The 2012 Ohio State football recruiting class is technically the first of head coach Urban Meyer’s players that were signed and brought to Columbus. I write the phrase “technically” because there are many extenuating factors that need to be remembered and contemplated when looking back at the 25 players who signed on the dotted line in February 2012 and became Buckeyes.
First and foremost, I have been reviewing Ohio State recruiting classes over the years. I have looked back at the recruiting classes going back to 2005, which included players such as James Laurinaitis, Brian Hartline and Malcolm Jenkins. The 2005 class was relatively small with 18 players signed, and was not highly rated by the recruiting analysts, but the Buckeyes only lost three from that class to transfer or academic issues, resulting in 15 who either started or contributed to Ohio State during their careers. This 83 percent success rate ranks that group highly in the unofficial “Rule of Thirds” concept that is applied to recruiting classes.
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