When the Ohio State Buckeyes finished the 2012 regular season with a perfect 12-0 record last November, they all but assured themselves a spot in the preseason top five in 2013.
When Ohio State lost just one underclassmen (Johnathan Hankins) to the NFL draft a month later, returning stars like Bradley Roby and Carlos Hyde, college football experts around the country felt comfortable bumping the Buckeyes up to a top-three selection for the upcoming season.
When Urban Meyer went on a recruiting tear in February and signed the country’s No. 2 recruiting class (via 247Sports.com), many figured Alabama would be the only team ranked ahead of the Buckeyes going into the 2013 season.
Now, after a spring game that featured a greatly improved passer in Braxton Miller and a pair of defensive ends in Noah Spence and Adolphus Washington who combined for seven sacks, have the Buckeyes made their case to be the 2013 preseason No. 1?
Mark Schlabach of ESPN.com thinks so.
In Schlabach’s latest…
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