COLUMBUS, Ohio - By 10:45 a.m. Wednesday morning it was already official: 18 student-athletes had signed and faxed in their National Letters of Intent (NLI) to attend The Ohio State University. One more NLI in the afternoon followed and this group of 19 joins the six student-athletes who were already enrolled and attending classes at Ohio State to give head coach Urban Meyer a 2012 class of recruits totaling 25 in number.
"Everything went smooth today," Meyer said. "I love to recruit and I love to recruit great players."
The class of recruits succeeds, on paper, at filling some needs on the depth charts and features five linebackers, five offensive linemen, four defensive linemen and four defensive backs. The class also includes three receivers, two running backs, a quarterback and a tight end.
Meyer said the defensive linemen who signed were a real strength of this class and the key development. All four of the defensive linemen are among the Top 100 players in the nation, with Noah Spence, a 6-4, 245-pounder from Harrisburg, Pa., and Adolphus Washington, a 6-5, 245-pounder from Cincinnati, each considered among the Top 5 defensive ends in the nation. Tommy Schutt, who goes 6-3, 300 and is from Glen Ellyn, Ill, is Top 5 defensive tackle. And Se'Von Pittman, a 6-5, 245-pounder from Canton, Ohio, is in the Top 25 for all defensive linemen. Three of the four are considered five-star prospects with the fourth rated as a four-star.
"The defensive line is the strength of this class and the prize of this recruiting class," Meyer said. "But with that said, I am really pleased with the entire group as a whole. We filled some needs with some quality players, and I think overall we have a very solid class.
"We want to make the great state of Ohio proud with everything we do, and I think this class of new Ohio State Buckeyes is certainly going to do that."
The 2012 recruiting class includes 16 student-athletes from the state of Ohio, including as many as five of the Top 10 players in the state according to most rating services. Additionally, the recruits come from eight other states: California, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Florida, Massachusetts, North Carolina and Pennsylvania.
2012 Recruiting Class
| Name | Pos. | Hgt. | Wgt. | Hometown/High School |
| Warren Ball | RB | 6-2 | 205 | Columbus, Ohio/St. Francis DeSales |
| Devan Bogard | DB | 6-0 | 175 | Cleveland, Ohio/Glenville |
| Jacoby Boren* | OL | 6-2 | 275 | Pickerington, Ohio/Central |
| Taylor Decker | OL | 6-8 | 315 | Vandalia, Ohio/Butler |
| Kyle Dodson | OL | 6-6 | 310 | Cleveland, Ohio/Cleveland Heights |
| Bri'onte Dunn* | RB | 6-2 | 220 | Canton, Ohio/GlenOak |
| Pat Elflein | OL | 6-3 | 285 | Pickerington, Ohio/North |
| Frank Epitropoulos | WR | 6-3 | 197 | Upper Arlington, Ohio/Upper Arlington |
| Cardale Jones* | QB | 6-5 | 220 | Cleveland, Ohio/Glendale & Fork Union Mil. Acad. |
| Jamal Marcus | LB | 6-2 | 235 | Durham, N.C./Hillside |
| Najee Murray | DB | 5-11 | 172 | Steubenville, Ohio/Steubenville |
| Joey O'Connor | OL | 6-4 | 295 | Windsor, Colo./Windsor |
| David Perkins | LB | 6-2 | 220 | South Bend, Ind./ South Bend Washington |
| Joshua Perry* | LB | 6-3 | 230 | Lewis Center, Ohio/Olentangy |
| Se'Von Pittman | DE | 6-5 | 245 | Canton, Ohio/McKinley |
| Tyvis Powell* | DB | 6-3 | 180 | Bedford, Ohio/Bedford |
| Armani Reeves | CB | 5-10 | 185 | West Roxbury, Mass./Catholic Memorial |
| Luke Roberts | LB | 6-2 | 225 | Lancaster, Ohio/Lancaster |
| Tommy Schutt | DT | 6-3 | 300 | Glen Ellyn, Ill./Glenbard |
| Ricquan Southward | WR | 6-2 | 190 | Lakeland, Fla./Lakeland |
| Noah Spence | DE | 6-4 | 245 | Harrisburg, Pa./Bishop McDevitt |
| Blake Thomas | TE | 6-4 | 245 | Cleveland, Ohio/St. Ignatius |
| Michael Thomas* | WR | 6-4 | 205 | Los Angeles, Calif./Woodland Hills Taft & FUMA |
| Adolphus Washington | DE | 6-5 | 245 | Cincinnati, Ohio/Taft |
| Camren Williams | LB | 6-2 | 215 | West Roxbury, Mass./Catholic Memorial |
*Enrolled at Ohio State in January 2012
