OSU Buckeyes

With 21 commitments in the class of 2013, there remains a precious few left to fill at Ohio State.

That said the Buckeyes haven’t backed off at all, indicating they are far from being finished.

Urban Meyer was on hand to congratulate Trey Johnson (Lawrenceville, Ga./Central Gwinnett) after the inside linebacker picked Ohio State over Florida and Tennessee at the Under Armour All-America Game. There’s no doubt the two-time national champion gave Vonn Bell (Ridgeland, Ga./Rossville) a "hello" as the ESPN 150 safety is the biggest target on the Buckeyes’ radar.

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Ohio State missed on ESPN 150 wide receiver James Quick (Louisville, Ky./Trinity) over the weekend when the senior chose Louisville. What the Buckeyes did from a defensive standpoint, however, solidified an already strong unit.

With headliners on the front line and in the secondary, all that was missing were some linebackers.

What Ohio State got in Trey Johnson (Lawrenceville, Ga./Central Gwinnett) and Mike Mitchell (Plano, Texas/Prestonwood Christian) could impact the team earlier than many expect.

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SAN ANTONIO -- Wednesday was a day off for the U.S. Army All-American Bowl teams. Instead of working out and participating in drills, the players took in visits around the city -- including a stop at the Alamodome for photo opportunities and to see their game apparel -- and used the day to recover from two days of practice.

The teams will return to the fields on Thursday in arguably the most important practice of the week. Here are five things to keep an eye on for Thursday’s practice:

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SAN ANTONIO – ESPN 150 wide receiver James Quick (Louisville, Ky./Trinity) has drawn plenty of attention for his play through two practices for the East team in preparation for the U.S. Army All-American Bowl.

He’ll garner even more eyes his way on Saturday when he announces his commitment during the game.

The 6-foot-1, 180-pounder said he is down to Louisville, Ohio State and Oregon. Though his decision will come Saturday, it could be finalized by Wednesday morning, as he sits down to discuss his options with his parents, who are in town for the event.

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It’s time to dip into the BuckeyeNation recruiting mailbag and answer some of your questions.

We’ll keep it at five a week to give everyone a shot.

We encourage you to send your questions by Twitter at @bbournival, e-mail at brad.bournival.espn@gmail.com or by posting a question in the Horseshoe Pit forum.

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As of this moment, we sit smack dab in the middle of a dead period that lasts through Jan. 3, 2013. While it’s considered “dead,” it really isn’t at all.

It’s a time when coaches aren’t allowed to meet recruits in-person whether on campus or off. Prospects can still visit bowl practices, but only if those practices are open to the public. They still can receive calls from coaches once a week.

While Ohio State really never stops the recruiting process -- the Buckeyes have amped up efforts with no bowl game -- it does slow down a bit during the holiday season.

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It's roughly seven weeks until national signing day.

Ohio State’s recruiting class of 2013 has strangleholds defensively on the line and in the secondary. But there are still things the Buckeyes must learn on the fly.

With that in mind, here are five things the squad will probably need to be shored up or at least plugged up a bit in terms of the 2013 season.

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Just like commitments as of late, the ever-evolving world of recruiting changes almost every hour. The second one school seems like it has a player locked up, he’s off to another college and it’s back to the drawing board.

With that said, Ohio State might have room for five more in the class of 2013. It’s not an exact science, but the Buckeyes aren’t backing off names at all.

While the likes of James Quick, Cameron Hunt or Vonn Bell certainly won’t be told no, here’s a look at who might round out the Ohio State class come national signing day.

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It’s the dead period in college football recruiting, which means coaches can still call players once a week, but they can not make on- or off-campus contact with non mid-year enrollees.

With that said, the Buckeyes can probably take four or five more players in the Class of 2013 depending on medical hardships, players transferring or leaving early for the NFL draft.

Here’s a position by position look at what the Buckeyes want vs. what they need.

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It’s time to dip into the BuckeyeNation recruiting mailbag and answer some of your questions. We’ll keep it at five a week to give everyone a shot. We encourage you to send your questions by Twitter at @bbbournival, e-mail at brad.bournival.espn@gmail.com or by posting a question in the Horseshoe Pit forum.

@TravisRockhold: Does Ohio State have a realistic chance of flipping Kenny Lacy? Is this a backup if they can’t flip David Dawson?

BN: There is a slim chance of flipping Lacy. A source very close to the situation in Phoenix said Lacy is taking his time and going on visits to see whether the Bruins are still No. 1. Lacy went on Twitter Friday morning and said “I am a man of my word, it's #bruinnation #NewBreed.” He canceled a visit to Michigan this weekend, but has a visit lined up in January with the Buckeyes. While I still think Dawson is the first choice, Lacy is no slouch at all as an offensive tackle.

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From expert recruiter to a wizard with the numbers, Ohio State coach Urban Meyer has to be creative because of scholarship restrictions handed down by the NCAA.

The key number to look at is 82 -- that’s the bottom-line number and the maximum amount of scholarship athletes the Buckeyes are allowed to have on their roster.

It’s a number Meyer has become quite good at maintaining for the past year after NCAA sanctions. While spots come at a premium at Ohio State right now -- that 82-scholarship limit will be in place through 2014, while other schools are allowed to have 85 -- Meyer is keeping things in check, though there will be a couple of players he’d love to have that he can’t sign because of it.

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After crunching the numbers yet again, there might be room for seven more commits in Ohio State’s 2013 recruiting class.

But BuckeyeNation is sticking to its guns and staying with six. Why? Because there’s just too much that needs to happen for that number to increase, so we’re staying conservative.

The list looks a little different than last time, but here it is -- with reasons why instead of why not.

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Sleep? Who needs sleep?

Certainly not Ohio State after pulling in a visitors list of well over 50 recruits for the Michigan game.

The Buckeyes staff wasted no time at all last week in hitting the trail to check in on many recruits either at their schools or with in-house visits. So while it was nice to wow the likes of Martrell Spaight, James Quick, Trey Johnson, Jamarco Jones, Raekwon McMillan, DeShone Kizer, Sam Mustipher, Da’Shawn Hand, Gareon Conley, Clifton Garrett, Donovan Munger, Shelton Gibson, Chris Worley, Darius West, Jimmy Byrne and Kyle Berger, they weren’t resting on the win.

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