Ohio State recruiting: Weekend visitor primer

It's that time of year. With the spring game creeping up on the Ohio State Buckeyes, you know what that means. Football is right around the corner.

While most OSU fans are counting down the days until they have the chance to once again watch Ezekiel Elliott, Joey Bosa, and the rest of the returning national champions take the field again, a large group of talented prospects will get the opportunity to do just that this weekend.

No stranger to having top recruits on campus for visits, Urban Meyer and the rest of the Ohio State coaching staff will once again host quite a few signees, verbal commits, and a number of potential future Buckeyes on Saturday for their spring practice.

The following prospects are reportedly scheduled to be in Columbus today. (Subject to change):

Future Buckeyes:

Top Prospects:

Storylines:

Not only will the Buckeyes have a solid list of in-state talent at practice, but also a number of out of state recruits will have the chance to see what OSU has to offer on Saturday.

With members of the 2015 and 2016 classes on hand, the OSU coaching staff won't be the only ones preaching the Buckeye gospel to the uncommitted prospects. Justin Hilliard, Alex Stump, Kierre Hawkins, and others will be in the ears of many top targets and OSU leans today.

Expect the coaches, and commits, to go hard after Ohio standouts DeMario McCall, Luke Farrell, two recruits high on the Buckeyes wish list, as well as help plant the seed with national standouts Tristen Wallace out of Texas. They'll also be courting a large group of New Jersey prospects heading to Columbus, including arguably the top recruit in the 2016 class, defensive tackle Rashan Gary.

The 2016 recruits might dominate the group of prospects visiting, but the 2017 class isn't anything to sleep on. Even with two more years on the high school level, and plenty of time left in the process, don't be surprised to see OSU jump up the short lists and become legit contenders for the underclassmen on hand.

Offer watch:

In-state recruits Jack Wohlabaugh, Tony Butler, and 2017 wide out Kadarrian Nixon are just three of the players who might walk away with offers from the national champs this weekend.

Wohlabaugh, the son of a former NFL lineman, has the genes, and understanding of the game alike, to become a very solid player on the college level. Fresh off receiving an offer from Michigan, the Buckeyes could join the party and try to keep the Stow native in Ohio.

The St. Edward standout Butler had been watching his stock sky rocket before deciding to commit to Pittsburgh last weekend. Like Wohlabaugh, Tony has already visited the OSU campus in the past, and is building a relationship with the staff. With the Buckeyes wanting to close the border around the state, and the staff looking to bring in a few defensive backs, Butler could finally get his chance to roll with the Bucks.

A small but shifty play maker, Nixon is making the trip to Columbus with his quarterback Tristen Wallace. Playing for DeSoto High, the same school that produced current Buckeye Dontre Wilson, OSU could offer Nixon to help solidify a pipeline to the Texas power.

Commitment watch:

Every time the Buckeyes get a large list of recruits together the chance of OSU getting a commitment is high. Today is no different.

While there is certainly a chance of a surprise commitment taking place, a more realistic option to keep an eye out on is North Ridgeville speedster DeMario McCall. Thought as a lock by many to join the Buckeyes class of 2016 since he received his offer from the staff nearly a year ago, DeMario's latest trip to Columbus could end up being the one that finally seals the deal for Ohio State.