Ohio State looking for Vonn Bell 2.0?

For Urban Meyer and the rest of the Ohio State football coaching staff, there seems to be a limitless amount of aspects that are currently selling the program for itself to the country’s top recruits each and every year. An outstanding problem to have nonetheless, the Buckeyes sometimes don’t always have just one key selling point. However, yesterday, Ohio State hosted its annual Pro Day that saw 13 Buckeyes participate. With nine NFL head coaches including Super Bowl master Bill Belichick in attendance looking at the former Buckeye stars, it’s not hard to see why the top talent in the country is flocking to Columbus to suit up for the Scarlet and Gray. With another load of what is sure to be first round NFL Draft picks, Urban Meyer and his staff have created an NFL factory at Ohio State.

Vonn Bell 2.0?

When the Buckeyes were recruiting the safety position in 2013, Urban Meyer made it his priority to personally recruit star prospect Vonn Bell. Fast forward to National Signing Day 2013 and Bell shocked the world when he gave his pledge and signature to the Buckeyes with a NSD TV announcement. The top ranked recruit in the Ohio State 2013 class went on to not only win a national championship with the Buckeyes, but also became a second round draft pick by the New Orleans Saints — and started in his first year in the NFL. Needless to say, things worked out very well with his decision to come to Ohio State.

Now, in the 2018 class, Urban Meyer and his staff are looking in the same general region for the next safety to bolster the Buckeyes Silver Bullet secondary. With a tremendous haul of defensive backs in 2017, one may think that 2018 may not be a do-or-die year for defensive back recruiting. However, with the amount of talent Kerry Coombs and Greg Schiano are sending to the NFL with early exiting Buckeyes, every year is crucial for development.

Yesterday, Brendon Harris was the latest prospect to receive the coveted Ohio State offer when he announced via his Twitter that the Buckeyes are now in the mix of his recruitment. The 6-foot-1, 205-pound Chattanooga, Tenn. prospect is currently listed as a very high four-star, according to the 247sports rankings. Also, Harris checks in as the tenth best safety in the country and the fourth best prospect at any position in the talent-rich state of Tennessee for the 2018 class.

As things sit currently, Harris has 18 offers to his name. With schools such as Auburn, Clemson, Florida, LSU, Tennessee and many more, it’s easy to see why the Buckeyes liked what they saw. A down hill hitter with speed, Harris has the ball skills to defend the pass, but also the size needed to be a true run stopper at the next level.

Tennessee may be the favorite right now, as they hold the edge on the 247sports crystal ball predictions, but Urban Meyer and his staff have been down this road before in the Tennessee/Georgia corner and if he has his way, that road will be paved in Scarlet and Gray for the second time.

Johnson makes the long trip

Ohio State has an incredible success rate in the quarterback realm of their recruiting process. Landing their top prospect in literally every class, Urban Meyer and newly named position coach Ryan Day are loving their wealth of riches in their quarterback room.

Yesterday, 2019 QB target Michael Johnson Jr. (Eugene, OR / Sheldon) made it to campus to start his two day visit to Columbus and see what the Buckeye football program has to offer. Johnson, a 6-foot-3, 185-pound prospect is currently thought to be the top of the class for 2019 dual-threat signal callers. Fortunately, Ohio State has started the relationship very early which is exactly what you would want in the recruiting process.

Currently, Michael holds nine offers from schools such as Michigan, Oregon, Cal, Florida State and Louisville. While the Buckeyes have not yet extended an offer towards Johnson, this visit certainly could change that. The early leaders in this one are Oregon and Michigan, but never count out Ohio State for quarterbacks.