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Ohio State Football Recruiting: 5 must-have 2016 recruits for the Buckeyes

By Connor Muldowney

Jan 1, 2016; Glendale, AZ, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Urban Meyer looks on during the first half against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the 2016 Fiesta Bowl at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 1, 2016; Glendale, AZ, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Urban Meyer looks on during the first half against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the 2016 Fiesta Bowl at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jan 1, 2016; Glendale, AZ, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Urban Meyer looks on during the first half against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the 2016 Fiesta Bowl at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 1, 2016; Glendale, AZ, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Urban Meyer looks on during the first half against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the 2016 Fiesta Bowl at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports /

Take a look at the five must-have 2016 Ohio State football recruiting targets.

Ohio State football is exactly what the Big Ten feeds off of. The Buckeyes are the top team from the conference seemingly every year and Urban Meyer can be thanked for that. When the Buckeyes hired Meyer in 2012 after the whole Jim Tressel fiasco, prayers were answered by fans far and wide. The head coach would bring his national title-winning attitude to Columbus.

In 2012, Meyer’s Buckeyes went 12-0 — that was just one season after Luke Fickell led Ohio State to a 6-7 overall record. Ohio State was ineligible because of the violations from two seasons before, so the Buckeyes missed out on the Big Ten title game as well as a potential national title.

The next year, Ohio State got its eligibility back and put together another 12-0 regular season before facing off against Michigan State in the Big Ten Championship. The Spartans handed the Buckeyes their first loss in 24 games, but 2014 was much kinder to Meyer.

After losing to Virginia Tech in non-conference play to start 2014, the Buckeyes looked to be destined for a disappointing season, especially with Braxton Miller out for the year. However, they did not lose another game and freshman dual-threat JT Barrett, along with Cardale Jones’ help, led the Buckeyes to a national title.

Coming in as the consensus No. 1 team in the country in 2015, everyone believed Ohio State would just run away with the national title. However, a late-season loss at home to Michigan State  — again — effectively ended their long win streak of 23 games and dashed all hope for a national title.

With a dozen, or so, underclassmen leaving early for the NFL, Meyer needs to do some major recruiting to finish off his 2016 class in style.

Here are the five guys he must add to the class.

Next: 1. Mecole Hardman

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