Ohio State Football: Grading the Buckeyes 2019 recruiting class

Urban Meyer is out, Ryan Day is in as head coach at Ohio State. How did Meyer’s (second) retirement affect the Buckeye’s 2019 recruiting class grade?

In terms of Ohio State football recruiting, this class is a major step back. For the first time since 2010, Ohio State will not finish atop the Big Ten in recruiting. The Buckeyes will also finish outside the top 10 nationally for the first time since 2010.

Despite a 13-1 record, the middle chunk of the season was an uphill battle for the Buckeyes, getting blown out by Purdue and then scraping by Nebraska and Maryland. The absence of All-American defensive end Nick Bosa was never more apparent than versus Maryland, when running back Anthony McFarland rushed for 300 yards (14.2 yards per carry) and the Buckeyes pulled out a thrilling overtime win. On the season, the struggles against the run were obvious, as they allowed over 158 yards per game (56th).

Bosa was lost for more than just the season, as the sophomore declared for the NFL Draft. To combat this, Ohio State signed five-star recruit Zach Harrison (Olentangy, OH). The 6’ 5”, 223-pound defensive end was also an All-State track star and played a fair bit of wide receiver, making him one of the most electric athletes in this class.

Ohio State also signed four-stars Cade Stover (Mansfield, OH), Tommy Eichenberg (Cleveland, OH), and Noah Potter (Mentor, OH), all of which play in the front seven.

For a team that has recently put a plethora of star defensive backs in the NFL (Marshon Lattimore, Malik Hooker, Von Bell, Denzel Ward, and Kurt Coleman), Ohio State struggled to defend the pass in 2018, allowing 245 yards per game (86th) and intercepted just 11 passes (T-59th). Four-star safety Ronnie Hickman (Wayne, NJ), looks to help solve that problem this coming season.

The final of the three-headed monster of issues faced by Ohio State this past season was the run game, which ranked 63rd in the country (171 yards per game). The Buckeyes are returning star running back J.K. Dobbins, and have signed three offensive linemen, including five-star offensive center Harry Miller (Buford, GA). Miller will look to replace Michael Jordan, who has declared for the draft.

Overall, the Buckeyes have seemed to help fix their defensive issues with this recruiting class, but di little to address the struggling run game. For losing one of the winningest coaches of all time to retirement, the class could have looked worse.

Grade: C