ESPN Recruiting Nation Football

Urban Meyer picked up his second junior in the trenches and raided Michigan again.

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Recruits and colleges can be fickle friends. At Ohio State, Fickell friends are the best friends to have.

If there is anyone in Ohio who understands what scarlet-and-gray fever is about, it is Luke Fickell.

He played nose guard for Ohio State in the 1990s. He was the interim coach for the Buckeyes in 2011 and has been with the team in some facet since 2002.

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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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On the heels of landing ESPN 150 cornerback Gareon Conley (Massillon, Ohio/Washington), Ohio State picked up another verbal from an in-state defensive prospect as ESPN 300 defensive tackle Donovan Munger (Shaker Heights, Ohio/Shaker Heights) committed Sunday.

When Conley announced his decision, we mentioned that the Buckeyes' 2013 class is continuing to be defined by its strength among the ‘skilled’ positions, but there is still a noticeable push to strengthen the defensive trenches in Columbus, especially inside. With players like Joey Bosa (Fort Lauderdale, Fla./St. Thomas Aquinas) and Michael Hill (Pendleton, S.C./Pendleton) already on board, they now add Munger, a big man who can develop into a productive and steady presence inside.

Some time in the Buckeyes weight program should greatly benefit him and it would likely be ideal if they can redshirt Munger. However, the four-star uses his hands well and displays some headiness to aid his physical ability to help him be active and productive in the trenches. Best at this stage as a run defender, but shows some flashes as an interior pass rusher.

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Urban Meyer likes his football team with enough defensive linemen to go from one sideline to the next. With the addition of defensive tackle Donovan Munger (Shaker Heights, Ohio/Shaker Heights), the two-time national champion coach might be able to do just that.

Munger, a four-star ESPN 300 prospect, became the sixth defensive lineman to give his pledge to the Buckeyes on Sunday, joining Billy Price (Youngstown, Ohio/Austintown-Fitch), Tracy Sprinkle (Elyria, Ohio/Elyria), Michael Hill (Pendleton, S.C./Pendleton), Joey Bosa (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla./St. Thomas Aquinas) and hybrid Tyquan Lewis (Tarboro, N.C./Tarboro) in the trenches from the recruiting class of 2013.

Munger is a wide-bodied defensive tackle with a motor that rarely takes time off. His frame fits perfectly in the interior line at 6-foot-3, 280 pounds.

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Ohio State stayed on defense Sunday when it picked up its 19th commit in the class of 2013.

Two days after Gareon Conley picked the Buckeyes, this one came on the defensive line as ESPN 300 defensive tackle Donovan Munger (Shaker Heights, Ohio/Shaker Heights) gave his pledge to the Buckeyes after taking his official visit to Columbus over the weekend.

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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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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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Might there be another Bosa headed to Ohio State in four years?

That remains to be seen, but the Buckeyes threw their hat in the ring early with an offer to freshman defensive end Nick Bosa (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla./St. Thomas Aquinas).

Bosa is certainly not a strange last name to recruiting cirles as his brother Joey Bosa is an Under Armour All-American, ESPN 150 defensive tackle and 2013 Ohio State commit. His father, John Bosa was a a first-round pick by the Miami Dolphins in the 1987 NFL Draft.

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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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