Ohio State is on a roll heading into the early signing period

The early signing period begins in a week for college football. This is a new thing being introduced, and it’s cranked up the intensity on the recruiting trail. As offers are still flying around, some recruits are making their verbal commitments now—with the plan to sign later. According to Bud Elliott, SB Nation’s recruiting guru, some coaches expect to have most of their recruiting class signed in the early signing period.

With Dec. 20 being the first day of the early pen-to-paper period for recruits, Urban Meyer and the Ohio State Buckeyes got some good news on Tuesday night when four-star wide receiver Kamryn Babb and four-star defensive tackle Tommy Togiai verbally committed to the Buckeye program.

By having two more high-caliber recruits in the fold, what does this mean for OSU?

It’s a runaway

The gap between the Buckeyes, who have the No. 1 recruiting class right now according to a couple recruiting websites, and the No. 2 team is now even larger.

Marc Givler of Rivals.com broke it down in a tweet after the duo signed.

According to Rivals.com, both the Bucks and Miami Hurricanes, who are the No. 2 program, have 21 recruits in the class committed. However, OSU has the slight edge in five-star recruits (3 to 2) and four-star recruits (15 to 14). Using the point totals that Rivals.com has come up with, OSU has a commanding lead over The U, 3061-2587.

Taking a look at 247sports, the Texas Longhorns are the No. 2 team behind Ohio State—but the margins are a little bit closer. This recruiting site has the Buckeyes on top by a score of 308.31-283.97.

Columbus is the city

There’s a few big factors that are helping draw the recruits in. First, it appears that Columbus is a stop on the way to the NFL. Whether you are on offense or defense, or play at cornerback or third-string quarterback, you can find a way into the professional football circuit. No doubt that’s been a positive recruiting point for the staff to lure in the best high school talent.

Couple that with the constant success on the gridiron, and now you have not only the ability to improve one’s draft stock, but you can be a part of a winning program rich in tradition. Fresh off another Big Ten Championship, the Buckeyes proved that they are kings of the conference. (Something Alabama can’t say.)

While it may not be the top priority if the NFL is seen as the destination, but the academics at Ohio State help them stand out. In the News & World rankings of best colleges, OSU showed up in a tie for 54th. They are in the same ballpark as Illinois, Wisconsin and Penn State, but between the four, only Ohio State has been the consistent power in both the classroom and on the field.

Those three factors are just some of the reasons for why Meyer has been able to bring in the best talent from the high school circuit. And we aren’t even mentioning the coaching staff’s ability to recruit. For example: Larry Johnson is one of the better defensive line recruiters in the nation. It’s the perfect storm for a recruit; Ohio State has the ability to make one shine on the field, and if they stick around, they can get a degree from a prestigious university.

Don’t expect Meyer and company to cool off on the recruiting trail. The coaching staff makes it a mission to “plant flags” in all parts of the country. On Tuesday night, their work showed.

And then an offer

On top of the two commits, Ohio State sent out an offer, too. This time around it belonged to another four-star recruit in Cam’Ron Kelly. Kelly, a native of Chesapeake, VA, is a cornerback and plays for Oscar Smith High School.

He made it known on Twitter late Tuesday that he got an offer from the Scarlet and Gray.

According to 247sports, Kelly is a class of 2019 prospect and is graded as the 154th best prospect in the class. At the CB position, he is seen as the 11th best; in the state of Virginia, the recruiting outlet has him as the third best.

Already, he has 36 offers—and some of them come from pretty elite schools. Three of the teams in the College Football Playoff (Clemson, Georgia and Alabama) have made him an offer. It’s still early in his recruitment, but he’s garnered attention from some of the best programs in the country.