Landing McMillan, Dixon Could Be Start of Huge Recruiting Finish for Ohio State

Since losing to Michigan State in the Big Ten title game, Urban Meyer and the Ohio State Buckeyes have done nothing but win off the field.

In a 27-hour span, Ohio State landed commitments from two of its top remaining targets in 5-star linebacker Raekwon McMillan and 4-star wide receiver Johnnie Dixon. Those two pledges could spark a huge recruiting finish for the Buckeyes.

Of course, that wouldn't be new for Ohio State with Meyer at the helm.

When Meyer was hired in November of 2011, his recruiting surge lifted a spiraling program coming off its first losing season since 1988. The Buckeyes secured commitments from 10 prospects between December of 2011 and signing day two months later, two of which were rated 5-star recruits with the other eight ranked as 4-stars.

A year later, after guiding the Buckeyes to a perfect 12-0 season, Meyer earned commitments from eight highly ranked recruits (seven 4-stars and one 5-star) in the two months leading up to signing day.

Needless to say, this is the time of year when Meyer thrives.

McMillan and Dixon's commitments pushed Ohio State's 2014 recruiting class to 19 members, which includes three 5-star and 13 4-star prospects. Dixon's pledge solidified the Buckeyes at No. 2 in 247 Sports' class rankings, but a number of top recruits are still high on Ohio State.

With departing seniors and early departures for the NFL, the Buckeyes have room for four or five more prospects in this year's class.

Meyer is making a late surge for two 5-star defensive backs in Tony Brown and John "JuJu" Smith. Brown, a 6'0", 188-pound cornerback out of Beaumont, Texas, is considered a heavy LSU lean, but Meyer has been recruiting him hard. Smith is a standout safety from Long Beach, Calif., but many expect him to sign with the home-state USC Trojans.

Solomon Thomas, a 5-star defensive end out of Coppell, Texas, is another prospect Meyer is trying to land. Thomas has offers from schools such as Alabama, Clemson, LSU, Notre Dame, Oklahoma and Oregon, but Stanford has a lot of momentum. He will visit Ohio State on January 31, so Meyer will have a chance to make a great impression right before signing day.

Two prospects very high on Ohio State's radar—Marshon Lattimore and Erick Smith—hail from Cleveland Glenville High School, which is the Buckeyes' biggest in-state pipeline. Ohio State has been favored to land both 4-star defensive backs for much of the recruiting process.

Meyer is also looking to add to his already-impressive offensive line haul. The Buckeyes have secured commitments from 4-star tackles Jamarco Jones and Kyle Trout and 4-star guards Demetrius Knox and Marcelys Jones, but Meyer is still working to land Frank Ragnow and/or Alex Bookser.

With that list of targets, it's clear that Meyer and the Buckeyes are aiming high to close out their 2014 recruiting class. Judging from recent history, though, that shouldn't surprise anyone. 

All recruit rankings via 247sports.com.

David Regimbal is the Ohio State Football Lead Writer for Bleacher Report.
Follow him on Twitter @davidreg412.