Ohio State's 2016 National Signing Day Wish List

Ohio State had the No. 1 recruiting class heading into the new year, but over the weekend, Les Miles and LSU took control with a pair of 4-star commitments. 

But if things go Urban Meyer's way on national signing day, the Buckeyes could easily reclaim the top spot and win the recruiting title for the 2016 cycle.

Ohio State's 18-member class is headlined by a pair of 5-star defensive ends in Nick Bosa, the younger brother of superstar Joey Bosa, and Jonathon Cooper, a rising recruit who's ceiling keeps getting higher.

The Buckeyes have filled needs and added depth, but with a handful of scholarships remaining and the mass exodus of talent heading to the NFL, there's plenty of opportunity and a lot of holes to fill in the two-deep roster for 2016.

With national signing day looming, here's what Meyer is wishing for to close out the recruiting year.

An Elite Defensive Tackle

Credit: 247Sports

Ohio State has missed badly on its top defensive tackle prospects over the last few recruiting cycles.

It started in 2014, when the Buckeyes missed out on Tim Settle, a 4-star standout who chose to play for Frank Beamer and Virginia Tech over Urban Meyer. A year later, the Buckeyes came up empty again, failing to land Terry Beckner Jr., Christian Wilkins or Neville Gallimore.

The inability to land a top-flight defensive tackle has created a legitimate depth issue for Ohio State heading into 2016. The Buckeyes lost Michael Bennett a season ago and will have to replace Adolphus Washington and Tommy Schutt next year.

That'd be a lot easier if they landed a blue-chip recruit on national signing day.

Ohio State hasn't had much luck so far as it was spurned by its top target—4-star Antwuan Jackson—who committed to Auburn in December. But the Buckeyes are still going hard after two of the premier interior linemen in the country in 5-stars Rashan Gary and Rashard Lawrence.

The chances of landing either, though, are incredibly slim. Both have an interest in Ohio State, but 247Sports only gives the Buckeyes a 2 percent chance of landing Gary (the No. 1 overall recruit), while Lawrence is a unanimous pick to land at LSU. 

Of course, it's never safe to write off Ohio State with Meyer at the helm, but the Buckeyes would need a lot of magic to land one of these standouts.

Another Elite Wide Receiver

Credit: 247Sports

The Buckeyes need help at wide receiver.

They struggled on the perimeter this year without the services of Devin Smith, who evolved into the best deep threat in college football during the 2014 season. Next year, it's possible that the Buckeyes will need to replace their entire starting wide receiver corps with the graduation of Braxton Miller and the potential departures of Michael Thomas and Jalin Marshall. 

That's why this year's recruiting class needs to be stocked with wide receivers. 

Ohio State already has commitments from Austin Mack, a 4-star prospect and the 10th-ranked receiver, and Demario McCall, a 4-star all-purpose back who will play the H-Back role. But Meyer is still looking for more help, and he's targeting a host of 4-star recruits in Nate Craig-Myers, Sam Bruce, Binjimen Victor and Donnie Corley.

Craig-Myers, who's heavily predicted to stay in the south with Florida, Florida State and Auburn leading the way, and Bruce, a current Miami commit, will be very tough for the Buckeyes to sway. But Victor and Corley are a different story.

Victor is a tall, rangy receiver who can go up and make tough catches. He's favored to land with the in-state Florida Gators, but the Buckeyes have a 27 percent chance of landing him, according to 247Sports. Corley, a Wyandotte, Michigan, product, is expected to announce his verbal pledge to Mark Dantonio and Michigan State, but the Buckeyes have surged in his recruitment down the stretch. 

According to David Goricki of the Detroit News, Corley intends to announce his decision this Saturday at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl before enrolling early to take part in spring practice. If the Buckeyes can sign him and get him involved in time for spring camp, he could make an immediate impact in 2016. 

Dwayne Haskins

Credit: 247Sports

Ohio State had too many quarterbacks in 2015, but with Cardale Jones moving on, J.T. Barrett is the only signal-caller on the roster with significant experience.

The Buckeyes have Stephen Collier as a backup, plus a promising redshirt freshman in Joe Burrow, but Meyer is still looking to add a quarterback to this year's class. They thought they had their guy in Tristen Wallace, a 4-star dual-threat out of DeSoto, Texas, but he spurned the Buckeyes in December and committed to Oregon. 

That's when Urban Meyer turned his attention back to Dwayne Haskins, a 4-star pro-style quarterback who's committed to Maryland. The Buckeyes recruited him hard before he pledged to the Terrapins, but once he committed, things cooled down.

His recruitment picked back up when former Maryland coach Randy Edsall was fired and Wallace deflected, and Haskins reciprocated that interest. He was on campus for an unofficial visit last month, and the trip went very well, according to Jeremy Birmingham of Eleven Warriors. 

The Buckeyes need to land Haskins, because at this point, there aren't many fallback options behind him. 

Beat Michigan Again

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Urban Meyer relishes every opportunity he gets to beat Michigan, even when it comes to recruiting.

Moments after signing the nation's No. 7 recruiting class in 2015—and the Big Ten's best class for the fourth consecutive year—Meyer was asked about beating the Wolverines on the recruiting trail.

"We do keep score against the rival in everything we do," Meyer said, according to Ari Wasserman of the Plain Dealer. "Absolutely you keep score on that one."

The Buckeyes, whose 2016 class currently ranks second in the nation, are three spots ahead of the Wolverines with a month to go until national signing day. But Jim Harbaugh has Michigan surging with the recent commitments of 4-star running back Kareem Walker (a former Ohio State pledge) and 4-star inside linebacker Devin Bush. 

Michigan still has some ground to cover, but they could make that up quickly if (and when) they land a commitment from Rashan Gary, the 5-star defensive tackle and the No. 1 overall prospect in the 2016 class. 

If Ohio State wants to follow up its big win over Michigan on the field with another one on the recruiting trail, Meyer will need to finish strong on national signing day.

All recruiting information via 247Sports.com.

David Regimbal is the Ohio State football lead writer for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter @davidreg412.