Drew Thurman (4:16 pm)

As we wade through the 2013 recruiting waters position by position, it is time to take a deeper look into what is going on at wide receiver. We previously looked at the quarterback, offensive line, defensive line, and linebacker positions.

Even if you marginally follow the recruiting world, you know how hungry Urban Meyer and the staff are for playmakers. In fact, Meyer was quite open about the lack of game changers at the wide receiver position in spring practice, something that he will look to change. While the wideout ranks are still very young and have potential, Meyer is looking some more versatile talent that can alter games in his diverse attack.

He already has one of those players on board in Jalin Marshall. While there has been a lot of speculation about where Marshall will play in college, since he plays QB for Middletown and wants a shot there at Ohio State, most everyone assumes that he will eventually end up in a Percy Harvin type role when the dust settles. Marshall is a very rare talent with 4.4 speed and great lateral movement, qualities that make him a scary asset with the ball in space.

Besides Marshall, the staff will be looking to add two to three more players at wide receiver in this class. Fortunately, almost all their targets are still on the board, as the big time wideouts don't appear to be picking schools as quickly as their fellow classmates. Let's dive in a take a deeper look at who those players are...

Ohio Radar:

Shelton Gibson (6-1 175 pounds, Cleveland Heights HS) - Gibson is the only true receiver in Ohio the staff has consistently pursued. Guys like Rob Wheelwright and Jaron Dukes just never seemed to capture their attention. Gibson is definitely head and shoulders above those other two in terms of national recruitment. He has offers from the likes of Auburn, Mississippi State, Nebraska, Ohio State, Pitt, Vanderbilt and West Virginia. He has long been down to Auburn and Ohio State though, and his latest comments would make it appear that Ohio State is the leader. He set to announce in a month, and many expect Columbus will indeed be the destination.   

Out-of-State Radar:

James Quick (6-1 180 pounds, Louisville, KY) -  Quick is another explosive playmaker that has recently become a very sought after prospect for the Buckeyes. He made a visit to Columbus for the Spring Game in April, and since then has had Ohio State at the top of his list. The biggest competitor right now is home town Louisville, though he does have offers from Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Michigan, Oklahoma, Oregon and Tennessee. There is still a long way to go in his recruitment, too, as he claims he will not decide until after his football season. The Buckeyes do look good right now.

Devon Allen (6-1 190 pounds, Phoenix, AZ) - Allen is a speedster from out west that is looking to run track and play football at the school he chooses. He has an impressive list of suitors including Arizona, Arizona State, Arkansas, Stanford, Washington, Oklahoma State, Michigan State, Michigan, Ohio State, Notre Dame and Nebraska. He really hasn't narrowed his list at all, but is planning a Midwest tour of schools this summer. Ohio State should make the cut when he does assemble a list though, as he likes what Urban is doing and his father played baseball for the Buckeyes.

Robert Foster (6-3 170 pounds, Monaca, PA) - Foster is arguably the best wide receiver in the country and has offers from a multitude of big time programs, including the Buckeyes. Well, at least he did. During a visit to Columbus, Foster made a mistake that would cause the staff to pull his scholarship and move on. His recruitment at Ohio State appeared over. Things have changed again though. Bill Kurelic reported over at Bucknuts that Foster has repaired the relationship with the staff and is very high on the Buckeyes.

Laquon Treadwell (6-3 185 pounds, Crete, IL) - Treadwell is one of the most highly regarded wide receivers in the country, boasting offers from Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Clemson, Michigan, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma and USC. He visited Ohio State earlier this spring and has constant communication with the staff, but is in no rush to make a decision. That may be something that works in the staff's favor, as Michigan is the perceived favorite at this point. Don't hold your breath though. While I'm not ruling out Meyer's recruiting magic, I'm not expecting Treadwell in this class.

Other Out-of-State Player to Watch:

Uriah LeMay (6-1 181 pounds, Matthews, NC) - Very physical receiver with the Buckeyes on his list, but it is very unclear of his overall interest. Going to be hard to steer him away from ACC country.

Marquez North (6-3 205 pounds, Charlotte, NC) - Being recruited hard by Withers. Is high on the Buckeyes and plans on visiting this summer.

Demorea Stringfellow (6-2 185 pounds, Moreno Valley, CA) - New offer from the staff. Seems to really like the Buckeyes, and has lots of time until he makes a decision.

_Outlook:

Right now, if I had to make a pick, I would say Gibson is definitely a Buckeye. A fully expect at least one guy of the Quick-Allen-Foster trio to also pick Ohio State in the end. That's enough to make me drool right there, especially with Marshall lining up beside them in the future. Meyer's playmaking problem should be solved!

Ken Kohl (6:58 pm)

It’s been a somewhat quiet off-season, and this week was not much of an exception. What a relief from the past year or so, no? Nonetheless we do have a few things going on, so let’s stroll into the midweek musings and see what’s there.

Two Deep: The news of the day is the post-spring two-deep that was released by the coaching staff early this afternoon. You can check out the depth chart here. While there are not a lot of surprises on the list, there were a few things to note.

*Doran Grant has worked his way into being a co-starter with Travis Howard at one of the corner spots. Roby is still at the other.
*Amazingly, Chris Carter is listed as a backup alongside Joel Hale at nose tackle. The transition from OL appears to have worked.
*Neither Rod Smith or Bri'onte Dunn were able to surpass Jordan Hall or Carlos Hyde at the running back position.

OSU Crew: Let's take a look at some of the other sports around campus. First up is the club sport, OSU Crew. They participated in the Dad Vail Regatta in Philadelphia PA this past weekend.

Bye, Bye JD: Moving onto Men’s Basketball, former Buckeye J.D. Weatherspoon has landed on his feet at University of Toledo, per The Columbus Dispatch.

_ Best of luck to J.D. with the Rockets.

Men’s Baseball: The Buckeyes head to Bloomington to take on the Hoosiers, on the heels of Coach Beals’ 300th career victory. Here’s to many more as skipper of the Buckeyes.

The three-game set with Indiana begins Thursday at Sembower Field. All three games start at 3 p.m. with Friday's game streamed live on BTN.com and Saturday's finale televised live on BTN.

The Buckeyes enter the weekend with a 31-22 overall conference record. Ohio State currently sits sixth in the Big Ten Conference with an 11-10 ledger, a game up on Minnesota and two games up on Illinois for the last Big Ten tournament spot heading into the final weekend.

Women's Softball: Several of the Lady Buckeyes received Big Ten honors:

_ Congratulations to these young ladies, well done.

More Honors: Moving along with Honors, The Governor  received a tremendous honor by hosting the Buckeyes and the other Ohio teams that made the 2012 Sweet Sixteen. No word on The Guv’s need of smelling salts to recover from The Swoon.

_ Finally, in a couple weeks, grab your main squeeze and head to The Shoe to catch Johnny Depp in all his pirate finery in ‘Pirates of the Caribbean, The Curse of The Black Pearl’ and support a good cause, Ohio State Pelotonia. Funds raised support cancer research at the OSU Comprehensive Cancer Center. You’ll be glad you did.

Drew Thurman (9:44 am)

After catching up with Michigan's recruiting class, it's now time to dig deeper with Penn State. While the Wolverines and Buckeyes have caught the most attention for their hot starts in 2013, Bill O'Brien and the Nittany Lions have quietly been putting together a solid class. We sat down with Tim Tolley of Victory Bell Rings to get his perspective on everything from Adam Breneman to Alex Anzalone.

1) What should Buckeye fans know about Penn State's 2013 class? What are your feelings about the class thus far?

Obviously, the two key players committed right now are QB Christian Hackenberg and TE Adam Breneman. Many feel that the O'Brien offense will work best when he has a high caliber QB and strong TE play, in order to replicate the Patriots offense...without Tom Brady, of course.

We've hit a lull right now, and some fans are worried. Still, I think that if you had asked fans back in February if they'd be happy in May to have eight verbals, including guys like Ross Douglas, Garrett Sickels, Breneman and Hackenberg, every fan would have taken it. 

2) Which position groups do you think are the most important to fill in this class? How has the staff addressed those needs?

Linebacker and defensive back really jump out. PSU has taken a total of TWO linebackers combined in the last two classes. I have no doubt that they'd like to land at least three in this cycle. They've offered several, including three in the past couple of weeks, but have yet to land one. Luckily the region is pretty plentiful at the position, but quality is a must because these guys will be forced into action early in their careers, due to lack of depth. 

Penn State has been thin at DB for some time now. The starting secondary last season all graduated and the staff moved a WR, Curtis Drake, into a starting CB role this Spring. They have CB Ross Douglas in the fold and are in it for a few other DBs, but they'll be hurting if they don't get at least three solid DBs (corners or safeties) in this class. 

3) Are there any recruiting misses that have hurt?

WR Ryan Switzer was supposed to be the "Wes Welker" of O'Brien's offense. (I realize these comparisons aren't fair, but they're happening.) He was all but committed to Penn State, then ended up pledging to play for UNC.  Alex Anzalone, though not a surprise, hurt a bit. He's the top in-state player at a position of need. That would have been a big get for the staff. He's back on the market but I think it's a Florida-OSU race...despite the decommitment. 

4) Which committed prospect are you the most excited about?

I have a pretty good relationship with Breneman and he seems to really be a good, level-headed kid. He grew up a Penn State fan and seems like the right guy to kind of lead the next charge, if that's not too cheesy. Also, Ross Douglas has really been lighting it up on the camp circuit. The knock on him is his height but if he can cover, he will see the field early at Penn State.

Of course, ESPN naming Hackenberg as the top "pro-style" QB was exciting for the fans, even if ESPN isn't exactly the authority on recruiting.

5) What are your thoughts on Bill O'Brien? Is he doing the job that Penn State fans expect him to on the recruiting trail?

When the rumors started that he was going to be the guy, I was up in arms like the rest of the fan base. A game has yet to be played, but I don't think he has done anything that I can really be critical of, up to this point. He has been winning over fans, including myself, since his introductory press conference.

As far as recruiting, fans are never happy. In Penn State's case though, fans are at least relieved. I don't know if you heard, but we had a little issue back in December/January with the 2012 class and some of them decommitting...The staff scraped together a class but fans really didn't know what to expect, going forward. Despite a few holes that need filled, I think that getting the top-notch QB on board early was a smart move and will allow the class to develop into a top 15 or maybe even top 10 type of class.

6) How many more spots are left in this class for Penn State? Who are the top targets left on the board to fill them?

A lot of people think that this will be a small class, in the 16-18 range, which would leave around 10 open spots. I think that Penn State will lose at least a QB to transfer, and there are a few redshirt juniors on scholarship who will be graduating in the Winter or Spring of next year and may be asked to move on. O'Brien has to be careful how he does it because if it looks like he is kicking kids off the team/out of schools, some fans will get their pitchforks out. I think the class ends up being around 20-21 kids deep, leaving 12 or so spots.

The top player on the board is WR Robert Foster, who Buckeye fans are familiar with. I have an inkling that he doesn't land in the B1G, but PSU is still recruiting him. After that, the top guys are OT Dorian Johnson, who has narrowed his top four down to OSU, WVU, Pitt and Penn State. He'll be visiting OSU soon (this week, maybe?) and announcing in June/July. Many thing it's a Pitt/PSU battle, but Urb is never out of a recruiting battle. Lastly, RB David Williams from Philadelphia is a key player. He seems to be very high on Penn State and some of the current committed players have commented that they feel he is close to becoming a Nittany Lion. However, he told me that he plans on taking official visits to USC, Miami, Notre Dame and others before deciding and he can't take those until the fall. Not sure if the PSU staff will leave all their eggs in that basket for that long, and they're expected to take only one RB. 

7) Finally, what are your thoughts on the Alex Anzalone saga?

What a mess. I've written about this a few times on VictoryBellRings.com so I'll repeat some of that to you. I don't think it was Urban's fault. I don't think it was Ohio State's fault. This literally could have happened anywhere. Unfortunately for the Buckeyes, it happened in Columbus and was apparently enough to scare the Anzalone family away, even if only momentarily. I know the Penn State staff has been banging down his door since he backed off of his commitment, but my gut feeling is that he somehow ends up in Scarlet and Grey after everything has cooled down. 

Thanks again to Tim for his analysis. For more information on Penn State football and recruiting, check out http://www.victorybellrings.com or follow them on Twitter at @VictoryBellRings. 

Michael Chung (10:24 am)

Tommy Schutt was a much-heralded recruit out of Glen Ellyn, Illinois. Shortly after Urban Meyer took over the head-coaching job at OSU, Tommy Schutt de-committed from Penn State and became a Buckeye. He joins a much heralded d-line recruits in the 2012 class. He took some time to answer questions for us.

What was Joe Paterno like?

TS: I was over his house for breakfast. He had lots of energy. Paterno preached University and did not talk football as much.

Compare JoePa to Urban Meyer?

TS: Coach Meyer is really intense.  Coach Meyer talks football but he also emphasizes family and wants our team to be a big family.

Did the current head coach at Penn State try to flip you?

TS: No, I never met coach O’Brien.

Did Michigan come at you?

TS: UM at one point had all there positions full. After I de-committed from Penn State, they did jump in but I was never really interested.

How did Urban Meyer recruit you?

TS: A few days after he was hired I received a call from him. I also talked to Luke Fickell and Mike Vrabel.  I went on an official visit two weeks later and the rest is history.

Tell us about Mike Vrabel?

TS: Can’t ask for much more. He is a great coach and a great guy. He will make me play fast. He was a former Buckeye and had so much NFL experience. I have a lot to learn from him.

Who in your recruiting class impresses you the most?

TS: I think Kyle Dodson will be a great player. Camren Williams, Armani Reeves and Joey O’Connor are going to be great players.  Noah Spence is unbelievable. He and Adolphus on the corners and me inside is something I am really looking forward to.

Was it true that Kyle Kalis had his way with you as some of the Michigan sites have stated?

TS: I do not believe so. Kyle is a great player but I do not believe that I was dominated.

What did you think of the recent de-commitment of Alex Anzalone?

TS: I do not know the story because I have not met him but I know he is a great player.  I want what is best for him and I hope he makes the best decision he can.

Any prospects you are working on to come join you at OSU?

TS: I talk to Ethan Pocic and I know he is interested but again, I want what is best for him and hope he goes to the school that will best suit his needs. I think we will win a lot so I hope people can join us.

Do you know current d-linemen John Simon, Jonathan Hankins and Nate Williams?

TS: Met them on my official visit. I think they will be a great help as they are all so experienced.

Major?

TS: Business

Hobbies?

TS: Family, friends and football.

Who have you bonded with in the current class?

TS: The former PSU guys I already knew. Kyle Dodson and I spent a lot of time together at the Army All Star Game. Adolphus and I are tight. I am also getting to Frank Epitropoulos, Jacoby Boren and Blake Thomas.

Anything else you want to say to Buckeye Nation?

TS: GO BUCKEYES!!!!

Thanks for taking time Tommy to talk to us. Buckeye Nation is eager to see how your recruiting class, specifically the d-line, will perform during the coming years.  Football is won in the trenches and especially the d-line. We look forward to your career as a Buckeye!

Michael Chung (8:02 am)

A source close to the Ohio State program mentioned to me that Alex Anzalone is a really good person who loves his family. He also mentioned that the five linebacker recruits in 2012 along with redshirt freshman Connor Crowell may have been too much depth at linebacker, influencing his decision.  And he thinks that Jaylon Smith’s recruitment may have also contributed as that would mean even more depth, and many believe Smith will see the field wherever he signs.  My source indicated that he thinks Smith may go to Notre Dame because he could play earlier but is not sure. Also, he felt that Penn State has a good shot at landing Anzalone as well as Florida. 

JC Shurburtt recently tweeted that Anzalone was visiting the University of Florida on Thursday and Friday.  Later, it was reported that he was only visiting family.  11 Warriors reports that:

• Urban is recruiting him hard right now
• Gordon Gee wrote a personal email to his parents
• He is considering OSU again along with Notre Dame, Stanford, Florida, PSU, and "maybe" USC....in no order
• Things are a little better for him now that the whole situation has calmed down and he'll be able think with more of a clear head

As I indicated in a recent article, OSU fans need not to worry about the two recent de-commitments because we are stacked right now at LB and at D-line. It would be nice to have Anzalone and Urban is still going at him hard but his loss would not be insurmountable.

In other news, Lewis Neal mentioned to me that he will have a top 5 in June and that Ohio State has a 90% chance of being on the list.

Tracy Sprinkle recently had a shoulder issue, but said he is fine.

Ken Kohl (8:10 pm)

Believe it or not, there are other things going on at The Ohio State University besides football and basketball. In our feature, Campus Spotlight, we will periodically catch you up with what is happening with those sports and activities.

For this week’s Campus Spotlight, we have several topics to recap; men’s and women’s lacrosse, men’s and  women’s golf, baseball, softball and a club sport, crew.

Ready? Here we go.

OSU Crew
GRAND RAPIDS, MI
A few items to report on this week in our Campus Feature.  Sticking with the “Campus” theme, let’s start with a club (non-varsity) sport, Ohio State Crew. The men’s and women’s rowers spent the weekend participating in the 43rd MACRA (Mid-America College Rowing Association) Regatta in Grand Rapids, MI. Of the seventeen members of the MACRA, Ohio State in the only member that participates as a "club" status, so the competition is very stiff.

Having said that, congratulations to the Men’s Varsity Pair, the Women’s V4, and the Women’s X1 for their 3rd and 1st place finishes at the MACRA Championships this past weekend!

Final round times for each boat:

Men’s V8 – 6:12.45                        
Men’s 2V8 – 5:47.70                      
Men’s V4 – 6:44.32                       
Men’s 2V4 – 7:18.89                      
Men’s Novice 4 – 6:46.88 
Men’s Novice 8 – 6:30.92        
Men’s 2N4 – 6:43.49 
Men’s x2 – 8:30.92
Women’s V8 – 7:35.08
Women’s V4 – 7:48.69
Women’s Novice 4 – 8:43.61
Women’s Novice 8 – 7:27.04
Women’s x1 – 8:44.96

The Men’s V8 (Varsity 8-man boat) times compare very well with times that more traditional teams, such as Princeton for example, achieve. Not only do these rowers represent Ohio State University, as you can see, they do it well.

Men’s Baseball
COLUMBUS, Ohio
The Ohio State baseball team completed a three-game sweep of Northwestern with a 4-1 victory Sunday afternoon in front of 1,448 fans at Nick Swisher Field at Bill Davis Stadium. With the win, OSU improves to 27-20 overall, 11-10 in the Big Ten, while Northwestern drops to 16-29 overall, 5-16 in conference play. The Buckeyes travel to Stillwater, Okla., for a pair of games at Oklahoma State starting 7:30 p.m. ET Tuesday.

Women’s Softball
COLUMBUS, Ohio 
Alicia Herron, a senior captain on the Ohio State softball team, was named to the Capital One Academic All-District V First Team for the third time in her career last Friday. The four-year starter at shortstop, Herron leads the Big Ten with a .779 slugging percentage and 13 home runs, while maintaining a grade-point average greater than 3.30 in speech and hearing science.

Ohio State (29-22, 8-12 Big Ten) wraps up the 2012 season Friday-Saturday at Penn State in State College, Pa.

Women’s Golf
COLUMBUS, Ohio
Kendall Prince of the Ohio State women's golf team was named the 2012 Big Ten Freshman of the Year, the conference announced Tuesday. Juniors Rachel Rohanna and Amy Meier were placed on the All-Big Ten first team, while Prince and junior Susana Benavides earned second team accolades. 

Prince is the seventh Buckeye to earn the award and second in the last four years, joining teammate Vicky Villanueva who won it in 2009. The honor is the second first-team recognition for Rohanna, who was placed on the team in 2010. 

The Buckeyes return to the links next week as the squad hosts the 2012 NCAA Women's Golf Central Regional on the Scarlet Course, May 10-12.  　

Men’s Golf
COLUMBUS, Ohio
Grant Weaver of the Ohio State men's golf team was named the 2012 Big Ten Freshman of the Year, the league announced Tuesday. Weaver is the first Ohio State newcomer to be given the honor since Chris Smith in 1988. 

The Wooster, Ohio, native posted a 72.84 rating on the Golfweek/Sagarin rankings. He finished tied for 21st at the Big Ten Championships to lead all Buckeyes with a 14-over 302. Senior Alex Redfield was honored as Ohio State's Sportsmanship Award recipient.

Men’s Lacrosse
DENVER, Colo. 
The No. 17/18 ranked Ohio State men's lacrosse team (8-7, 5-1 ECAC) lost to No. 16 Fairfield, 8-7, Wednesday night in the ECAC Tournament semifinals at  Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium in Denver, Colo. The Stags (11-4, 4-2 ECAC) move on to the championship game where they will face top seed Loyola Friday. 

The 2012 NCAA Tournament field will be announced at 9 p.m. Sunday. Ohio State will wait to see if it receives an at-large berth.

Women’s Lacrosse
GAINESVILLE, Fla. - 
The 14th-ranked and fourth-seeded Ohio State women's lacrosse team (11-6) pulled even with third-ranked and top-seed Florida (16-2) midway through the second half before eventually dropping a 5-4 decision in the ALC Tournament semifinals Friday night in Gainesville, Fla. 

The Buckeyes will await their NCAA Tournament fate until the field is announced at 9 p.m. Sunday. The Division I Women's Lacrosse Championship is a 16-team, single-elimination tournament with seven automatic bids, plus two from pre-determined play-in games and seven additional at-large selections. Ohio State was 26th in the RPI figures released Thursday prior to the start of the ALC tournament and last made appearances in the championship field in 2002 and 2003.

Michael Chung (7:44 pm)

Just a couple weeks after the Ohio State Spring Game, OSU fans were in a very good place. An exciting game with more passing than the whole 2011 season, plus witnessing Urban on the field for the first time, Buckeye Nation had hope.

But recently, some of that hope was dashed.  First, Lewis Neal de-committed based on personal reasons.  Then, shortly after the Lantern published a story on a child sex offender, Charles Eric Waugh, Alex Anzalone de-committed.  Buckeye Nation, still healing from “Tattoo gate,” became worried.  Fear not!

Ohio State had a plethora of LB recruits last year: David Perkins, Camren Williams (pictured), Jamal Marcus, Joshua Edward Perry and Luke Roberts.  There are also a plethora of D-linemen both on the current roster and commitments from the 2012 and 2013 classes. Losing two recruits is not the end of the world.  Ohio State has more than enough bodies and had Anzalone and Neal not de-committed recently, both may have been subjects of transfers in the future.

But their de-commitments are puzzling. Neal told me personally that his reasons were too personal to share and had nothing to do with football, LSU or Urban Meyer. 

I tried to contact Alex Anzalone, but he has not returned my correspondence. 

Regardless of what has been shard in the media, it seems odd that these two young men would de-commit so soon, but it may not be so bad.  If a de-commitment so soon after issuing one’s verbal is a negative sign, is keeping your word amidst tragedy a positive one?

Such is the case for Joshua Edward Perry.  After Tressel resigned and later retired, Perry never wavered from his verbal commitment.  He told us that schools came after him, but he was always a Buckeye.  He graduated early from high school and enrolled at OSU early so he could participate in Spring Drills.  With every reason to de-commit, Perry stayed committed and has been a leader even before Urban Meyer was introduced as head coach.  He has four years of eligibility at linebacker.

Another recruit that no one is talking about is Luke Roberts.  Less than two months after Tressel’s departure, Luke Roberts was the first recruit to commit under new defensive coach Mike Vrabel.  Roberts has faced the exact opposite of Anzalone.  While fans and recruiting gurus drooled at Anzalone’s ability, they frowned on Robert’s.  Some called for Meyer to revoke his scholarship offer, but Lancaster head football coach, were Roberts attended, is former NFL NY Giant great Rob Carpenter, the father of Buckeye great Bobby Carpenter.  Rob was very clear that Roberts deserved to don the Scarlet and Gray.  Despite all the negativity from people questioning his ability, Roberts never let it get to him and also enrolled at OSU early. He not only played in the Spring Game but actually played the whole game and looked quite solid. Robert’s character as an 18 year old is beyond his years.

The point is, though Buckeye Nation lost 2 recruits shortly after they issued their verbals, they have two players who stayed true to their word despite every reason not to.  If character and heart are a measure of a linebacker, I think OSU is in really good shape with Roberts and Perry.

A third linebacker prospect I have interviewed, Camren Williams, is another fine young man. Being raised by former NFL great Brent Williams, Camren also possesses maturity and poise beyond his years and he has the genes of a former NFL defensive lineman who played 13 years in the NFL.  Ohio State has him for three to four years.

With Ohio State likely using some form of the 4-3 at times with their plethora of d-lineman, and I have not even mentioned David Perkins or Jamal Marcus, Ohio State is in really good shape.

Tracy Sprinkle already mentioned that the depth at d-line was an issue for him but he knows he has to work hard because the competition will be high. Was this a factor for Anzalone and Neal at LB?  I am guessing that opposing coaches have also mentioned the defensive depth to current and potential recruits.

Would it be nice for Neal and Anzalone to re-commit? Sure! And Buckeye Nation would welcome them back, but if not, OSU is in really, really good shape for the next few years. 

Fear not Buckeye Nation, there is no need to panic and I predict that in nine months when National Signing Day occurs, that Anzalone and Neal will have long been forgotten unless they recommit.  It is only May and do not be surprised if Urban Frank Meyer gets another LB or two before NSD.  The future is bright for Ohio State!

Update #3- Well things have already calmed down. ESPN quotes Anzalone's father as saying Ohio State may still be in the picture.