National Signing Day 2011: Can Jim Tressel Finally Close with Big-Time Recruits?

The only stigma and criticism fired at Jim Tressel outside of his conservative nature is his inability to "close" in recruiting over the past several seasons.

Never was this more evident than in 2010, when Ohio State missed out on big-time prospects LaMarcus Joyner, Sharrif Floyd and Seantrel Henderson, all of whom had Ohio State at least No. 2 just before their late commitments.

This season, things might be changing.

Whether it is because kids want to be a part of this 2011 class, which is starting to rival the highly-touted Brew Crew in 2008 and Scout.com's No. 1 class in 2009 or a testament to coaching stability in Columbus, this strong class is starting to close in a strong way.

It started when Plantation (Fl.) OLB Ryan Shazier made an official visit to Ohio State after Will Muschamp took over as the head coach at Florida.

All of a sudden, Shazier de-committed from Florida, and the next day not only committed to OSU, but enrolled early, along with his high school teammate Jeremy Cash and the highlight of the 2011 class, Wayne H.S. QB Braxton Miller.

Then, although it came as little surprise to anyone, Akron SVSM DB Doran Grant announced his commitment to Ohio State at the Under Armour All-American Game. What makes that significant is that Ohio State very often strikes out at those types of announcements, dating back several seasons.

Now with the commitment of underrated LB Ejuan Price from outside Pittsburgh, Ohio State stands to make a few more big-time steals.

One other steal from the Sunshine State could come with another Florida recruit, WR JaJuan Story, who just finished an official visit that he apparently enjoyed tremendously.

This one could come down to the end between OSU and Florida, although Story said he likes snow, and he has the talent to challenge for playing time immediately. The battle depends on who OSU hires to replace Darrell Hazell as WR coach, whether it be UF's Stan Drayton, Rutgers' P.J. Fleck or another outside candidate.

Another big out-of-state name linked to OSU is Maryland's Darius Jennings, who is quite simply an explosive playmaker. The race is down to OSU, Wake Forest and Virginia for this gamebreaking athlete, with OSU being the only school that is recruiting him as a DB.

Jennings has the ability to play on either side of the ball, with the type of athleticism a player like WR Corey Brown showcased for the Buckeyes as a true freshman last season. We haven't heard much from Jennings lately, though it is likely he could stay close to home, as his top three choices definitely reflect a want to go to a great academic school.

But the big fish still in the pond for Ohio State is none other than LB Curtis Grant from Richmond, VA.

Already being hailed as the next Ray Lewis by some in the scouting department, Grant was blown away by his official visit to Ohio State just before the Sugar Bowl. He said that Coach Tressel and him have similar personalities and that Columbus is a country-type of town, which ironically, some people would never consider to be a country town.

Grant speaks very highly of OSU, but still has an official visit with North Carolina left and reportedly wasn't as blown away by a visit to Florida as he was with OSU. Also, don't count out the home-state Virginia Cavaliers, which is the wild card in the Grant sweepstakes and reportedly has found its way into his top two.

Either way, Grant seems like the perfect Tressel person and would be the icing on the cake for a spectacular 2011 class. We will have to wait until February 2 to find out what Grant decides to do, but expect OSU to be in it until the end, and maybe, just maybe, they finally reel in the big fish.

And even if they can't get either of the three, of whom they most likely will get at least one, this class as it stands is clearly one of the best in the country.

This article is featured on The BCS Blitz. Don't forget to follow me on Twitter @bielik_tim as I provide updates and information leading up to National Signing Day on February 2.