Ohio State recruiting: State Secrets, 1/10

This weekend is shaping up to be another huge one for Urban Meyer and his Ohio State assistant coaches. Even with five high profile undecided prospects coming to OSU's Columbus campus, there's no bigger prize than 4-star Under Armour All-American, S Vonn Bell. While the Buckeyes have made some remarkable additions in the secondary in the 2013 class (Cameron Burrows, Eli Apple, Jayme Thompson, and probable two way player, Gareon Conley), Bell is still that one game changing strong safety they could use to really take a good future secondary and make it great.

Bell will have the entire family along with him, which means it won't just be Urban Meyer and co.'s duty to sell Bell, but most importantly, to get Mrs. Bell on board with her son spending the next 3-5 years in Columbus. While it was expected to be a seasonally warm, potentially overcast at worst weekend in Columbus, the weekend forecast for campus is now looking slightly less favorable, with a 70% chance of rain Friday, and showers the rest of the weekend. Of course, with temperatures in the 60's until late Sunday, the Bucks might be able to dodge some of the transplants from being too uncomfortable (of course even 50's & 60's are winter coat weather for southerners).

Another possible sell for the Buckeyes could be this revelation from senior-to-be running back Jordan Hall:

Rockin that #2 this year!

— Jordan Hall (@Jordan_Hall7) January 10, 2013

While of course college football allows for both offensive and defensive players to share the same number, with Travis Howard graduated, that could mean that Bell's #7 will be well accounted for in the stands. All it takes is one Photoshop showcasing what a #7-clad future crowd could potentially look like...

On the flip side of the ball, while it would've been interesting to see future Buckeye WR Jalin Marshall don his high school number, junior running back Rod Smith is instead apparently literally swapping with Hall and will wear #7.

Looking forward to the class of 2014, Urban Meyer and Luke Fickell continue to look towards a future with an SEC caliber talented/deep defensive line. The Buckeyes offered 4-star Southfield, MI DE Lawrence Marshall on Wednesday. You can now add Marshall to a laundry list of A-list prospects being feuded over between the Buckeyes and That Team Up North. Marshall's thought to favor the Wolverines at this juncture, but has to have at least some sense of what's up having been in attendance on an unofficial visit at the most iteration of The Game. Marshall's also expected to take an unofficial visit to Michigan State this coming weekend.

Staying in class, the Buckeyes continue to keep momentum strong with respect to staying on the radar of some of the most talented skill position players of the future. 2014 WR Thaddeus Snodgrass confirmed his top 5 yesterday and that includes Ohio State, Notre Dame, Penn State, Michigan State, and Nebraska. A mighty Big Ten/midwestern hue to it, no? The aristocratically named Snodgrass is a 4-star receiver from Springfield, Ohio. While the Buckeyes are thought to lead for his services, it'll be interesting to see if any of the rumors about Brian Kelly are anything more than a negotiating ploy to get a contract extension/raise.

You can also go ahead and add another name to Ohio State's junior day weekend February 10th. WR Demarre Kitt will be there:

2014 WR Demarre Kitt is visiting #OhioSt Feb. 10. es.pn/Tq30Qu RT @d_ocho Talking to coach Urban Meyer #buckeyes

— Kipp Adams (@KippLAdams) January 10, 2013

Joining him is expected to be QB DeShaun Watson, RB Nick Chubb, DL Demarre Kitt, DL Dante Sawyer, DB Nick Glass, and ATH Myles Autry.

Finally, closing things out, check out another 2014-er, LB Dante Booker from St. Vincent-St. Mary's newly minted highlight tape: