Ohio State Football Recruiting: Which Freshmen Should Play Immediately in 2012?

Welcome to national signing day, everyone—the day where college football optimism springs eternal.

For Ohio State fans, this day seemed like an uneventful day because of the poor state of Buckeye recruiting for most of 2011.

Everything changed when Urban Meyer started pillaging other teams' recruits and creating an elite recruiting class in just over two months.

But which of these players have the ability to jump into immediate playing time?

Some people might say to redshirt almost all of the freshmen because of the bowl ban, with the 2012 season being meaningless to an extent. The team really has nothing to play for except learning Meyer's offensive system.

Meyer's thought process could very well be very different than that because his philosophy is to put the best players on the field regardless of seniority and experience.

With that said, there are plenty of players that could get some playing time.

One of those players that should see the field almost immediately is DB Armani Reeves. The speedster from Massachusetts had some success as a punt returner and could be a big-time playmaker in the return game, along with senior RB Jordan Hall.

Ohio State has not had a dynamic returner since the days of Ted Ginn, Jr. several years ago, and Reeves could give the Buckeyes that dimension.

On offense, WR Michael Thomas is another guy that could fit in very quickly on the offense.

The Buckeyes have plenty of smaller, faster receivers in Corey Brown, Devin Smith and Verlon Reed in the fold. Thomas, however, is a taller target that will provide more of a safety valve for Braxton Miller in the passing attack, something he didn't have last year.

He has the ability to snag passes from the air with his 6'4" frame and can be a great red-zone threat along with Jake Stoneburner.

DEs Noah Spence and Adolphus Washington also could see time on the field depending on the type of rotation Meyer, Luke Fickell and Everett Withers want to use on the defensive line.

Each of those two recruits were dominant in their respective high school All-American games and have the ability to take over games with their athleticism.

But if you're looking for a sleeper that could see some playing time, keep an eye on guard Joey O'Connor.

O'Connor has a great motor and is a physical blocker at the point of attack. With the lack of depth on the offensive line, O'Connor is a guy that could slide into one of the guard spots and be strong from day one.

The guard spot is one of the spots that requires little adjustment in comparison to others when moving to the college level, and O'Connor has the frame to step in immediately and help create some depth on the offensive line.

We will have to wait until fall camp in August to see which freshmen impress the coaches enough to earn playing time, whether it be just one or several new players.

But from this crop of freshmen, the idea of seeing several freshmen on the field for the Buckeyes this season is very likely.

Follow me on Twitter @bielik_tim for the latest college football news and updates, including analysis from national signing day and remaining recruiting targets.