The 3 Recruits That Will Make or Break Ohio State's National Signing Day
Ohio State's recruiting hit fifth gear on Monday when Urban Meyer secured verbal pledges from a trio of 4-star prospects—wide receiver Binjimen Victor, quarterback Dwayne Haskins and linebacker Keandre Jones—for the 2016 recruiting class.
The barrage of commitments skyrocketed the Buckeyes past Michigan and LSU to recapture the No. 1 recruiting class, but with a few scholarships left to offer, Meyer is trying to tighten his grip on the top spot.
While it would be next to impossible to break Ohio State's recruiting class at this point, commitments from these three recruits would keep the Buckeyes on top of the mountain.
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Speaking of mountains...
Rashard Lawrence is Ohio State's top remaining target, and a commitment from the star defensive tackle would be a huge win for the coaching staff.
The Buckeyes have swung and missed on almost all of their big-time defensive tackle prospects in recent years—namely Terry Beckner Jr., Christian Wilkins and Neville Gallimore—and it's been more of the same this year after missing out on Antwuan Jackson and losing pace in the race for 5-star Rashan Gary.
Lawrence is Ohio State's last hope of signing a top-flight defensive tackle, and he'll be making his decision between Ohio State and LSU sooner rather than later.
The Buckeyes do have 4-star tackle Malik Barrow in the fold, but they'd love to pair him with a superstar such as Lawrence.
Jordan Fuller is a defensive back that Ohio State has recruited hard during the 2016 recruiting cycle, and with national signing day approaching, Meyer is hoping all that hard work will pay off.
The Buckeyes have had to work harder, though, because Jim Harbaugh and Michigan have been pushing for his commitment.
The Wolverines have dominated New Jersey recruiting with commitments from 4-stars Kareem Walker (a running back and former Ohio State commit), Ahmir Mitchell (safety), Brad Hawkins (wide receiver) and Ron Johnson (defensive end). They're also in the lead for Gary, the 5-star defensive tackle and No. 1 prospect overall. If the Wolverines can land him, they'd have five of the top eight prospects from the Garden State.
Harbaugh landing Fuller would completely lock Ohio State out of New Jersey for the class of '16, and that's not a defeat Meyer wants to suffer. That's why Fuller's recruitment is so important for Ohio State, and it'll be pressing hard until national signing day.
Fortunately for the Buckeyes, 247Sports' Crystal Ball gives them a 69 percent chance of landing the star cornerback.
Ohio State lost three of its four starters in the secondary with the early NFL deflections of safeties Vonn Bell and Tyvis Powell and cornerback Eli Apple, so Meyer and the coaching staff are really trying to load up on defensive backs.
Damar Hamlin, a 4-star cornerback and the No. 149 prospect overall for the class of 2016, has been one of Ohio State's top targets for the entire recruiting cycle. He has offers from almost every top school in the country, including Auburn, Clemson, Michigan and Oklahoma, but it's rounding into a three-horse race between the Buckeyes and home-state schools Penn State and Pitt.
The standout from Pittsburgh was on campus for a visit last weekend, and he told Brian Dohn of Scout that Ohio State was the gold standard at the moment.
"It was a really good visit," Hamlin said, via Dohn."It set the bar. Some of the things I saw were the good relationships between the players and the coaches. All the players had good stuff to say about the coaches. The coaches were real genuine and they were all talking like they wanted me."
The Buckeyes still have some work to do, though, because 247Sports' Crystal Ball is projecting Penn State as a slight favorite over Ohio State and Pitt.
Unless otherwise noted, all recruiting information via 247Sports.
David Regimbal is the Ohio State football lead writer for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter @davidreg412.
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