By: Doug Lesmerises (Cleveland Plain Dealer) — WEST CHESTER, Ohio — As soon as he decided to become a Buckeye, Christian Bryant went to work. On Tuesday, the Glenville defensive back gave his oral commitment to Ohio State and started calling Cincinnati-area linebacker Jordan Hicks, the next major in-state recruit he wanted to see join him in Columbus.

Bryant said Hicks never called him back. As anticipated, Hicks announced at a news conference at West Chester Lakota West High School on Friday that he will sign with Texas on National Signing Day on Wednesday.

“It was just in my heart. That’s where I felt most comfortable,” said Hicks, who moved to Ohio in the sixth grade and didn’t have Buckeye culture ingrained in him. “Ohio State is an Ohio school. I’m not from Ohio. I really don’t have that connection there from growing up liking them.”

It was the latest in a line of missed high-profile connections for the Buckeyes this recruiting season. So far, Ohio State has commitments from only two of the top 10 players in Ohio according to Rivals.com and three of the top 10 according to Scout.com, after signing at least six of the top 10 Ohio players in three of the previous four years.

“I don’t know why you’d want to leave Ohio when we’re going to compete for the national championship every year,” Bryant said.

Part of that is circumstance, with several major recruits from the less Buckeye-friendly area of Cincinnati, and part by choice, with some highly rated Ohio players not receiving OSU offers during a good but not great year for in-state talent.

But in Ohio and elsewhere, the Buckeyes have been on the wrong end of some tough decisions. A year ago, their class included six players ranked among Rivals top 100. So far this year, they have two of the top 100 players according to Rivals, with Cincinnati offensive lineman Andrew Norwell at No. 59 and Indiana running back Roderick Smith at No. 65.

But they received official visits from and lost out on five top 30 players, three of them in the past month:

No. 4 Shariff Floyd, a Philadelphia defensive tackle, chose Florida.

No. 14 Lamarcus Joyner, a Florida defensive back, chose Florida State.

No. 15 Latwan Anderson, a Glenville defensive back, chose West Virginia [though he may not be completely out of the picture for Ohio State].

No. 16 Hicks chose Texas.

No. 28 Joshua Shaw, a California defensive back, chose Florida.

“It’s not what we usually see under Jim Tressel,” Rivals national recruiting analyst Jeremy Crabtree said. “But that’s what happens when you go after the best. Everyone wanted those kids.”

Still, Crabtree likes the Buckeyes’ group, and Ohio State’s current class of 18 oral commitments is ranked 16th by Rivals based on the average ranking of each player, and No. 8 by Scout.

Tom Lemming, a CBS College Sports Network recruiting analyst, ranks Ohio State third in the Big Ten behind Penn State and Michigan. But that would change if the Buckeyes reel in their final major target, Minnesota offensive lineman Seantrel Henderson, Rivals No. 2 prospect who is ranked as the nation’s top recruit by Lemming.

Lemming and Crabtree think Ohio State is the leader to land Henderson, which matches a belief expressed by some close to Henderson that Tressel’s recruiting style and stability best suits what Henderson and his family are looking for.

Ohio State also remains in the running for Cincinnati offensive lineman Matt James, who is ranked No. 86 by Rivals.

Bryant said he has spoken with James and will continue to try Henderson until he reaches him.

“You’re seeing who you’re going to play with the next four years,” Bryant said after hearing Hicks wouldn’t be one of those teammates. “You don’t want to go to a school where the class isn’t up to par. If you go in like that, you won’t have anyone to play with for the next four years. Right now, it seems like our class is all right, but we’ve still got a couple guys to talk to.”

Hicks, won’t be one of them. His mother, Kelly Justice, knows Texas strength and conditioning coach Jeff “Mad Dog” Madden, a Cleveland native, from her college days at Colorado, and Hicks developed a tight bond with Texas defensive coordinator Will Muschamp. Justice remembers little things, like Muschamp asking Hicks to send him a photo from prom last spring. The connections were there.

Hicks’ final three schools were Texas, Ohio State and Florida, and Lakota West coach Larry Cox said with the uncertainty surrounding Florida coach Urban Meyer, he’s pretty certain the Buckeyes finished second in Hicks’ mind.

As an Ohioan, Cox said he would have liked to see Hicks stay in-state. But with a giant smile on his face as he placed a black Longhorns cap on his head, it was obvious Hicks had found where he belonged. And the Buckeyes, again, were close, but not close enough.

READ MORE GREAT ARTICLES ABOUT THE OHIO STATE BUCKEYES DIRECTLY FROM THE CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER BY CLICKING HERE.