OSU Buckeyes

With national signing day in the books, the next big date on the Ohio State calendar as it continues working toward an encore for an undefeated season in 2013 is spring practice. Before those workouts begin, BuckeyeNation will take a look at each position to see where the roster is at -- and where it's going.

KICKOFF RETURN/PUNT RETURN

• Who's back: The jokes about Philly Brown not being able to make anybody miss at wide receiver had already started subsiding, but he put them to bed for good on special teams. The rising senior put two exclamation points on a breakout individual season with a pair of punt returns for touchdowns, including a pivotal one in the overtime thriller on the road against Wisconsin that helped save the undefeated campaign. The kickoff return gig wasn't quite as stable and the unit overall was never able to really provide the type of spark coach Urban Meyer wants in that phase of the game. But before a freshman class loaded with speed arrives in the fall, he's got a handful of guys with experience to look at this spring -- starting with running backs Rod Smith and Bri'onte Dunn, wide receiver Devin Smith and perhaps cornerback Bradley Roby.
• New faces: The Buckeyes have two new additions already on campus at a skill position, though Eli Apple and Cam Burrows will likely be focusing more on learning the schemes and techniques at cornerback than trying to provide competition at the return slots. But when training camp rolls around, though, Meyer might be looking closely at burners such as Dontre Wilson, Jalin Marshall, James Clark, Corey Smith or touted tailback Ezekiel Elliott to help carry the load.
• Projected spring depth chart: Brown should head into camp with the edge on the punt-return unit, with fellow wideout Devin Smith in the second slot. Kickoff return could easily be staging a wide-open competition, though Rod Smith and Dunn ended last season as the top two options and figure to start camp there as well.
• Numbers game: The Buckeyes finished the season ranked just No. 84 in the country in average kickoff return yardage, managing less than 20 yards per attempt and never posting one longer than Rod Smith's 36-yarder. The junior running back was also the most consistent threat among the handful of returners the Buckeyes tried, leading the team with an average of 23.3 yards on his 13 attempts.
• One to watch: The influx of speed at the skill positions in the fall should give Meyer even more options to play with, but he could be faced with the same decision then that he does now. Is it worth exposing Roby to a few more hits to take advantage of his speed? The junior cornerback has a gear that few other athletes can match and it's not hard to imagine him putting that speed to good use with the ball in his hands on special teams. But he's also integral on defense with his lockdown coverage and disruptive ability in the secondary, which will give the Buckeyes something to ponder as they try to find some explosiveness in the return game.
• He said it: "We maybe didn't have the home-run hitter, explosive, open-space player on offense, but you know what? Some guys really grew up and did a good job for us. Philly Brown did a nice job." -- Meyer on signing day

The Big Ten classes are signed and sealed. You can see ESPN's final class rankings as well as grades for all the Big Ten teams .

As we put a bow on national signing day 2013, let's take a look at some superlatives ...

Biggest winner: Ohio State. The Buckeyes took a great class and made it even better with the additions of elite safety prospect Vonn Bell and four-star receiver prospect James Clark. They also held onto running back recruit Ezekiel Elliott. Plucking Bell out of SEC country made a significant statement, as Ohio State secured the nation's No. 3 class and the best in the Big Ten. Although other Big Ten programs secured strong classes -- Michigan, Nebraska, Penn State, Wisconsin, Michigan State -- Ohio State made the most headlines Wednesday.

Best closer: Ohio State co-defensive coordinator/safeties coach Everett Withers. Although Buckeyes head coach Urban Meyer is unquestionably one of the nation's top closers, Withers merits a mention here after steering Bell to sign with the Scarlet and Gray. "I've seen some really good efforts," Meyer said Wednesday. "Everett Withers from start to finish, his effort on Vonn Bell, as good as I've ever seen." Bell's high school coach called Withers the "most proficient and professional recruiter we've ever dealt with," according to The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer. Withers played a major role in Ohio State securing five defensive backs ranked in the top 50 by ESPN Recruiting.

Biggest surprise: Indiana and Penn State. The Hoosiers have reached only one bowl game since the 1993 season and boast just five wins the past two seasons, but things are looking up in Bloomington. Kevin Wilson and his staff signed what appears to be a very solid recruiting class, especially on the defensive side, where IU has struggled for years. The Hoosiers signed two four-star defensive linemen from within the state -- Darius Latham and David Kenney III -- and bolstered the secondary with Rashard Fant and others. Penn State overcame NCAA scholarship sanctions and a multiyear bowl ban to sign the nation's No. 24 class, headlined by quarterback Christian Hackenberg, rated by ESPN Recruiting as the nation's top pocket passer.

Who flipped/biggest loss: The only notable intra-league flip on signing day -- and it wasn't a major surprise -- saw linebacker Reggie Spearman, a one-time Illinois commit, signing with Iowa. Ohio State (Taivon Jacobs) and Wisconsin (Marcus Ball) lost commits to Maryland and Arizona State, respectively, while Minnesota made a late flip with junior college linebacker De'Vondre Campbell, who was expected to sign with Kansas State. But for the most part, Big Ten teams played good defense on signing day.

We can almost put a bow on the 2013 recruiting class -- punter Johnny Townsend has not signed his letter of intent and is apparently having second thoughts -- and it was one of the best recruiting classes in school history.

The Buckeyes signed 24 players and finished third in the ESPN class rankings behind SEC powers Alabama and Florida, with 19 of the 24 signees at four stars or more.

Here's a recap of how the day unfolded. Follow the live blog after the jump.

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One thing Urban Meyer has definitely brought to the Big Ten is some serious signing day drama.

Meyer flipped several recruits Ohio State's way last year, and on Wednesday the Buckeyes were one of the big stories on signing day again. They won battles for two key blue-chippers in ESPN 150 safety Vonn Bell and four-star receiver James Clark, while also keeping ESPN 150 running back Ezekiel Elliott in the fold after he took a late visit to Missouri.

"It was a very eventful day," Meyer said. "We went to bed last night with three guys very on edge. I thought, 'If we hit one out of three, it would be all right. Two out of three would be a good day. Three out of three is going to be, knock it out of the park.'"

It turned into another home run day for the Buckeyes, who currently rank No. 3 nationally in ESPN.com's class rankings (and No. 1 in Scout.com's rankings). How good was it? Here's what assistant coach Kerry Coombs tweeted Wednesday afternoon.

"You know that Christmas when you got exactly everything you wanted plus a few extra special bonuses? That's what today was! #bestclassever."

Ohio State did lose previously committed receiver Taivon Jacobs to Maryland, but it was more than happy to trade him for Clark. Landing Bell, a Georgian who was hotly pursued by Tennessee and Alabama, was the sweetest victory. Meyer called it a "street fight." In making his announcement on ESPN, Bell said Meyer was on a mission to beat Alabama and win national championships.

Meyer didn't take the bait when later asked about gunning for 'Bama, saying Michigan would always be Ohio State's rival. But he did acknowledge that there's "a little bit of a chase gong on with the SEC. ... We want to increase the speed on our team little bit."

The Buckeyes definitely did that, while Meyer once again proved he's one of the great closers in college football.

Though Ohio State hogged most of the headlines, the other Big Ten teams also celebrated their 2013 classes while making a little news as well:

• Nebraska rode the roller coaster with ESPN 300 athlete Tre'vell Dixon, who had already committed, decommited and recommitted to the Huskers during the process before word leaked out this week he would be going to Arizona State. In the end, Dixon signed with Nebraska, which put together a Top 25 class.
• Minnesota scored a late coup with junior college linebacker De'Vondre Campbell, a one-time Tennessee commit who was expected to sign with Kansas State. Campbell, who was also courted by Texas, has three years of eligibility left.
• Wisconsin lost committed safety Marcus Ball -- whose older brother, Ray, is a Badgers offensive lineman -- to Arizona State. But new coach Gary Andersen managed to hold most of the class together while adding a few key signees.
• There was a little intraconference intrigue on signing day as Iowa nabbed linebacker Reggie Spearman, who had been committed to Illinois.
• Indiana quietly put together one of its best classes ever, and avoided any last-minute poaching.
• No news was good news at Penn State and Michigan. The Nittany Lions, despite severe scholarship limits, still brought home a strong collection of talent that included the nation's No. 1 pro-style quarterback (Christian Hackenberg) and top tight end (Adam Breneman). The bulk of Michigan's class had been assembled for months, and the Wolverines withstood some late drama with defensive tackle Henry Poggi, who stayed on board despite a late push from Alabama.

Michigan didn't get as much attention on signing day as Ohio State, but Brady Hoke still put together a class currently ranked No. 6 in the nation by ESPN.com. And unlike Meyer, who got so tired of sweating out Bell's decision that he had to go get on the treadmill, Hoke had a drama-free day. The Wolverines announced their entire class by noon ET.

One thing that appears likely after the latest signing day: Michigan and Ohio State are headed for plenty of dramatic collisions on the field in the coming years.

You can see every Big Ten team's signees by going here.