There is much to be said about one Urban Meyer, whether he brought it upon himself through words or actions. When he took over at tOSU, he made claim that the Buckeyes would build a metaphorical wall around the state of Ohio with respect to recruiting the elite in-state talent. While that wall is still in process, one has to think that it took some damage recently with the news about a certain supporter of the program and his interaction with current players and recruits.
So the question was asked: how is he doing?
In order to analyze the data, I pulled the 3, 4 and 5 star recruits from the last three years (2011, 2012 and 2013) from Rivals.com for the state of Ohio (data acquired on 5/4).
First, let's take a look at how he is doing so far for the 2013 class:
2013 Recruiting Breakdown - State of Ohio (80 Total)
School
|
5 stars
|
4 stars
|
3 stars
|
Total
|
Undecided
|
6
|
45
|
51
|
|
Michigan
|
5
|
3
|
8
|
|
Ohio State
|
1
|
4
|
1
|
6
|
Cincinnati
|
2
|
2
|
||
Illinois
|
2
|
2
|
||
Michigan State
|
1
|
1
|
2
|
|
Nebraska
|
1
|
1
|
2
|
|
Notre Dame
|
1
|
1
|
2
|
|
Iowa
|
1
|
1
|
||
Louisville
|
1
|
1
|
||
Penn State
|
1
|
1
|
||
Toledo
|
1
|
1
|
||
Wisconsin
|
|
|
1
|
1
|
While it appears that he has done well, gaining a verbal commitment from the only 5 star player and a total of six from within state, there is one major concern. Hated archrival Michigan has a staggering 8 verbal commitments from the state. I wouldn't think that is acceptable for the Buckeyes head coach.
Next, how does his work for this cycle compare to the combined efforts of Jim Tressel, Luke Fickell and of course, himself?
2012 Recruiting Breakdown - State of Ohio (90 Total)
School
|
5 stars
|
4 stars
|
3 stars
|
Total
|
Ohio State
|
1
|
8
|
6
|
15
|
Cincinnati
|
10
|
10
|
||
Michigan
|
1
|
3
|
5
|
9
|
Michigan State
|
7
|
7
|
||
Illinois
|
5
|
5
|
||
Pittsburgh
|
5
|
5
|
||
West Virginia
|
4
|
4
|
||
Northwestern
|
2
|
1
|
3
|
|
Ohio
|
3
|
3
|
Note: Teams with less than 3 commitments were omitted
Looking at 2012 as a comparison, tOSU combo did a pretty good job keeping elite talent in-state. They signed 15 of the 90 players (16.7%) and the next highest rate was Cincinnati. Following Cincinnati is a string of three Big Ten schools in Michigan (including one of the two 5 star recruits), Michigan State and division rival Illinois.
Finally, for comparison I pulled the final full year of the Jim Tressel era, as shown below.
2011 Recruiting Breakdown - State of Ohio (84 Total)
School
|
4 stars
|
3 stars
|
Total
|
Ohio State
|
7
|
7
|
14
|
Michigan
|
7
|
7
|
|
Cincinnati
|
6
|
6
|
|
Toledo
|
1
|
4
|
5
|
Wisconsin
|
1
|
4
|
5
|
Indiana
|
1
|
3
|
4
|
Michigan State
|
4
|
4
|
|
Notre Dame
|
1
|
3
|
4
|
Boston College
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
Northwestern
|
3
|
3
|
Note: Teams with less than 3 commitments were omitted
Again, the Buckeyes led the way for in-state talent acquisition with 14 of the 84 (16.7%). They were followed again by rival Michigan and then in-state Cincinnati and a little MACtion from Toledo. The remaining teams on the list consisted of either conference foes or Catholic schools.
Based on the results from 2011 and 2012, it appears that the Buckeyes consistently land about 1 out of 6 of the top in-state talent. Based on this trend, Urban would have to land 13 total for the class of 2013 to keep pace. With only six on board so far for 2013, it looks like Urbie and staff have their work cut out for them.
In short, it appears that the results will not be significantly different from the previous staff's efforts.