It was an action-packed first day of the Early Signing Period for Ohio State, as the Buckeyes were able to hold onto a pair of priority five-star targets in wide receiver Jeremiah Smith and defensive end Eddrick Houston, but lost out on four-star wide receiver Jeremiah McClellan, who flipped to Oregon.
Amid all the ups and downs, however, Ohio State still came out of the day’s proceedings with the fourth-ranked class in the nation, according to 247Sports, trailing only Miami (Fla.), Alabama and Georgia. The Buckeyes had a team score of 288.81 and were passed by the Hurricanes with 289.44, while Alabama (300.75) and Georgia (315.22) led the pack.
Ohio State was also ahead of several high-level programs, including No. 5 Texas (287.27) and No. 6 Oregon (285.80) despite tying the fewest commitments (20) among the top 15 schools in the rankings. The Buckeyes did, however, finish second in average player rating with .9292, trailing only the Bulldogs with .9358, and had the most composite five-star commitments with five.
The Buckeyes were the highest-ranked team in the Big Ten, with No. 14 Penn State (265.46) and No. 15 Michigan (261.14) the next closest in the conference. No. 19 Nebraska (247.15), which flipped five-star quarterback Dylan Raiola, and No. 22 Wisconsin (235.98) were the only other Big Ten teams in the top 25.
