ESPN Recruiting Nation Football

They’re still kicking. But so is everyone else.

That’s what one four-star wide receiver from Urban Meyer’s old stomping ground had to say about the Ohio State Buckeyes and his recruitment.

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Less than two weeks before signing day, the opinions of recruits can change rapidly. That played out on Sunday with a receiver from Florida.

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When Vonn Bell (Rossville, Ga./Ridgeland) announced he was planning to take official visits to Alabama, Ohio State and Tennessee shortly after his team’s state runner-up finish, BuckeyeNation said the trip to Ohio would be important.

Developments since then prove just how vital this weekend will be for the Buckeyes as they try to round out an already stellar defensive recruiting class by adding the ESPN 150 safety.

For Ohio State it really could be a case of all or nothing. Bell was very impressed with the fact Urban Meyer came to his state title game and sat with his family.

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Joey Bosa (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla./St. Thomas Aquinas) will stay in his home state this weekend for his all-star game, but the ESPN 150 defensive tackle will do so with the attitude that made him a state champion this season.

A hard-nosed senior, Bosa joins an Ohio State fearsome five of Jalin Marshall, Marcus Baugh, Gareon Conley and Cam Burrows in the Under Armour All-America Game on Friday and will do so with the idea of proving his rankings are exactly where they should be.

Ranked 46th overall in the ESPN 150, Bosa played a versatile role for the Raiders this season, lining up at nose tackle, defensive tackle and defensive end for St. Thomas Aquinas. Despite an injury early in the season, Bosa finished with 70 tackles -- 27 for loss -- and added a team-leading 9.5 sacks.

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Gareon Conley (Massillon, Ohio/Washington) doesn’t have a chip on his shoulder, but the ESPN 150 cornerback is in Florida this week ready to prove he belongs ... as a wide receiver.

Originally a Michigan commit, Conley was recruited by Ohio State as an athlete for his unbelievable ability at the wideout position as well. The 6-foot-1, 165-pound Conley committed to the Buckeyes on Dec. 7 after a whirlwind courtship by Urban Meyer and his staff. He accepted his Under Armour jersey Oct. 18. Conley is ranked No. 62 overall and is the ninth-best cover corner in the nation according to ESPN.

An impact two-way threat, Conley heads to Friday’s Under Armour All-America Game with impressive numbers. In just his first season as the starting wide receiver for the Tigers, Conley led the team in every statistical category. His most impressive moves came when he was afforded space as he made 50 catches, for 1,096 yards receiving and scored 16 touchdowns.

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Ohio State will get its chance to make a late pitch for the top-ranked offensive guard in the nation when David Dawson (Detroit/Cass Tech) makes an official visit to Columbus, Ohio.

But the 6-foot-4, 282-pound ESPN 150 senior won’t be making the trip when many of the 2013 targets are coming to Ohio State, and that could be a good thing.

Dawson indicated that his trip is slated for Jan. 18 -- a full week after Kenny Lacy, Cornelius Elder, Shelton Gibson, James Hearns, Ryan Timmons, Marcus Baugh, Johnny Townsend and Jalin Marshall are making their visits to see the Buckeyes.

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If there’s a spot for an offensive lineman in Ohio State’s 2013 recruiting class, it’s pretty evident who the Buckeyes are going after if it’s not David Dawson (Detroit/Cass Tech).

It became clearer today when UCLA commit Kenny Lacy (Phoenix/Mountain Pointe) scheduled an official visit.

The 6-foot-5, 260-pound offensive tackle was floored by Ohio State’s interest on Nov. 29, saying it was a big offer.

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Some of the top prospects in the 2014 class are already talking about playing together in college. Following Saturday, that place could be Ohio State.

ESPN Watch List quarterback Drew Barker (Hebron, Ky./Conner) was talking with fellow Watch List prospects Raekwon McMillan (Hinesville, Ga./Liberty County) and Clifton Garrett (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield South) about all teaming up for the same program in 2014, and all three were at Ohio State for the Michigan game. Class of 2013 commits Ezekiel Elliott and Jalin Marshall were doing their best to persuade the trio, too.

"We were all talking about how sweet it would be if we all went to the same school. They were saying Ohio State is the place to be, Coach [Urban] Meyer, he's started the [career] off right, first season going 12-0, can't get any better than a perfect season, jump on the Ohio State Buckeye train and get things going, that's what they were saying," Barker said.

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COLUMBUS, Ohio -- One of Urban Meyer’s keys to victory isn’t that difficult to figure out. While he is having almost unprecedented success as a first-year coach at Ohio State -- there have only been two other coaches to start with 11 consecutive wins at the school -- it all begins in the recruiting world.

Meyer has long been known as a tireless recruiter and will work until the last possible second to either flip a prospective commit or land the big name. His recruiting class in February ranked sixth -- the highest it has been since 2008 -- as his resume no doubt brought some of the bigger name recruits from other programs.

Taylor Decker, Kyle Dodson, Se’Von Pittman, Joey O’Connor, Tommy Schutt, Armani Reeves and Camren Williams were all destined for other universities before becoming Buckeyes nine months ago. Meyer had similar success at Florida as the Gators were almost always in the upper echelon of the class rankings.

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No Midwest prospect has achieved a five-star ranking since 2010. Since 2006, the year RecruitingNation’s database goes back to, no Indiana prospect has reached five-star status.

Say hello to outside linebacker Jaylon Smith (Fort Wayne, Ind./Bishop Luers), one of the three new five-star prospects in the updated ESPN 150 and ESPN 300.

The 6-foot-3, 212-pound linebacker has made a consistent rise up the ESPN 150 rankings. In the last update, Smith moved to No. 14 and into the region’s top spot. Now, he’s No. 9 overall and a five-star prospect.

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Seven Ohio State commits are featured in the updated ESPN 150, while there are 11 overall in the ESPN 300.

The list is led by five-star cornerback Eli Woodard (Voorhees, N.J./Eastern) at No. 6 -- up one from the spot he held the last time the list was updated -- but it’s also becoming harder and harder to ignore running back Ezekiel Elliott (St. Louis/John Burroughs).

With yet another video-game like season, Elliott was the biggest climber among Buckeyes commits as he worked his way into the ESPN 150, settling in at 139 overall -- up 36 spots from his previous ranking.

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After playing his last game at home Friday, Ohio State commit Tracy Sprinkle (Elyria, Ohio/Elyria) took a second to look ahead at the 2013 recruiting class for the Buckeyes and liked what he saw.

“I think we have some pretty talented guys in this class,” the future defensive tackle for the Buckeyes said. “It could be one of the best classes Ohio State has had in a long time.

“Hopefully with Coach Urban Meyer and what he’s doing down there right now, we can come in and keep that up.”

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Saturday’s home game against Nebraska isn’t just a chance to impress the pollsters as much as it is an opportunity to grab the attention of some of the biggest recruits for Ohio State.

The list for the primetime game against the Cornhuskers reads like a who’s who of candidates for the Buckeyes starting with former Penn State commit Dorian Johnson (Belle Vernon, Pa./Belle Vernon). No. 27 in the ESPN 150, the second-ranked offensive tackle leads the list of headliners planning to attend and is followed by James Quick (Louisville, Ky./Trinity) at wide receiver.

Both have Ohio State in their top three. Johnson rounds out his list with Pitt and Virginia Tech, while Quick (No. 57) comes in with Louisville and Oregon.

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