Ohio State Football: A Preview of a Loaded 2011 Recruiting Class

Heading into the final weeks of the regular season, it's still never too early to look ahead to the future.

And for Ohio State, the future means one talented recruiting class that might give the Brew Crew of 2008 and 2009's No. 1 class on Scout.com a run for their money.

Jim Tressel has been known as a very good recruiter during his tenure, but the past few seasons he has taken his pulling abilities to another level.

OSU's group is currently No. 2 on Scout.com, only behind Texas' class which features seven five-star prospects.

Here's a look at who is in this future group of Buckeyes and who is still left on the table.

QB: Braxton Miller

Of the 18 current commits, none will have as much of an impact on the team's future as Huber Heights Wayne superstar QB Braxton Miller.

Miller started from his freshman season and has been the starter ever since, displaying a style which is a hybrid of Troy Smith and Terrelle Pryor.

His senior season has been quite a crazy tale, starting with a high ankle sprain at the start of the season and continuing as his team, a No. 8 seed in the Cincinnati region of the Ohio Division 1 playoffs, has gone to the state quarterfinals with consecutive upsets including a double-overtime thriller over rival Centerville.

Miller will graduate early and enroll at Ohio State in January to participate in winter workouts and spring practices with the team.

Getting him in a college weight room and having him learn behind Pryor and this coaching staff early will do wonders for his development into a very talented QB.

WR: Devin Smith and Evan Spencer; TE Jeff Heuerman and Nick Vannett

Despite the strength of the receivers Ohio State recruited in 2010's class, that did not deter either Spencer or Smith, both four-star products, to come onboard.

Both receivers present a very similar skill set, at about 6'1" with good speed and the ability to turn short passes into big plays.

This recent trend has been consistent through the receivers recently brought to Ohio State, headlined by freshman Corey "Philly" Brow,n who has contributed greatly in his first collegiate season.

It's unlikely that either of these players will see the field right away, but they should both be solid contributors down the road in the receiving corps.

The Buckeyes have also landed two very good tight end prospects in home-grown talent Nick Vannett and Florida prospect Jeff Heuerman.

For a team that has not very often used the TE in the passing game, these two players may be able to change that stigma as they have good receiving skills to go along with their blocking ability.

OL: Tommy Brown, Antonio Underwood, Chris Carter, Brian Bobek

One of the biggest positional needs for this class is on the offensive line, especially after not being able to land many in 2010's class.

But in 2011, OSU has addressed this need by landing four more guys on the line—all very physical specimens.

The biggest targets they went for were interior linemen, which they found in big men Antonio Underwood and Chris Carter.

They also landed tackle Tommy Brown, who will probably be a future right tackle with his road-grading ability.

But their biggest acquisition on the line comes in the middle with the No. 1 center in the country, Illinois' Brian Bobek.

This pickup is especially huge considering the void that Mike Brewster will leave whenever his time at OSU is done.

DL: Steve Miller, Kenny Hayes, Chase Farris, Michael Bennett, Joel Hale

Considering how good the Ohio State defensive line has been the past few seasons, it has been important for Tressel and his staff to land another strong defensive line corps.

But for this group, this is where the largest amount of studs reside.

The highlight of this group is on the edge, where Ohio State landed two major weapons in the athletic Steve Miller and the powerful Kenny Hayes.

Having these two potential stars on the edge might one day help Ohio State fans get over the graduation of Cameron Heyward.

But the major boost in this class is the talent in the middle of the front four.

They have three major forces on the interior in Ohio products Michael Bennett and Chase Farris, along with Indiana's Joel Hale.

It's unclear how many of those three will pan out and if any will become a star player, but each of those three certainly have dominant capabilities.

LB: Conner Crowell; DB: Ron Tanner, DerJuan Gambrell, Jeremy Cash

Linebacker recruiting at Ohio State has been surprisingly tough in the past few seasons, with home-grown products Jordan Hicks and Trey DePriest leaving Ohio for Texas and Alabama respectively.

But this year, the Buckeyes were able to secure an out-of-state prospect in Maryland's Conner Crowell. Unfortunately for Crowell, he suffered a major ankle injury that may force him to redshirt if that wasn't already the coaches' plan.

The good news for Ohio State is the strong defensive back class they have brought in, including Florida S Jeremy Cash.

Cash has been essential for this class because he has been the type of player which has helped Tressel reel in several other big players.

They have also brought in two home-grown talents in Toledo DB DerJuan Gambrell and Columbus S Ron Tanner.

With these players, it will help ease the blow of losing DBs Chimdi Chekwa, Devon Torrence and Jermale Hines who all graduate after this season.

Who Is Still Left on the Table?

The Buckeyes still have room in their class for about four or five more players, and they are still in on multiple five-star players.

They do appear to be the clear favorite for DB Doran Grant, who is arguably one of the best secondary players in the country. He may make his announcement during the Army All-American Bowl where it looks like it will come down to OSU and Michigan State, where his father used to play.

While LB Anthony Wallace from Dallas looks like a reach, the Buckeyes suddenly look in the running, albeit with a lot of ground to make up, for LB Curtis Grant and all-world DE Jadeveon Clowney.

Both players contacted OSU about their interest and should be making official visits to Columbus after the season.

And when it comes to OSU, when they get a player in for a visit, anything can happen, considering Tressel's success rate when it comes to official visits.

Grant appears more likely than Clowney although he does not yet have an offer.

And although these could both be teases, it's never a bad thing to be in on top players year after year because eventually you start to land your share of these studs.

Come February 2, 2011, whoever else jumps on OSU's strong recruiting class will be a huge part of one of the best classes in recent memory.

This article is featured on The BCS Blitz. Don't forget to follow me on Twitter @bielik_tim.