Thomas has a career ending injury his father has confirmed… Depending on what happens with Adam Griffin which also seems to be confirmed now his career is over.
That puts the number currently at 19… If Najee Murray also is off the team due to rules violations the number is at 20. The class size very likely could reach 25 very easily now.
***UPDATED*** 8-22-13
Najee Murray has officially left the team. As of today the official number is 20. A class of 25 is very likely.
****UPDATED**** 11-21-13
Bradley Roby has officially declared himself for the NFL draft…
https://twitter.com/RustyMillerAP/status/403303674459348992
****UPDATED**** 1-4-14
Ryan Shazier will officially enter the NFL Draft…
https://twitter.com/10TV/status/419676622217019392
That puts the number at 22 officially and inches us closer to 25 recruit class size…
I have no idea what the size of the class will be, but I think Shazier’s and Miller’s decision will be heavily influenced on the outcome of this season’s bowl results.
Either way I think Roby is gone. But I would be just fine if he pulls a Doss and comes back for that national championship.
I know everyone including Roby are saying he is leaving after this year… and I dont want to doubt him but I will. He wants to comeback to repeat as National Champs and only team to go undefeated 3 years in a row 🙂