By Kyle Meinke (annarbor.com) --Remember when Brady Hoke was last summer's recruiting darling? That is fading into a distant memory, thanks to the Big Ten's newest coach. Urban Meyer was hired at Ohio State three weeks ago, and began his tenure with such a recruiting flurry that the Buckeyes' class shot up to No. 5 in the nation this week, according to Scout. Texas remains No. 1 overall and Michigan is holding steady at No. 2 on the strength of Hoke's hot summer, which ... Read More

From: ESPN.com -- CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- North Carolina interim coach Everett Withers is heading to Ohio State to become Urban Meyer's co-defensive coordinator and assistant head coach. ESPN's Joe Schad reported on Dec. 14 that Ohio State would be hiring Withers, who confirmed his move Wednesday. "We've known each other for a couple years," Withers said of Meyer. "A few years ago we talked when the Florida defensive coordinator job came open. So we've got a little bit of a ... Read More

From: FridayNightOhio.com -- When Urban Meyer came, saw and convinced last week, he stopped short of guaranteeing two future Buckeyes of there being no postseason bowl ban in 2012. Meyer probably was just as surprised as were GlenOak’s Bri’onte Dunn and McKinley’s Se’Von Pittman of the additional NCAA sanctions leveled on the Buckeyes. The two Stark County high school football stars both verbally committed to Meyer last week. Dunn’s commitment was a reaffirmation. Pittman flipped from Michigan State to Ohio State. They were just ... Read More

By: Eric Bowman (BleacherReport.com) -- The Ohio State Buckeyes may have had a down season, but the hire of Urban Meyer is already proving to be a fantastic move. His skills in recruiting will allow the Buckeyes to stay relevant during these hard times, but Meyer still has work to do in landing some big name recruits. Meyer has already stolen recruits that were verbally committed to other schools, and this past weekend he landed Noah Spence, arguably the best defensive ... Read More

By John Kampf (News-Herald.com) -- COLUMBUS — Urban Meyer is keeping it simple. "The formula for success is real easy," said Meyer on Tuesday, while meeting with a small group of Ohio State football beat writers. "You go recruit really good players who are tough, compete and have character. Then you go surround them with the best coaches in college football. That's the formula."It's the execution of the formula that is difficult." A few weeks into the job, Meyer ... Read More

By Brian Bennett (ESPN.com) -- New Ohio State coach Urban Meyer met with a small group of reporters today in Columbus. Some highlights from what Meyer had to say: Meyer said current assistant coaches Stan Drayton and Taver Johnson will remain on the staff, along with Luke Fickell. He hasn't yet decided on linebackers coach Mike Vrabel. Meyer said he would announce his full staff on Jan. 3, one day after the TaxSlayer.com Gator Bowl. Meyer said he didn't understand ... Read More

By Jared Shanker (ESPN.com) -- For the last several months, Noah Spence's plan was to make an announcement at the Under Armour All-America Game. And up until three weeks ago, Ohio State wasn't going to be one of the hats on the table. On Sunday, during an official visit to Ohio State, though, Spence, a five-star defensive end ranked No. 4 overall nationally, committed to the Buckeyes -- the program's third ESPNU 150 commit in just a week. "It just felt ... Read More

By: Stephen Spiewak (MaxPreps.com) -- Urban Meyer attended last night's Pennsylvania Class AAA state final last night with an eye on Bishop McDevitt (Harrisburg, Pa.) defensive end Noah Spence, according to MaxPreps correspondent Joseph Santoloquito. Meyer's visit was on the eve of Spence's visit to Columbus. Spence is currently visiting Ohio State with Meyer as his tour guide, according to Santoloquito. Another recruit that caught Meyer's eye on Friday was Archbishop Wood's (Warminster, Pa.) Desmon Peoples, verbally committed to Rutgers. Meyer ... Read More

By: Randy Chambers (BleacherReport.com) -- With the regular season coming to a close and bowl games only left to play, these next few months will be focused on recruiting. Where will some of the top players in the country end up and which teams will fill their needs with future stars? The Ohio State University already has one of the most talented teams in the country ... Read More

BY MATT MARKEY (ToledoBlade.com) -- COLUMBUS — When Urban Meyer raised his arms and flexed for a moment in front of the cameras at the news conference announcing he would be the head football coach at Ohio State, he was playfully reacting to a tsunami of emails and letters he had received urging him to take the job. Meyer’s Mr. Universe pose was done in jest, but he might as well have been sending a message to the ... Read More