 Michael Chung (2:40 pm) Well, the short-lived Trotwood-Madison pipeline may have desiccated. Alex Gleitman of Eleven Warriors has written that Michael McCray, an Ohio State legacy, has committed to Michigan. McCray’s father, Mike Sr., played for Ohio State in the 80’s and was a team captain in 1988. Gleitman writes, “Trotwood Madison LB Mike McCray chose Michigan today over Oklahoma and Tennessee. OSU never offered and wanted to see him come to camp.” He goes on to write, “Not a huge loss here as OSU likes Courtney Love and Alex Anzalone more and I think both will be Buckeyes. They also have a good shot with Jaylon Smith and are in it for Ben Gedeon, although 2 is the likely number IMO.” McCray may have been able to receive an offer had he gone to summer camp coupled with primary LB targets Jaylon Smith, Courtney Love and Ben Gedeon going elsewhere. But with five linebackers in the 2012 class, there are likely only 2-3 spots at best for 2013.
Michael 8:48 pm
 Urban Meyer and the Buckeyes received their first commitment on the offensive line. Evan Lisle who measures 6 foot 5 inch 265 lbs. from Centerville committed to Ohio State today. Lisle just posted on his Facebook: “ It feels great to finally be a buckeye!!” Ohio State beat out schools like Alabama, Notre Dame, Miami and TSUN for Lisle’s services. Lisle becomes the fifth member of what promises to be a fruitful 2013 class. Even though Ohio State will graduate no one from this year’s offensive line, look for the Buckeyes to sign at least 2-4 more OL prospects. Ohio State currently has seven offers on the OL: Ethan Pocic, Colin McGovern, Hunter Bivin, Marcell Lizard, John Montelus, Derwin Gray, and Laremy Tunsil. Do not be surprised if Alex Gall, Kyle Meadows and Lovell Peterson eventually receive offers. With Taylor Decker, Kyle Dodson, Joe O’Connor, Jacoby Boren and Pat Elflien in the fold for this year, the 2013 class will add much needed depth to one of the most important positions on the team. Ohio State is still suffering from a few lean years of recruiting OL and last years class had quantity but may have lacked the quality that 2012 and the 2013 class will shape up to be. Look for Hunter Bivin to be the next OL to commit to the OSU 2013 class. On a side note, Alex Kozan, who had been tied to Ohio State, signed today with Auburn. He verbally committed to Iowa but did not sign his letter of intent on NSD. Kozan also had an offer from Michigan but decided to be an Auburn Tiger, spurning the B1G for the SEC.
Michael Chung (4:42 pm) Soap operas should be reserved for daytime viewing, not college football. But if one has been following the Davonte Neal story, nothing short of “soap opera” is happening. The five-star recruit was once an Ohio State target. It would have been a good fit. Neal was a speedy playmaker in line with Percy Harvin and Urban Meyer’s spread offense needs players who have speed and quickness in space to make tacklers miss. Then signing day came and Rivals’ Mike Farrell declared that Neal wanted to sign with Ohio State but the Buckeyes rescinded their offer. The Arizona Republic initially came to Neal’s defense citing his father as a source stating the family had no knowledge of the situation. Buckeye fans assumed that Ohio State was a lock to sign current Maryland recruit Stefon Diggs, who himself has gotten into some hot water. Diggs did not sign with Ohio State, instead opting for his hometown school Maryland and Ohio State was left without their playmaker.
 Michael Chung (2:22 pm)
I had the privilege to interview Joshua Perry who was OSU’s first commit of the 2012 class. Perry has a unique perspective: recruited by Jim Tressel, remained a Buckeye through Fickell's tenure, and then committed under Urban Meyer. So he offers a unique perspective on the inside story. Before he answered questions, he had this to say:
JP: First off I would like to say thanks to Buckeye Nation. We have the greatest fan base in America, and the support my teammates and I have received is amazing. Go Bucks!
1. You were recruited by Jim Tressel, can you describe the difference in recruiting styles between Tressel and Urban Meyer?
JP: Coach Meyer is a go-getter. From jumps street he lined up his targets and got them. His staff is out all of the time travelling and it seems like we have recruits in every day. However, Coach Tressel and Coach Meyer both know how to talk to the recruits. Coach Meyer gets after them harder, though.
2. Were you ever close to de-committing? Did other schools try to recruit you? What tactics did they use?
JP: I was never close. The day Coach Tressel resigned, I had messages go to my high school coach from other schools about my status. They all wanted to see me and some were even willing to make a trip out during their recruiting periods. But through it all, I knew I wanted to be a Buckeye.
 Dave Thurman (4:20 pm)
"Please, Sir, may I have another?" Principal Urban Meyer is all too happy to oblige and at this rate may have the entire class of 2013 assembled by the beginning of summer. Today, 4-star cornerback Eli Woodard became the fourth member of the class as he verballed to Ohio State. Woodard who hails from Voorhees (N.J.) Eastern High School, is a 6-foot-1, 185-pound athlete rated as the nation’s No. 5 cornerback and No. 82 prospect overall by 247 Sports.
Woodard was being recruited by many of the big boys of college football and chose the Buckeyes over offers from Alabama, California, Georgia Tech, Maryland, Miami, Michigan, Nebraska, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Rutgers and Wisconsin.
All reports are that Woodard is a classy kid from a great family. In his official announcement he said, “We sat with Coach Meyer and were able to get his perspective on everything which is really exciting, and it’s a special time to be a Buckeye! So I just knew that now is the time! “ We couldn't agree more, Eli! Welcome to Buckeye Nation.
Check out Eli's highlight tape after the jump:
 Michael Chung (7:50 am)
I recently had the chance to have a conversation with Mr. Brent Williams who has a lot of football in his family. His oldest son Brennan, plays at North Carolina, his younger son and godson, Camren Williams and Armani Reeves, are part of the 2012 recruiting class for Ohio State. Mr. Williams had some very enlightening thoughts on Ohio State football from the perspective of a former football player while also having three boys go through the recruiting process.
Q: You went on official visits to Ohio State, what stood out to you and the boys?
BW: Camren and Armani had an advantage, my older son Brennan visited schools prior to committing to North Carolina. The boys went on a lot of these visits so they already knew about schools and what they were looking for.
In Camren’s case, he already had in his mind what he wanted in a school academically, socially as well as football. Camren had attended football camps at OSU so he already had a good idea of what OSU was like. His top two schools during the recruiting process were Penn State and Ohio State.
One thing that stood out during Camren’s visit was the presentation by Dr. Devor, part of the Exercise Science program at Ohio State. He carefully explained OSU’s program, how it differed from other programs. This gave both Camren and I a lot of comfort.
Coach Meyer also told me that Camren’s position, linebacker, was a huge need for the Buckeyes as well as explaining how academics fit into football. Camren also loves campuses that have downtowns filled with streets and stores. High Street was a big plus.
 Malik Zaire (Archbishop Alter HS) is one of the top names in this class. Drew Thurman (8:08 am) With the sun setting on the 2012 recruiting class, it is time for us to take a deep breath and look ahead to 2013. This is no easy task though as Urban Meyer and the staff have already been pursuing and doling out offers to dozens of high school juniors around the country. With all these offers, something that seems foreign after a decade of Jim Tressel, there is no way to take a single look at the class. So instead of one post, I will be breaking down who is on OSU's radar in 2013, position by position. We will be starting at quarterback, a place that is a position of huge need for the Buckeyes. With only three scholarship quarterbacks on the roster in Braxton Miller, Kenny Guiton and Cardale Jones, the staff would ideally like to have one, if not two more guys on the roster for depth purposes. This class could also produce a quarterback that supersedes Braxton Miller in a couple of years. Let's take a deeper look, starting in Ohio. Ohio Radar:Malik Zaire (6-1 190 pounds, Archbishop Alter HS) - If you see Jalin Marshall strictly as an athlete at the next level, as I do, then Zaire is the best rated quarterback in the state. While Zaire doesn't have great size, he does have a live arm and a ton of athleticism. Not unlike most dual-threat quarterbacks coming out of high school, he needs work on consistency with his mechanics, which doesn't seem as big of an issue now that Siciliano isn't responsible for coaching him up. He also is the most likely quarterback to end up in scarlet and gray. After visiting Columbus at the end of January for OSU's junior day, he made it clear that the Buckeyes are the "team to beat." He also is interested in Nebraska, Pittsburgh, Illinois, Indiana, Northwestern and Wisconsin. I would encourage you to check out his film.
 Drew Thurman (4:25 pm) After grabbing the two best players in Ohio in 2013 already (Cam Burrows and Jalin Marshall), the staff has gotten a commitment from arguably the third best player in two-way lineman Billy Price. He and his parents were in Columbus on Saturday, and he called to give his commitment to Urban Meyer soon after arriving home. The 6-4 and 300-pound product from Austintown Fitch is a high motor guy that gets after it on both sides of the ball. Though many wondered where he might end up in college considering his diverse talent, he will play on the defensive line at tackle. He held offers from schools like Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, West Virginia, Tennessee and Nebraska. This is huge pickup for the staff and another statement of how they plan to lock down the state of Ohio once again. They also got a quality kid in Price that will add depth to an already stacked line. You can check out his highlights after the break.
 Stefon Diggs stayed close to home. Michael Chung (10:25 am) “Time with loved ones is our most valuable asset and precious commodity. It can buy happiness.” - Excerpt from forthcoming book: "Praying with Mom" Time. 24 hours a day is something everyone has equally. No matter if you are a multi-billionaire, millionaire, educated, famous or poor, everyone is allotted the same amount. The rich cannot buy more of it and the poor cannot lose it; everyone is allotted 24 hours in the day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. In light of this, good decisions need to be made because we are not promised tomorrow, as tragically witnessed by Whitney Houston the night before the Grammy Awards. A young person who is only thinking about a professional athletic career needs to realize that confusing sports with life can lead to dire consequences. Take an NFL player whose average career are only three to three and a half years. Many end up divorced or financially bankrupt. Time can be a friend or a foe. Young men recruited to play college football face a tremendous challenge when deciding where to play. An ESPN "30 for 30" special on Marcus Dupree titled The Best that Never Was illustrates how recruiting pressure can prevent young men from achieving all they were meant to be (note: there is more that contributed to Dupree’s demise but clearly had he gone to the school that was best for him, life may have turned out differently). Dupree ended up going to a school he did not fully click with, which was the first falling domino of a less than fruitful football career. Colleges must remember that these men are making the most important decision of their young life.
 Don't forget Joshua Perry Dave Thurman (7:59 pm)
Now that we have had just over a week to let the stunning class of 2012 sink in, let's take time to look at each player in depth, then consider how this class ranks in relation to other recent Buckeye hauls.
Below is an analysis of each member of the incoming class, and my projection of whether or not they suit up this year:
Warren Ball (RB, Columbus DeSales) - Ball was one of the first to verbal and never looked back even in the darkest of days. He has nice size and speed (200 pounds, sub 4.5) and when healthy has been very impressive. Ranked a four star by Rivals, Scout and 247 Sports, he is a physical runner who has the skills to excell in Meyer's spread system. Although he may redshirt it would not surprise me to see him play right away.
Devan Bogard (DB, Cleveland Glenville) - Not the most famous player to come out of "the pipeline" he is a good one nevertheless. Devan loves to pop people and will probably end up as a safety. He certainly has the size to succeed at that position, and while not a burner, has good speed as well. I look for him to play some this season, at least on special teams.
Jacoby Boren (OG, Pickerington Central) - Generally regarded as a 3-star prospect, he needs to get bigger, but he is a Boren, and that is good enough for me. Obviously he is tough, and could play at guard or cener for OSU. Some think he may be the meanest Boren of the bunch, and it wouldn't shock me to see him in the 2-deep this year at center, especially since he is an early enrollee.
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