Denzel Ward to Ohio State: What it means

Urban Meyer and company added their third commitment in the 2015 class in as many days earlier in the form of Nordonia (OH) athlete/cornerback Denzel Ward, who committed on the spot after receiving an offer at Ohio State's one day camp.

The best asset of Ward's game is his blazing speed, which he showed off at the camp earlier today. He has been clocked at 4.31 in the 40-yard dash before and clocked a 4.40 in the 40 in the smokehouse at the conclusion of today's camp, which was good enough for second place. Westerville South's Abu Daramy finished first.

Ward was definitely one of the more impressive players at the camp today and I do think he was worth offering, but there are some things he needs to work on before reaching the college level. In high school and at today's camp, he was able to use his blazing speed to make up for mistakes he makes in coverage. When he reaches the college level he isn't going to be able to use speed to make up for everything.

I think the main thing he needs to improve is basic fundamentals needed to be successful at the cornerback position, which is nothing that cannot be achieved with hard work. He'll also have the opportunity to work with some of the nation's best coaches when he arrives on the college scene, which should only speed up his level of progression and path towards playing time. He's an early redshirt candidate, but we won't have a final ruling on that for about a year.

If cornerback doesn't work out for Ward for whatever reason, there's a chance he could move to offense as he could also fit in as a slot receiver. However, the Buckeyes already have quite a few slot receivers on their roster, so defense is definitely the preferred position for him to play.

Ward does't come across as somebody who's going to be a major recruiter for the "Elite '15", but the Buckeyes already have a couple of guys who are playing a major role in that field. They're also favored to land a guy who will be a major recruiter for whichever school he ends up choosing later this month (Justin Hilliard) so I think they're good in that area right now.

Finally when it comes to cornerback recruiting, the Buckeyes aren't in good position for any other guys in the 2015 class, so there's a good chance they take Ward and Jamel Dean, then call it a day at the position. Obviously they would take one of the elite corners if they wanted to commitment, but that doesn't seem very likely as things currently stands.

I don't think the Buckeyes are done this month as Justin Hilliard plans on announcing before June is over and the Buckeyes are my pick to land him right now. Then there are a couple of more commitment candidates depending on how things play out over the next couple of weeks.