How Urban Meyer's Recruiting Philosophy Has Changed Since Florida

COLUMBUS, Ohio — A lot of coaches won't say it, but Urban Meyer will: Recruiting rankings matter.

"There is a correlation between how teams do where your team is ranked, recruiting class is ranked," the Ohio State head coach said on last year's national signing day. "So actually we do pay attention to that."

So it's not a coincidence that when each signing day rolls around, Meyer's class usually sits near the top. It's also not a coincidence that the three-time national champion head coach is one of the best in the history of his profession, boasting a .845 winning percentage—top among active Division-I head coaches.

But that doesn't mean that over time, Meyer's recruiting philosophy hasn't evolved.

While Meyer may get ultra competitive at the end of each recruiting cycle—and he admittedly does—he's found himself adapting to what his team needs, rather than just chasing 5-stars. That was made evident in the Buckeyes' 2015 class, which ranked seventh in the country but lacked in an abundance of star power.

"He’s looking for guys that fit a certain profile, and he’s going to build his team around those guys," ESPN analyst Jon Gruden said during a Thursday appearance on The Herd with Colin Cowherd. "That’s clearly what he’s doing.”

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Only that's not always the approach Meyer has taken.

As Gruden explained, Meyer initially found success at Florida with that philosophy, capturing two national championships with players who fit his schemes to a T. But as Meyer chased success in every way possible, he abandoned fit in favor of flare.

The Gators pulled in the nation's top-ranked class in 2010. A year later, after a disappointing 8-5 season, Meyer had left coaching.

“I think what happened at Florida, he won the national titles, and then he wanted to be the No. 1 recruiting coach in the league," Gruden theorized. "Probably signed some players that didn’t fit the Urban Meyer profile."

Through four recruiting cycles, that hasn't been the case in Columbus—although it's worth noting Meyer's first four classes at Ohio State have ranked fifth, second, third and seventh, respectively. Yes, Meyer is still attracting the top talent in the country to his campus, but he's doing it with more of a balance than even he did in Gainesville, as evidenced by the makeup of last season's team.

The stars of the Buckeyes' national championship squad were hardly similar, ranging from All-American defensive end Joey Bosa, to former 3-star prospect Darron Lee to championship game MVP running back Ezekiel Elliott, who Meyer plucked out of St. Louis—not a traditional piece of the OSU recruiting pipeline.

Even OSU's ever-changing quarterback carousel illustrated Meyer's ability to adapt, as the Buckeyes won big with both the highly touted J.T. Barrett and former afterthought Cardale Jones, who was recruited to Columbus before Meyer arrived.

“What he did at Ohio State, losing a Heisman Trophy candidate [Braxton Miller] and then doing what he did with two different quarterbacks that were backups. Amazing to me," Gruden said. “Greatest coaching job of all time."

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Despite his admitted preference to finish atop the recruiting rankings, Meyer insisted there's a balance he's always trying to strike. While he generally trusts recruiting services, he trusts himself more—perhaps even more so now than he did at Florida.

"It's not saying we take a kid who is a 5-star over a 3-star, if we believe in the 3-star. That's not it at all," Meyer said. "You've got to coach and develop them and get them here."

With the Buckeyes' 2016 class already shaping up to be one that could be the best in the country, Meyer will attempt to continue to get the best of both worlds—a talented crop of players who fit right in with both his scheme and culture. But make no mistake, he's still keeping tabs on the competition. And as always, he wants to be the best.

"I hear people say it's not important. I disagree," Meyer said. "As long as you're keeping score, we're going to try to win."

Ben Axelrod is Bleacher Report's Big Ten Lead Writer. You can follow him on Twitter @BenAxelrod. Unless noted otherwise, all quotes obtained firsthand. All statistics courtesy of cfbstats.com. Recruiting rankings courtesy of 247Sports.