Ohio State Football Recruiting: Rapid Turnaround by Urban Meyer Raises Eyebrows

The fans of Ohio State football are head over heels with their new head coach, but how long will the honeymoon last?

Right now Urban Meyer and his staff are cleaning up in the recruiting department. From being ranked outside of the top 20 to currently holding the No. 8 position in ESPN’s latest rankings, Meyer has been unbelievable.

After a 6-6 season and the news OSU would receive a one-year postseason ban, it looked to be an uphill battle for Meyer. Yet he pulled off a miracle by convincing three players in ESPU’s 150 to commit to Columbus, landing DE Noah Spence (No. 4), DE Se’Von Pittman (No. 98) and DT Tommy Schutt (No. 108). In other words…the defensive line is going to be deadly in a few years.

Last week alone he landed three more recruits in the top 221. He’s on fire. How is it possible? He didn’t start the recruiting game until the very end. He hasn’t even coached a game at the Shoe yet.

Color me, and plenty of others, skeptical. He has been known to recruit players already committed to a different program; he has recruited player’s girlfriends in other sports to ensure the boyfriend plays for him. How can you not be suspicious when Taylor Decker, formally a verbal commitment to Notre Dame, changed his mind as soon as to Irish assistants joined Meyer’s staff?

Hmmmm.

Now I’m not saying Meyer is shadier than any other coach in this cutthroat business, but it’s no accident that he is cleaning up in recruiting despite facing numerous hurdles that are incredibly tough to jump over. He is defying the odds and it makes you wonder what lengths he is going to.

This isn’t the first time Meyer's moral fiber has been questioned. A bevy of respected journalists were more than a little skeptical when Meyer’s health suddenly got better just as the Ohio State gig opened up.

In a world of grey areas that are uneasy to define, clearly Meyer doesn’t mind stretching his limits. It’s proved to be extremely effective in winning two championships at Florida, and I’m sure it will bring in similar results at Ohio State.

Just remember there are more than a few media members and coaches with a strong sense of skepticism when hearing about all of the success Meyer is having on the recruiting trail. It seems as if there is an Urban Meyer that you see on TV who is a great coach, and an Urban Meyer behind the scenes who is scheming and willing to practice questionable recruiting habits to get the best players.

Yet in the end, as long as he isn’t committing any violations that could get the school in trouble, recruit on, Urban.