While offensive line is not a glamorous area of recruiting, it was the focal point of this Buckeye recruiting class. With four starters departing, the Buckeyes needed to build depth and add talent to a very young and inexperienced unit. While the Buckeyes did not land every major target they pursued on the recruiting trail, the coaches were very pleased with the class they brought in from top to bottom. Let’s take a look at the crop of kids Coach Warriner will be receiving, and where they’ll end up at the end of their Buckeye careers.

Brady Taylor
3 Star OT- Bishop Ready (Columbus, OH)
6’5, 276

Taylor was the last offensive lineman to join the 2014 class, but may be the one with the highest upside. His frame will allow him to add around 25-30 pounds, and with Coach Marotti they will make sure that the extra weight does not take away from Taylor’s excellent athleticism. Taylor played both sides of the ball in high school, spending time at the left tackle spot, and also defensive end. He was able to bully several kids due to his freakish athletic build, but when he faces real pass rushers at the next level there will be some technical areas Taylor will need to master. First of all, his punch is very soft which will provide any competent college pass rusher the opportunity to get in to Taylor’s body and manipulate him as they please. Second, while he does do a good job of engaging defenders, he is often too high in his pad level. Most young lineman face the challenge of learning how to properly pass protect in college, and Taylor is no exception. However, his athleticism could easily speed that learning curve and help him break the two deep in his second or third year, after red-shirting his freshman year.

Marcelys Jones
4 Star OG- Cleveland Glenville (Cleveland, OH)
6’5, 325

Really like this kid a lot. Not quite sure what kept him from being a higher 4 star than what he was, but Jones is a very good looking prospect. The first thing that jumps out at you with Jones is his size. He has a college ready body, just needs to redistribute some of his weight to provide him with a more stable frame. The second thing that stands out is Jones upper body strength. Jones will not only pancake defenders, but he does a great job of getting a hold of them and never letting them go. His hands are pretty violent and his tenacity to finish is what you would like to see from a young lineman. Jones does have a tendency to play too high, probably because he knows that his technique can suffer a little due to inferior opponents. Once he becomes more disciplined in that area of his game, I expect Jones to break the two deep very early in his career. Enrolling early only helps those chances of success.

Kyle Trout
4 Star OT- Lancaster (Lancaster, OH)
6-6, 300 pounds

Trout is one of the more intriguing prospects. At 6-6, 300 pounds he still looks very lean and will need to add some muscle to his frame. His athleticism will be a positive attribute to assist him in playing tackle in college, however he will need to improve in certain areas of his game for that to become a reality. Trout is good against the run, but his pass protection skills will need a lot of refining. He plays too tall, his punch is nearly non-existent, and he often allows defenders to get in to him with ease. Trout will be a utility lineman in his career at Ohio State. I don’t see him becoming a starter at the tackle spot unless he does some major reconstruction to his pass protection. Enrolling early will help, but Trout will red-shirt this season, and most likely be a solid depth player for the Buckeyes moving forward.

Demetrius Knox
4 Star OG- All Saints Episcopal (Fort Worth, TX)
6-4, 294 pounds

A common theme with this class is lineman who can move. Knox is no exception to this rule. While he played tackle a lot in high school, you will see Knox transition to the guard spot in college. Knox is excellent in run blocking. He plays with low pad level, and will drive and shed defenders very easily. He will need to add some size to his frame to deal with the level of competition he’ll face in college, especially in the run game. In pass protection Knox possesses a lot of tools you would like to see a young lineman have. He shadows defenders well, and deals with change of direction very well. Solid feet, but he needs to increase strength and usage of his hands. If Knox can harness that, I expect him to compete for a starting job by his sophomore season, and contribute in the two deep this upcoming season.

Jamarco Jones
4 Star OT- De La Salle (Chicago, IL)
6-5, 290 pounds

The one that almost got away. Jones was the prize of this offensive line class. He began to flirt with Sparty closer to national signing day, but in the end stuck with his commitment to Ohio State. The Buckeyes are getting a ready now tackle in Jones. His build is fantastic for the position. He has good length, a solid frame, and is very quick on his feet. Jones does a good job, in run blocking, of keeping his pad level low, and using his lower body strength to violently drive defenders. In pass protection Jones will need some work, but is the most ready now player in this group. His lower body strength allows him to anchor in once he engages defenders. Jones is also very nimble on his feet, which allows him to mirror defenders with relative ease. When he is not able to do that however, Jones struggles to establish a solid punch, and his hand placement can be erratic at times. With one tackle spot being open on the line, Jones will come in and compete immediately for it. If he is not a day one starter, expect to see him in the two deep early and often.

This past weekend we told you that Ohio State was losing another linebacker to transfer and as any good Buckeye fan can tell you, that is like eleventy million linebackers lost in the last five years to injury or transfer or leaving for the NFL. Ohio State took four great linebackers in the 2014 class and still has some really good ones left in the cupboard from past classes. The idea was that the 2015 class would not have to focus as much on the linebacker position but, with the news of Mitchell leaving, linebacker suddenly has become a major need again.

Insert who could be the best inside linebacker in the state of Ohio and a life long Buckeye fan who lives and plays 20 minutes from the Horseshoe. Nick Conner is a 6’3″ 225 lbs 4 star ILB from Dublin, Ohio. Nick is a prototypical hard nosed linebacker. As I was interviewing Nick last night, he talked about the fact that he is a run stopping linebacker but can drop back in coverage and cover a tight end. He also mentioned playing offense last season as a tight end and running back. He was very proud of his 13 touchdowns on both offense and defense. His stats speak for themselves: 129 tackles, 19 TFLs, 5.5 sacks, 3 INTs, and 2 defensive TDs as a standout LB playing the Stud position (Star for OSU).

Nick talked about what schools he has offers from and told me Illinois was his first offer and how excited he was to get that offer. He said the three offers he most seeks is Ohio State, Michigan State, and pretty much any big time warm weather school. Growing up a Buckeye fan in a family of Buckeye fans, you could hear in his voice when he spoke about Ohio State how excited he is for this visit. His main recruiter is Coach Fickell and although I think he would like more interaction with Coach Fickell, he spoke very highly of him and how he could tell Coach Fickell cared about him and his family and would always be there if he needed anything. He has his most contact with Mark Pantoni the man, the myth, and the legend of all thing Ohio State recruiting.

He has been to Ohio State for games and has recently been in touch with Coach Meyer who asked him to visit with his family this week. It made perfect sense to do it today with the huge OSU vs UM basketball game this evening. Nick and his family will head over to meet with Coach Meyer and Coach Fickell and Mark Pantoni to discuss a lot of things, I am sure. Nick is excited at the possibility of an offer being made today but knows it isn’t a sure thing. He has his head on straight and won’t get too excited before knowing if he has an offer or not.

Will Nick commit on the spot if he is offered? That is the million dollar question. He told me that he has considered all the scenarios but deep down inside he knows if he is given an offer today he could see himself committing if the moment is right for it. The important thing he knows is that he has to get the offer first and talk with his family to make sure it is right for him. But knows the gravity of being an Ohio kid and getting his dream offer. His excitement over possibly getting an offer from Coach Meyer was restrained but palpable at the same time.

Most of the people reading this story can imagine how he feels being an Ohio State fan the dream is to play for them. Nick has the ability and the grades 4.0 and 3.97 in the 2 quarters this year. He has the passion and talent to be a great LB for what ever team he lands with. If Ohio matters to Coach Meyer and landing the top talent in the state matters than I imagine Nick will get that offer and once he does can’t imagine him not committing maybe as soon as today but at least at some point in the near future.

Nick Conner will be at the Best of the Midwest combine in Indianapolis on Monday and will be tested in all of the normal things. We will update his stats info once we get them from him. Another interesting fact about Nick the kid loves him some A1 steak sauce and his last meal would include a steak dinner with a lot of it. He is undecided about what he would like to major in at college but his grades will allow him to go into any major he chooses. We will have a follow up interview with him when his visit ends and will update all of you on how it goes and where he stands.

One thing is for sure Jared Sullinger is finally finding himself in the NBA and guess what? He fits right in. The Former Buckeye star finds himself in the mix for being a bonafide NBA star. Last week he avg. 21 ppg, 13 rpg, and 2 shots blocked per game. He has 5 straight Double Doubles going right now as well.

He also was recrntly named to the Rising Stars game for the NBA All-Star weekend.

For the season he is avg. 13.4 ppg and 8.2 rpg.

The saga surrounding Malik McDowell is not over and by the sounds of it will only get more crazy over the next 2 months. Rivals is reporting that Malik will most likely take unofficial visits to both OSU and FSU soon and they hope to have a decision made by the end of March on where he will go to school. Here is some of the highlights from the report…

McDowell announced a commitment to Michigan State over finalists Florida State, Michigan and Ohio State on National Signing Day. He did not follow up that commitment by sending a letter of intent to East Lansing, however.

The choice of Michigan State was McDowell’s, but his parents have been clear that they would like to see their son at one of his other finalists. Exploring those possibilities more in-depth is likely over the coming weeks according to his father, Greg McDowell.

“I know he is open to taking some unofficials to Florida State and Ohio State,” Greg McDowell said. “We plan on doing some unofficials and see if he and his mom can resolve this. It’s possible she’ll be open to Michigan State as well, so we’ll have to see.”

Greg McDowell also noted that Michigan is still in the picture, and conversations are ongoing with all three finalists he did not pick on National Signing Day.

“One thing I have to say about those schools is after hearing everything, they were calling — not on the recruiting aspect, but calling to see if the family was all right,” Greg McDowell said.

While last Wednesday is known as National Signing Day, it was technically the opening of the signing period, and prospects have until the end of March to send in a letter of intent before that signing period closes.

Suffice it to say the drama isn’t over and Ohio State is very much still in it to land the highly rated DE prospect from Michigan.

We are just a week or two past the moment when so many OSU fans were screaming OSU was not even worthy of a NIT invite and that Aaron Craft was having a dissapointing season… Fast Forward.

Today the Big Ten announced that Aaron Craft was named the Player of the Week his second of this season.

Aaron had 17 points, 6 assts, 6 steals, and 3 rebounds while shooting 86% and 100% from 3 point range in a road win upset of #17 Iowa. He followed that up with a 7 pt, 3 rb, 4 assts, and 3 steal game victory over visiting Purdue.

The comeback that is Ohio State Basketball has been done mostly by Craft being more aggressive and making shots to open up others more. If he keeps playing this way the limits on this team will dissolve fast. Congrats to Aaron Craft and his roommates and enjoy Taco Tuesday and get that win over TTUN tomorrow night.

The D-Line is always an important part of a good defense. The Buckeyes added Jalyn Holmes, Dylan Thompson and Darius Slade. These are three solid defensive lineman that will have a huge impact in the next couple years.

Jalyn Holmes: Jalyn was given a 4 Star ranking from ESPN. He is the 16th ranked Defensive End coming out of the 2014 class. Jalyn had offers from very prestigious programs such as Alabama, Clemson, Florida State and Florida. He is 6’5 and weighs around 235. He is a very solid D-End who can end up filling Noah Spence’s role in the next couple of years. From watching film, you can tell Jalyn can get to the ball with authority. He sheds blocks well and can get into the backfield quickly. I am excited to see what he can do in a Buckeye uniform.

Dylan Thompson: Dylan was given a 4 Star ranking from ESPN. He is the 37th ranked Defensive Tackle coming out of the 2014 class. Dylan had offers from Clemson, Missouri, Ole Miss, Tennessee and more. He is 6’5 and weights around 275. He is known for his run defense. He is another who can shed blocks and get to the ball quickly. Watching his highlights from the Columbus NFTC really shows how athletic and quick he is. He really strengthens our D-Line core. He is a name we will be hearing about in the next couple seasons.

Darius Slade: Darius was given a 3 Star ranking from ESPN. He is the 104th ranked Defensive End coming out the 2014 class. It seemed as if he was set on Michigan State. But would check out OSU. It turned out he did not even have to take a visit to commit to a great incoming class. Slade had some offers from Michigan State, Rutgers, UCONN, Penn State and Pitt. He is 6’3 and weighs about 215. He was a Semper Fidelis All-American. Darius was the last defensive lineman to commit to OSU. He is a good player and I look forward to seeing what he can do at the college level.

A few days ago I heard from a reliable source that Mike Mitchell a RS Freshman 5 star LB from the 2013 class was back in Texas and was leaving the OSU program. My source told me that Mitchells father was ill and that Mike had gone home to be with him and was not planning on returning. Today Kyle Rowland of Eleven Warriors confirmed this story in this report…

Linebacker Mike Mitchell has left the Ohio State football team and will transfer after the spring semester, sources told Eleven Warriors. Mitchell, who redshirted last season, plans to attend a college near his Plano, Texas home to be close to his ailing father.

In early January, Eleven Warriors learned that Mitchell had made an unexpected trip to Texas when he received word that his father was ill. But at that time it was unclear whether or not he’d remain with the football program.

The former five-star recruit was one of the crown jewels of the Buckeyes’ acclaimed 2013 recruiting class. But an injury in fall camp set him back and contributed to his redshirt.

I will add that my source told me that Mickey Mitchell the highly rated recruit for Thad Matta’s 2015 class will most likely decommitt as well but as of right now no official word has been made from the Mitchell family on Mickey’s status.

Everyone join us in wishing Tony (El Kaiser) a wonderful Happy Birthday and if you are on twitter you can flood his Timeline by sending him wishes to @motsag and or @i_aint_yer_pa and if you dont follow him already do so now you won’t regret it.