COLUMBUS: Under coach Urban Meyer, the Ohio State football program has become more of a farm team for the NFL than ever before.
This year, a Football Bowl Subdivision-high six players left early for the April 27-29 draft.
Last year, nine underclassmen departed as OSU fell one shy of LSU’s record of 10 in 2013.
Three-and-out now seems virtually automatic. With the Buckeyes’ most recent wave, “one and done” might be more appropriate, with that term morphing from basketball to football as Malik Hooker and Marshon Lattimore declared after just one season as starters.
The past two years have brought surprise departures, like H-back Jalin Marshall after the 2015 season and receiver Noah Brown after the 2016 campaign.
Although Meyer continues to lure the best talent with a resume that includes three national championships, the continuing exodus makes National Signing Day, which OSU used to introduce a class of 21 Wednesday, even more important. The pressure to hit on the majority of the class has increased.
With five five-star signees and 14 four-stars, Ohio State ranked second nationally in the 247 composite, a compilation of recruiting services. It marked OSU’s highest ranking since 2006. But because Ohio State is losing underclassmen to the draft at a record pace, the recruiting pressure is rising to find those who can play right away.
“I guess we are now of the mindset that will happen, prepare for it to happen,” Meyer said. “Recruit guys that are ready-made as much as you can.”
But Meyer said there’s also a lot of pressure on assistant athletic director for sports performance Mickey Marotti to get them ready.
“We start spring practice in a month. Get them ready. They’re all going to be playing. I say that every year,” Meyer said. “And people say, ‘Well, you redshirt some guys.’ I don’t want to redshirt anyone. I hope we do not.”
Mark Pantoni, OSU director of player personnel, said he always has “a pair and a spare” ready in case of a worst-case scenario leading up to signing day, especially when there always seems to be an unexpected early draft entrant or two.
“Every year, we expect guys to be on that track to leave early, and so there’s some pressure to make sure when you lose a Darron Lee, you’d better bring in someone just as good or the team is not as good,” Pantoni said of the linebacker taken 20th overall by the New York Jets last spring. “You always have to try to equate the talent that you lose with what you bring in.”
But Pantoni said the flight to the NFL has changed nothing the last two years.
“Since day one, we always wanted to recruit guys that are not only great kids who want to do great things after football, but who want to play in the NFL,” he said.
There’s no doubt their professional futures were on the minds of OSU recruits. That was made clear as eight of Ohio State’s nine early enrollees spoke Wednesday morning.
Seemingly every other sentence uttered by dual-threat quarterback Tate Martell of Las Vegas included a reference to the next level, not the one on which he’s embarking.
“This is not where I want to stop. I want to play in the NFL,” Martell said.
Asked if he was considering his NFL future when signing with Ohio State, five-star safety Isaiah Pryor of IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., said, “It’s DBU [Defensive Back University], honestly. That went into the decision a lot, too.”
Five-star cornerback Jeffrey Okudah of Grand Prairie, Texas, has taken note of what could be a shorter time in Columbus, so he immediately sought advice from veterans.
“At Ohio State, you don’t see guys stay four years — they stay three years and leave,” Okudah said.
That doesn’t apply in all cases. The 2016 roster includes five graduated seniors, including receiver Corey Smith and punter Cameron Johnston.
Some might not believe the three-and-done trend is new since OSU has been a pipeline to the pros for decades. It set the NFL Draft record with 14 selections in 2004. Its 12 in 2016 led the nation, and was the fifth time it had at least 10 selected, a streak that began with 13 in 1971 and 1975.
But the Buckeyes’ record 2004 draft class included only one underclassman, cornerback Chris Gamble. Last year, four of nine underclassmen were taken in the draft’s top 20.
That doesn’t diminish the excitement of signing with an OSU program that excels at developing talent.
“The first day I came here, seeing all the people working hard, it’s magical,” Pryor said.
But as the pressure ramps up and three-and-out or one-and-done become more and more common, Meyer and Pantoni realize that magic can be fleeting.
Marla Ridenour can be reached at mridenour@thebeaconjournal.com. Read her blog at www.ohio.com/marla.