Big Ten preview: Even after losing so much to NFL, Buckeyes don't rebuild, they reload

Ohio State lost an unbelievable amount of talent this offseason, sending 12 players — big-time, impact players — to the NFL Draft. So there’s no way the Buckeyes can still be in contention for the Big Ten title, right? Wrong. “I would say going into this (season) this is as talented a group top to bottom as we’ve had,” Urban Meyer said during Big Ten Media Days. Uh, what? Here’s the list of the Buckeyes drafted to NFL teams earlier this year: Joey Bosa, Ezekiel Elliott, Eli Apply, Taylor Decker, Darron Lee, Michael Thomas, Vonn Bell, Adolphus Wahsington, Braxton Miller, Nick Vannett, Joshua Perry and Cardale Jones. That’s a college football All-Star team right there. But what you’ve got to understand is that Meyer and the Buckeyes don’t rebuild, they reload. Meyer’s five recruiting classes since he took the reins of the Ohio State program have been ranked No. 4 (2012), No. 2 (2013), No. 3 (2014), No. 9 (2015) and No. 3 (2016) — and the Class of 2017 is already ranked No. 2, perhaps his best yet. So, yes, there are tons of holes to fill, and this Buckeyes team is very young, especially compared to recent seasons with…

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