Ohio State recruiting: State Secrets, 5/2 - Meet Kyle Allen

Wednesday marked one of the busiest Ohio State recruiting days on record. Urban Meyer and his Ohio State coaching staff were planting flags across the country, issuing out offers aplenty, and checking in on the high-profile prospects they want to continue developing a rapport with in an effort to outclass their consensus top 5 national recruiting class from last offseason.

The biggest news begins with Ohio State finally offering a second quarterback. Over 10 months in the making, after Tom Herman worked him out Tuesday, the Buckeyes decided they'd seen all they needed to and dished out an offer to '14 247Composite rankings 4-star QB Kyle Allen. Kyle is the 65th best player in the class of 2014 per the Composite ratings, the 6th best pro-style quarterback in the class, and the second best player in the state of Arizona. But the phrase "pro-style quarterback" is where things get interesting.

Allen isn't your typical Ohio State quarterback – at least not in the Meyer era. While the talking points they've been telling him ($) seem to fall in line with the early predictions that they'd tell players like that they were looking for more of an Alex Smith type, it's worth pointing out that Smith ran closer to a 4.6-4.7 40-yard dash. Allen is listed at 4.9 (and that might even be generous).

It's not that Allen is a liability in the pocket; he appears to have *enough* mobility to where he wouldn't necessarily be the next John Brantley. And there's no denying he can sling it; good-to-very good arm, solid release, and accuracy for days. There's no doubt given what we saw with Matt Barkley going to Chip Kelly's Eagles over the weekend that great offensive minds can tailor their offenses to the personnel that they have. But when someone's drawing comparisons favorably to Wes Lunt or maybe even to keep things more B1G, Dan Persa, is that really the guy you see running the Urban Meyer/Tom Herman offense at a place like Ohio State?

Perhaps this is just the first in a series of moves that could lead to more "in the mold" 4-star QB Brandon Harris finally getting the coveted offer. Though such a move would be risky, as Urban Meyer's made it clear he doesn't revoke offers. If Allen decided Ohio State was the best place for him (and judging from above, he's quite high on the Buckeyes) and calls their "bluff", as it were, they'd have to figure out how to best tailor their attack around his particular skill set.

Do you think Allen can be the natural successor to Braxton Miller? Judge for yourself below:

The Buckeyes had plenty of other offers go out on Wednesday as well. 2015 DE D'Andre Walker got the invitation to play his college ball in Columbus. It's too early for the likes of the Composite Rankings to have a feel for where he stands amongst his classmates (guys like that have appeared at a few camps and made an impact with coaches and the like, but they haven't been as comprehensively evaluated by the analysts as of yet). Walker is 6-2.5, 210 pounds, with tons of room to grow into a college weak-side DE. USC, Florida, Texas, Alabama, and just about everyone else of note have already offered him as well.

OSU's coaches were extra efficient going for the old two-for-one at East St. Louis High Wednesday. 2015 teammates DE Terry Beckner Jr. and RB Natereace Strong were both offered by the Bucks. The former is a 6-4, 260 (!) pound strong-side DE with offers from Michigan (where he's already taken an unofficial visit), Michigan State, Illinois, Indiana, and Kansas, while Strong is 6-2, 185 with OSU representing his first major offer. Check out Strong in action below: