Story and photo courtesy of Ohio State Athletics
COLUMBUS, Ohio - By 10:45 a.m. Wednesday morning it was already official: 18 student-athletes had signed and faxed in their National Letters of Intent (NLI) to attend The Ohio State University. One more NLI in the afternoon followed and this group of 19 joins the six student-athletes who were already enrolled and attending classes at Ohio State to give head coach Urban Meyer a 2012 class of recruits totaling 25 in number.
"Everything went smooth today," Meyer said. "I love to recruit and I love to recruit great players."
The class of recruits succeeds, on paper, at filling some needs on the depth charts and features five linebackers, five offensive linemen, four defensive linemen and four defensive backs. The class also includes three receivers, two running backs, a quarterback and a tight end.
Meyer said the defensive linemen who signed were a real strength of this class and the key development. All four of the defensive linemen are among the Top 100 players in the nation, with Noah Spence, a 6-4, 245-pounder from Harrisburg, Pa., and Adolphus Washington, a 6-5, 245-pounder from Cincinnati, each considered among the Top 5 defensive ends in the nation. Tommy Schutt, who goes 6-3, 300 and is from Glen Ellyn, Ill, is Top 5 defensive tackle. And Se'Von Pittman, a 6-5, 245-pounder from Canton, Ohio, is in the Top 25 for all defensive linemen. Three of the four are considered five-star prospects with the fourth rated as a four-star.
"The defensive line is the strength of this class and the prize of this recruiting class," Meyer said. "But with that said, I am really pleased with the entire group as a whole. We filled some needs with some quality players, and I think overall we have a very solid class.
"We want to make the great state of Ohio proud with everything we do, and I think this class of new Ohio State Buckeyes is certainly going to do that."
The 2012 recruiting class includes 16 student-athletes from the state of Ohio, including as many as five of the Top 10 players in the state according to most rating services. Additionally, the recruits come from eight other states: California, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Florida, Massachusetts, North Carolina and Pennsylvania.
OhioStateBuckeyes.com is your headquarters for official signing day coverage with live announcements, signee video highlights from the film utilized by the Ohio State coaching staff, bios, photos and more throughout the day. The site will also webcast Coach Meyer's signing day press conference later in the afternoon.
Per NCAA rules, The Ohio State University Department of Athletics will announce a signee when the program has received and Ohio State Athletics Compliance has verified the signee's National Letter of Intent. Signees are not officially Buckeyes until approved and then listed on this page.
2012 Recruiting Class Name Pos. Hgt. Wgt. Hometown/High School
Warren Ball RB 6-2 205 Columbus, Ohio/St. Francis DeSales
Devan Bogard DB 6-0 175 Cleveland, Ohio/Glenville
Jacoby Boren* OL 6-2 275 Pickerington, Ohio/Central
Taylor Decker OL 6-8 315 Vandalia, Ohio/Butler
Bri'onte Dunn* RB 6-2 220 Canton, Ohio/GlenOak
Pat Elflein OL 6-3 285 Pickerington, Ohio/North
Frank Epitropoulos WR 6-3 197 Upper Arlington, Ohio/Upper Arlington
Cardale Jones* QB 6-5 220 Cleveland, Ohio/Glendale & Fork Union Mil. Acad.
Jamal Marcus LB 6-2 235 Durham, N.C./Hillside
Najee Murray DB 5-11 172 Steubenville, Ohio/Steubenville
Joey O'Connor OL 6-4 295 Windsor, Colo./Windsor
David Perkins LB 6-2 220 South Bend, Ind./ South Bend Washington
Joshua Perry* LB 6-3 230 Lewis Center, Ohio/Olentangy
Se'Von Pittman DE 6-5 245 Canton, Ohio/McKinley
Tyvis Powell* DB 6-3 180 Bedford, Ohio/Bedford
Armani Reeves CB 5-10 185 West Roxbury, Mass./Catholic Memorial
Luke Roberts LB 6-2 225 Lancaster, Ohio/Lancaster
Tommy Schutt DT 6-3 300 Glen Ellyn, Ill./Glenbard
Ricquan Southward WR 6-2 190 Lakeland, Fla./Lakeland
Noah Spence DE 6-4 245 Harrisburg, Pa./Bishop McDevitt
Blake Thomas TE 6-4 245 Cleveland, Ohio/St. Ignatius
Michael Thomas* WR 6-4 205 Los Angeles, Calif./Woodland Hills Taft & FUMA
Adolphus Washington DE 6-5 245 Cincinnati, Ohio/Taft
Camren Williams LB 6-2 215 West Roxbury, Mass./Catholic Memorial
*Enrolled at Ohio State in January 2012