OSU Buckeyes

College coaches often say the best recruiters are the players already on the team and those verbally committed to the program. Ohio State recruit Damon Webb and his fellow future Buckeyes are doing their part with a unique approach.

Webb, one of seven players verbally committed to Ohio State for the 2014 class, has launched a website to promote Ohio State, share recruiting stories and, most importantly, get others to play for the Scarlet and Gray. The site, 2014bucks.com, launched Wednesday with the mission to "recruit and have fun."

"We will share on and off the field stuff, our path to national signing day, our senior football seasons, and our upcoming visits to Columbus," the site reads. "We are champions and we are recruiting champions to help us win national championships! Are you the next Buck?"

Webb, a defensive back from Detroit, was the second recruit to verbally to commit to Ohio State back in January. After returning from a 7-on-7 combine earlier this month near Chicago, Webb told his parents he wanted to do something to bring together his recruiting class and hopefully add to it. Webb’s father, Damon, said Webb had watched how Michigan 2013 recruit Shane Morris, a quarterback from nearby Warren, Mich., had maximized Twitter and Facebook to connect with other recruits.

“I was like, ‘Social media’s where it’s at,’” Webb’s mom, Stephanie, told ESPN.com on Thursday. “I design websites, so I said, ‘Why don’t I make you guys a website?’”

Damon Jr. liked the idea and Stephanie, who teaches Web design and technology at the University of Detroit, began setting up a basic site. Before publishing anything, Stephanie Webb reached out to Mark Pantoni, Ohio State's director of player personnel, to make sure the site would be NCAA compliant. Pantoni, who informed head coach Urban Meyer of the site, gave it the green light, noting that none of the staff members can participate on it because of NCAA rules.

Stephanie finished the main page Wednesday and told her husband, who "jumped the gun" by mentioning the site on his Twitter page. Some of the other Buckeye commits didn't know about the site until it went live.

"They were probably shocked," Damon Sr. said with a laugh.

The site includes pictures of all seven Ohio State commits -- noting the order in which they committed -- and then asks, "Who is next?" The Webbs also launched a Twitter page on Wednesday that already has more than 700 followers.

"I didn't know it would get this reaction," Stephanie Webb said.

Damon Webb Jr. and the other Buckeye commits will post more content in the coming days and manage the site. Recruiting tends to bring out the worst in college football fans, so to prevent trolling, Stephanie will approve any comment before it goes live to the site.

Damon Sr. says the site allows the Ohio State commits to "show their togetherness and try to recruit other guys who are still on the fence." It also reinforces the commitment for Damon Jr., the subject of rumors about possibly flipping to archrival Michigan.

"That's still kind of going around," Damon Sr. said. "A lot of people that think he might decommit from Ohio State. I felt like if they saw this, they'll see he's pretty steadfast."

While Ohio State recruits take to the Web, a Michigan recruit is going the apparel route to promote the program for the 2014 class. Linebacker commit Michael Ferns in February created Project 135, where he sends out blue T-shirts to each new Wolverines recruit.

"As commits wear the shirts to events, we'll get the attention of other potential recruits who may not have been looking towards Michigan at first," Ferns wrote on his Twitter page.

It'll be interesting to see if these recruit-driven marketing campaigns become a national trend. You know coaches won't stand in the way.

"The recruiting game," Stephanie Webb said, "is changing."

Commitment No. 6 in the Class of 2014 is in the books and for Sam Hubbard (Cincinnati/Archbishop Moeller) it was just a natural fit.

Mere days after giving his decommitment to Notre Dame as a lacrosse player, the outside linebacker found a new home at Ohio State, and in a different sport, football.

“You’re representing something that’s a national symbol,” Hubbard said. “I’m really excited to be a part of Buckeye Nation, which stretches from sea to shining sea. It’s great to be part of such a big family and such a successful program.

“I visited a few weeks ago and was sold right away. I did a good job of keeping that to myself. I knew all along when I visited this time I was going to be ready to commit. I love everything about it. Coach [Urban] Meyer and his staff were just great in expressing an interest in me and telling me what they want from me.”

The Buckeyes rolled out the red carpet for the 6-foot-5, 225-pound Hubbard, who had one-on-one meetings with both Meyer and university president E. Gordon Gee on Friday.

Ohio State is already familiar to Hubbard and his family, however, as his sister Madison is currently a senior at the university. Sam brought along his mother on Friday as well.

In giving his commitment to the Buckeyes, Hubbard turned down offers from Boston College, Illinois, Louisville, Miami (Fla.), Miami (Ohio), Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio and Stanford and interest from Duke.

Hubbard becomes the first linebacker taken in the junior class in what the Buckeyes hope is a strong position for them in 2014. He joins running back Parris Campbell Jr. (Akron, Ohio/St. Vincent-St. Mary), defensive tackle Dylan Thompson (Lombard, Ill./Montini Catholic), cornerback Damon Webb (Detroit/Cass Tech) and offensive tackles Marcelys Jones (Cleveland/Glenville) and Kyle Trout (Lancaster, Ohio/Lancaster) as early pledges for the Buckeyes.

Playing free safety last season, Hubbard registered 75 tackles -- seven for loss -- forced two fumbles, intercepted two passes and also had a fumble recovery.

And just because Hubbard committed doesn’t mean he’s done with the Buckeyes until February.

“I’ve been talking to other recruits who are big targets for Ohio State,” Hubbard said. “I’m trying to tell them that we have a chance to win a national championship here. I’ve been talking to kids like Kyle Berger. I just committed today so I’m not sure what my role will be, but I’m going to help out recruiting real soon.”

Dylan Thompson’s day at Ohio State started out with a tweet that said “This place is amazing!!!!! I love it!!!!”

That came around 10 a.m. By Saturday afternoon, the 6-foot-5, 270-pound defensive end from Montini Catholic in Lombard, Ill., was the fifth commitment to Ohio State's Class of 2014.

The commitment was confirmed by Paul Szczesny, who is the president and CEO of Core6Athletes and travels with Thompson across the country to various camps and combines.

In committing to the Buckeyes, Thompson joined offensive tackles Marcelys Jones (Cleveland/Glenville) and Kyle Trout (Lancaster, Ohio/Lancaster), cornerback Damon Webb (Detroit/Cass Tech) and running back Parris Campbell Jr. (Akron, Ohio/St. Vincent-St. Mary) as junior commitments.

Thompson was originally offered by the Buckeyes on Feb. 7 and was blown away by the fact Urban Meyer and the school was looking his way.

“It’s a huge deal to me,” Thompson said at the time. “Coach Meyer is a great coach. He put Florida on the map. He put Ohio State on the map. He knows what he’s doing. I feel like it’s a great program.

“I want to see all their academics and what they’re good in as far as majors. I want to see the weight room, the locker room. I’m hoping to put on a jersey. I love the Ohio State colors. It’s the only way to go. They have really cool uniforms.”

The Buckeyes also have ties to Montini Catholic in former OSU nose tackle Garrett Goebel, who graduated in 2012.

Thompson becomes the first defensive lineman in Ohio State's Class of 2014 -- defensive end Lawrence Marshall (Southfield, Mich./Southfield) gave his pledge on Feb. 10, but later rescinded the commitment.

Thompson chose Ohio State over offers from more than 10 other schools, including Arkansas, Clemson, Illinois, Mississippi, Missouri, Tennessee and Vanderbilt.