For most of his life Eli Woodard was a giant Buckeye fan and he always had dreams and aspirations of becoming a member of the team he so dearly loves. Today he got one step closer. Becoming the 4th member of the 2013 Ohio State recruiting class and the 2nd recruit since last weekends Junior Day at OSU. Here is what he had to say on his Twitter account today when he announced he would be a Buckeye. “After much prayer and consideration, I’m proud to commit as a student-athlete to The Ohio State University! #BuckeyeNation”

Eli Woodard is 6’1″ 185 lbs CB from Voorhees, NJ. He is a consensus 4 star recruit. ESPN has him listed as one of their ESPNU 150 players in the 2013 class. Rivals has him listed as the 28th best recruit in the nation. 247sports has him listed as the 82nd best recruit in the nation. Eli has the cover skills and speed to be a dominant CB at the next level and the football IQ to match. He will certainly get his chances to play early. He also had offers from Alabama, TTUN, Notre Dame, and many others. This is a huge get for Coach Meyer and his staff but was made early by lots of ground work done by Jim Tressel and the past staff. Eli Woodard joins fellow commits Cam Burrows and Jalin Marshall and Billy Price. This 2013 class is taking shape nicely and is setting up to be a top 3 class again.

After losing out on a top rated WR recruit on Friday Night Ohio States Coach Meyer and his staff went into complete hibernation and depressed mode….. NOT. They had a huge weekend lined up with Sunday being a one of many Junior Days that will occur this year. Some of those in attendance had already been offered and some walked away with fresh offers. One though came away very impressed and chose to end his recruitment early and committed to Ohio State.

Billy Price a 6’4″ 285 lbs DT from Youngstown, Ohio is listed as a 4 star by every recruiting service. ESPN has him as one of their ESPNU 150 players. 247sports has him listed as the 148th best recruit in the nation. Rivals has him as the 130th best recruit in the nation. All of them say the same thing he is a strong strong strong young man. He has the ability to play OT or DT at the next level and could play anywhere on either line if needed. He becomes the 3rd recruit in the 2013 class joining Jalin Marshall and Cam Burrows.

By now you’ve heard that Bret Bielema and Mark Dantonio are a couple of giant babies, each complaining to some degree about the way Urban Meyer recruits.  Dantonio called Meyer “unethical” for doing what every other Big Ten coach–including the head Spartan himself–does, namely recruiting kids they would like to have play on their football teams.  Bielema stepped it up a notch, because he’s the Earl of Douchebury, flat out accusing Meyer of “illegal” tactics and even asking Daddy Alvarez to escalate his concerns to Big Ten chief Jim Delany.

To Alvarez’s credit (wow that was hard to type guys), he basically turned the whining around his head coach, declaring that Meyer’s aggressiveness is not unscrupulous, a thinly-veiled way of lighting a fire under Bielema’s lazy recruiting strategy.

I imagine that most of you are like me, and find Dantonio’s participation in this Lifetime movie to be more surprising than Bielema’s.  As a Buckeye fan with fond memories of Dantonio’s suffocating defenses, I have always cheered for his teams after he moved on (unless they were playing us, of course).  I admired him for his no-nonsense demeanor and occasional major risk-taking in games.  Meanwhile, Bielema is Bielema; this is what he does.

If you hadn’t seen it, you would have never guessed that these were the two coaches who faced off in the conference championship game last season.  Oh wait, that’s the whole point, isn’t it?  Look at it from their perspective:  the Big Ten has just been divided in such a way that there are essentially three “powers” in each division.  Chances are that some combination of those teams (Michigan, Michigan State, and Nebraska vs. Ohio State, Penn State, and Wisconsin) will be featured in 90% of the Big Ten title games we witness.

So what does Dantonio see?  A Nebraska team that will still take a couple of years to adjust their new environment coached by a guy who is perpetually fighting the urge to FINISH his own players Mortal Kombat-style, and a Michigan team that had a nice turnaround under new coach Brady Hoke but still didn’t beat “Little Brother.”  The future was wide open.

And Bielema was probably just downright schoolgirl-giddy.  Both of his primary divisional nemeses had just lost their legendary head coaches to scandal.  It is still unlikely that Penn State will recover any time soon.  Things were going to be so easy for him: cruise through the Leaders, then tangle with Sparty every year for the BCS spot.

Then Urban Meyer showed up with a hungry staff looking to add a little spark to what was at the time a decent but not special recruiting class.  And then the kids started flipping like it was Cirque Du Soleil up in here.  If you think Penn State’s Bill O’Brien has been silent on the issue because he doesn’t care or is too preoccupied with the Patriots, you’re wrong.  He’s just trying to make it to Sunday without Meyer turning Gronkowski.

Finally, if there was any doubt as to the effect this would have on Meyer:

“You’re pissed because we went after a committed guy? Guess what, we got 9 guys who better go do it again. Do it a little harder next time.” – Urban Meyer

(h/t Brandon Castel @ theOzone.net)

With National Signing Day in the books, the finest football minds of America’s basements decided to pool their impressive brainpower and share their insights and thoughts of the day’s results. We decided to throw our $0.02 in as well.

As most of you almost certainly don’t know, I’m not one to follow recruiting all that much. I learned my lesson when I got all pumped about Erik Haw from NCAA Football ’04 or something and then never seemed to see the guy in a Buckeye uniform. Which was a damned shame because he was a BEAST in that game.

However, with a new staff taking over and going to work flipping recruits from Dantonio, Bielema, and whoever’s coaching Penn State (like it matters) it was hard to stay completely detached. When other Buckeye Bloggers started asking for thoughts, well, we couldn’t just let that opportunity pass.

• Who are you most excited to see in the Scarlet and Gray?  – I’m curious to see how Bri’onte Dunn does in Urban’s offense. He’s a big kid and when I think of Urban’s usual backs I think of shifty little dudes like Demps or Harvin. Imagine Beanie in that system. Besides the players I’m pretty pumped about seeing Urban Meyer on the sidelines and – a little sentimentally – Fickell as well. Considering what he went through it’s amazing he stayed sane throughout the whole thing.
• Who makes an immediate impact from the 2012 class?  Really any of the offensive linemen. Since the cupboard was pretty bare after last season that seems to be an optimal place for someone to step up. That or any of the beasts on the defensive line. B1G quarterbacks had better get used to the training room. I imagine a certain lineman who will be playing up North will spend a lot of time being tossed around come November.
• Who do you wish that OSU hadn’t “missed” on? Honestly – and I may be the worst person to ask about this because I don’t follow recruiting as much as a lot of you clowns – I don’t have a single complaint. But it’s way too early in the process to start saying, “If only we’d gotten that guy” because none of these newbies have played a down of college football yet.

For other and potentially better perspectives from the Buckeye Bloggers Network:

• Buckeye Battlecry: Three Questions From Ohio State’s 2012 Signing Day
• The Buckeye Blog: It’s An Amazing Day For Ohio State
• Our Honor Defend: National Signing Day Thoughts
• Buckeye House Call: National Signing Day: A New Beginning

Good News Penn State fans this one isn’t a loss for you guys as it appears Coach Meyer is done raiding your recruiting class. This flip is going to anger Bret Bielema and the Wisconsin Badger fans. After flipping 5 PSU recruits and 2 Notre Dame recruits Urban set his eyes on Wisconsin and one of their recruits.

Kyle Dodson is a 6’6″ 315 lbs 4 star OT recruit from Cleveland, Ohio. Dodson who always wanted to be a Buckeye but for whatever reason wasn’t recruited very much by the previous staff chose Wisconsin over OSU back in November but as soon as Coach Meyer took the HC job at OSU he started to recruit Dodson hard and got Dodson to visit OSU officially and unofficially. During the process Dodson also visited other schools and eventually choose OSU over Wisky, Michigan St., and Southern Cal. Dodson is a US Army All-American and is ranked as high as the 16th best OT prospect in the 2012 class. He has size and speed and a real nasty streak that will make him a good LT or RT but has the ability to play anywhere on the OL. This is a huge get for OSU as it helps fill a need and it takes a recruit away from a rival. Dodson becomes the 25th recruit in OSUs 2012 class.

Flipping recruits has become a pastime for OSU coaches as they have had to make up serious ground since taking over after the regular season ended. When Coach Meyer hired his asst. coaches one of the biggest skills each of them needed was to be a good recruiter and to have a passion for recruiting. Coach Withers was hired as Co-DC and has already impressed in helping to land Armani Reeves and now he also has brought with him a recruit who was once a verbal to his old school North Carolina.

Jamal Marcus is a 6’3″ 245 lbs OLB/DL 4 star recruit from Durham, NC. Marcus is a one time commit of the tar Heels but opened up his recruiting after they named a new HC and Withers moved on to OSU. Marcus is ranked as high as the 16th best recruit at his position but all the sites agree he is a solid football player who could play either LB or DL depending on how his body continues to mature and grow. Marcus becomes the 26th commit in the 2012 OSU recruiting class.

Often it is said and rightfully so that a new coaches 1st recruiting class isn’t until they have had a full year on the job recruiting all of their own players. Urban Meyer is not just any coach though and in 2 months on the job he has done more to shape a recruiting class then most guys do in a full year. Today Coach Meyer and his staff will receive the fruits of their labor as many verbal commits will send in their letter of intent and go from recruits to members of The Ohio State University Buckeyes. Of special note today for the first time ever every Buckeye will sign a 4 year agreement instead of the usual 1 year renewable the SEC chose not to do the same shocking!!!

So as the day goes along we here at MOTSAG hope to keep a running tally of signed recruits and keep you all appraised of any shocking or not shocking commits who sign with or don’t sign with OSU. So check back here all day long for up to date info and all your Buckeye recruiting Info. We might also give you some other B1G news if any of it is news worthy.

Picture via Tony Gerdeman @GerdOzone

* 6:45 A.M. – Early signers already enrolled are Tyvis Powell, Josh Perry, Bri’onte Dunn, Michael Thomas, Jaboby Boren, and Cardale Jones.

* 7:00 A.M. – Ann Arbor Community College stole a verbal commit from Cincinnati Bearcats in Dennis Norfleet a 5’7″ 170 lbs Running Back. So much for wanting big RBs in Brady Hokes Pro-Style system.

* 7:10 A.M. – Armani Reeves and Camren Williams and Blake Thomas LOIs have been received via @markPantoni

* 7:14 A.M. – Pat Elfein is a Buckeye per @MarkPantoni

* 7:40 A.M. – Warren Ball, Taylor Decker, and Riquan Southward are all officially Buckeyes per @MarkPantoni

* 7:46 A.M. – Luke Roberts and David Perkins are Buckeyes per @MarkPantoni

* 7:51 A.M. – Noah Spence is 100% a Buckeye per @MarkPantoni

* 7:57 A.M. – Najee Murray is a Buckeye per @MarkPantoni

* 8:09 A.M. – Tommy Schutt is a Buckeye and scUM fans are mad per @MarkPantoni

* 8:15 A.M. – Frank Epitropoulos is a Buckeye per @LoriSchmidt

* 8:26 A.M. – Devan Bogard is a Buckeye per @MarkPantoni

* 8:34 A.M. – Adolphus Washington has an awesome name and is a Buckeye per @MarkPantoni

* 8:51 A.M. – Se’Von Pittman is a Buckeye and Pat Narduzzi just exploded via @MarkPantoni

* 10:04 A.M. – Joey O’Connor becomes the 23rd verbal to fax in his LOI and last of the known recruits to do so per @MarkPantoni

* 10:46 A.M. – Jamal Marcus a 4 star LB from North Carolina just committed to OSU will have a post on him later per @MarcGivlerBG

* 12:48 P.M. – Kyle Dodson a 4* OT from Cleveland has flipped from Wisconsin to Ohio State I will post on him later as well per @SYRmotag

That takes the class to 25 players fully committed with Coach Meyer and Ohio State still chasing 2 big time WRs in Stefon Diggs and Davonte Neal. Rumors are swirling he may land both of them and since he has landed every other player he has gone after who are we to doubt him. At this point this is a insanely great class that 2 months ago was poor at best. What this staff has done in 2 months in unimaginable. We will have more later on the entire class as well as write ups on Dodson and Marcus. We will keep you updated on where we are with Diggs and Neal as well.

With signing day just one day away for the 2012 OSU recruiting class and with the way Coach Meyer has finished out this class it should surprise no one that in the last week he has landed his first 2 recruits for the 2013 class and both of them are 5 star prospects.

Jalin Marshall is a 6’1″ 190 lbs 5 star athlete from Middletown, Ohio. Marshall who is a Dual Threat QB in high school has just committed to play at Ohio St. and will join the Buckeyes as an athlete. He is ranked as one of the top 3 recruits in Ohio. When rankings are released soon expect him to be in the top 10 nationally. He is on the ESPN 150 watch list and will certainly be on the UA or US Army All-American game watchlist. Together with Cam Burrows who committed 2 weeks ago Urban Meyer has put a tight grip on the best talent in Ohio. Two recruits for 2013 and both are 5 star and ranked in the top 3 recruits in Ohio by everyone.

In what has become a right of passage this year Urban Meyer has stolen another heralded member of the Penn St. 2011 recruiting class and at the same time beat out scUM for his services. Going into today Ohio State was battling TTUN on the Basketball court and the recruiting trail. They won both challenges and continued their domination on the court and recruiting trail.

Armani Reeves a 5’11” 185 Cornerback from West Roxbury, MA. He is rated as a 4 star CB by every scouting service. He is rated as high as the 6th best CB prospect by Scouts. Reeves is the HS teammate and best friend of fellow OSU commit Camren Williams. Reeves is also a 1st cousin of NBA HOFer Charles Barkley. Reeves fits an area of need in CB and has the speed and skills to impact early at OSU.

Dear Penn St. fans, Urban Meyer may have at one point been a candidate to replace JoePa and he may or may not have used his time on campus interviewing for the job to secretly check out all your recruits and your strategies to land those recruits. What we do know for sure is Coach Meyer has a real affinity for your 2012 recruiting class and has stolen yet another member of it.

Camren Williams is a 6’2″ 215 lbs 4* Linebacker from West Roxbury, MA. Camren was committed to play LB at PSU until he switched his commitment to Ohio state today via Twitter. Camren Williams was the heart and soul of the 2012 PSU recruiting class and Penn St. fans are none to happy to see his flipping. What many PSU fans fail to realize is that although at one point in time their school was known as LBU times have changed and I and others will argue that OSU has had a much better history of LBs. Camren brings speed and size and intelligence to the LB position that Urban Meyer needs. He becomes the 23rd member of the 2012 recruiting class. PSU fans should worry because urban may not be done as Camrens HS teammate and God brother Armani Reeves was on OSU campus the last 2 days and has an offer to join this OSU class as well. So the news may only get worse for PSU and better for OSU.