Why Urban Meyer Should Worry Alabama Offered Ohio State Commit Marcelys Jones

Urban Meyer doesn't have much to worry about on the recruiting trail. He's one of the best of the best, and his name carries a ton of weight with recruits.

That said, if there's one coach in the country that is on Meyer's level, it would be Nick Saban of the Alabama Crimson Tide—and he's definitely a coach Saban needs to keep an eye on, especially if Alabama is coming after an Ohio State commitment.

According to Bill Greene of Scout.com, 4-star offensive guard recruit and Ohio State commitment Marcelys Jones has picked up an offer from Saban and the Crimson Tide:

The Cleveland Glenville offensive tackle has continued to add offers, and the 6-foot-4, 325-pound, lineman received a big one Wednesday.

"This is a big offer for me and I was surprised to get it, to be honest," Jones stated. "My principal came and got me out of class this morning and told me Alabama was on the phone. I spoke to one of their assistant coaches for a while and he said they were offering me a scholarship, along with (teammates) Marshon Lattimore and Erick Smith."

"I'm supposed to speak to Nick Saban later today," he added. "They said they liked my film and said I would fit in with the players they recruit. They said I could help them a lot if I would go down there to play. I told them I'm still committed to Ohio State, but they said they didn't really care about that at all. They said they go after who they want and don't pay attention to who's committed. This offer doesn't really change things for me at all, and I'm still committed to Ohio State."

Normally, I would give Meyer the best chance of retaining or closing the deal with a recruit. After all, he is known as a better closer than Mariano Rivera when it comes to being able to finish strong on the recruiting trail and come away with the best possible results.

All of the same (and some would argue more) can be said about Saban though, and at this point Alabama's draw on the recruiting trail shouldn't have to be explained. Alabama is the golden standard right now in college football.

If there's a program that can be the "next" Alabama, it would be this Ohio State program led by Meyer, but the fact of the matter is that the Buckeyes are still chasing that status. Alabama has already achieved it...

The Crimson Tide went out and put together the best overall 2013 recruiting class according to the 247Sports Composite rankings (Ohio State was No. 2), and they'll be the early favorite to do it again in 2014—especially if Alabama can put together another dominant, national championship contending season.

If Saban is making a push for Jones, that's an advance that needs to be taken very seriously by Meyer and his staff. Jones is committed, but we all know the fragile nature of verbal commitments, and the status of that could change very quickly.

Ohio State does have the home-state advantage with Jones, though, and he was the first commitment to its 2014 class, so the Buckeyes can still feel confident about his status. It's very much so worth noting though that Saban has taken notice of the 6'5'', 325 pound offensive guard recruit.

That's something that should worry Ohio State, and there's no shame in that considering Saban and Alabama's reputation.