By: Doug Lesmerises (Cleveland Plain Dealer) -

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The first player in Ohio State’s 2011 recruiting class, Toledo defensive end Kenny Hayes, gave his pledge to the Buckeyes 10 months ago and showed up at games in Columbus last fall with “OSU” shaved into the side of his head. He’s a Buckeye through-and-through, and his summer has been all about his Ohio State future.

He has been running in his backyard with an open parachute on his back to improve his speed. He has been swinging an axe into a log to work on his upper body strength. And he has been selling potential future teammates on the merits of Ohio State and watching the Buckeyes’ recruiting class snap into place, piece by piece.

A year ago, Ohio State had just nine pledges before the Fourth of July in a bumpy recruiting season defined by high-profile misses and 12 of the top 14 players in Ohio — the in-state players given a 4- or 5-star rating by Rivals.com — ending up somewhere other than at OSU.

With Friday’s oral commitment of Columbus safety Ron Tanner, Ohio State has 17 players in its Class of 2011, 12 from Ohio. Of the 13 Ohio players currently with 4-star ratings from Rivals, six are pledged to Ohio State and four others remain possibilities.

“I’m very surprised that we have 17 commitments so far,” said Hayes, who is considering adding another Buckeye hair message to his current mohawk for his senior season at Toledo Whitmer.

“I’m talking to guys because I want to go to Ohio State and win a national championship for Coach Tressel. I probably think that all the Ohio kids want to come to one school so we can all say we’re from Ohio and we won a national championship.”

While Hayes said he is surprised, he shouldn’t be. His rationale is the same one espoused by former Buckeyes, such as Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith, part of Jim Tressel’s first recruiting class in 2002 — why leave home?

After not signing highly rated players in the 2010 class — including Glenville defensive back Latwan Anderson (Miami), Dayton-area linebacker Jordan Hicks (Texas) and the late Matt James, the Cincinnati lineman who chose Notre Dame before he was killed in a spring break fall in April — the message is hitting home again in this class.

“There’s not very many reasons to say no,” said Centerville coach Ron Ullery, who saw his highly rated defensive tackle Michael Bennett pledge to the Buckeyes in May. “Whatever angle you look at, it’s a tremendous place to be. They don’t have to put on airs or figure out what a kid wants or a family wants. They can just be themselves and sell themselves.”

It really has looked easy.

• Hayes was a lifelong Ohio State fan and eager leader of the class.

• The Buckeyes’ typical stranglehold on Northeast Ohio has yielded six players, including Canton McKinley defensive end Steve Miller, Elyria defensive lineman Chase Farris and three big offensive linemen in John F. Kennedy’s Chris Carter, Shaker Heights’ Antonio Underwood and Firestone’s Tommy Brown.

• Ranked first or second in the nation at his position, Dayton-area quarterback Braxton Miller, the cousin of former OSU receiver Dee Miller, was laser-targeted by the Buckeyes as a sophomore.

• Bennett hails from the same high school that produced past Buckeyes A.J. Hawk, Mike Nugent, Kirk Herbstreit and Ullery’s son, Brent, a walk-on receiver.

When the Buckeyes are winning — and they are looking for a sixth straight Big Ten……

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