One thing Urban Meyer has definitely brought to the Big Ten is some serious signing day drama.
Meyer flipped several recruits Ohio State’s way last year, and on Wednesday the Buckeyes were one of the big stories on signing day again. They won battles for two key blue-chippers in ESPN 150 safety Vonn Bell and four-star receiver James Clark, while also keeping ESPN 150 running back Ezekiel Elliott in the fold after he took a late visit to Missouri.
“It was a very eventful day,” Meyer said. “We went to bed last night with three guys very on edge. I thought, ‘If we hit one out of three, it would be all right. Two out of three would be a good day. Three out of three is going to be, knock it out of the park.'”
It turned into another home run day for the Buckeyes, who currently rank No. 3 nationally in ESPN.com’s class rankings Insider (and No. 1 in Scout.com’s rankings). How good was it? Here’s what assistant coach Kerry Coombs tweeted Wednesday afternoon.
“You know that Christmas when you got exactly everything you wanted plus a few extra special bonuses? That’s what today was! #bestclassever.”
Ohio State did lose previously committed receiver Taivon Jacobs to Maryland, but it was more than happy to trade him for Clark. Landing Bell, a Georgian who was hotly pursued by Tennessee and Alabama, was the sweetest victory. Meyer called it a “street fight.” In making his announcement on ESPN, Bell said Meyer was on a mission to beat Alabama and win national championships.
Meyer didn’t take the bait when later asked about gunning for ‘Bama, saying Michigan would always be Ohio State’s rival. But he did acknowledge that there’s “a little bit of a chase gong on with the SEC. … We want to increase the speed on our team little bit.”
The Buckeyes definitely did that, while Meyer once again proved he’s one of the great closers in college football.
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