Sam Hubbard, Moeller H.S.

“It was such an early process,” Hubbard said. “I made my decision in January of my sophomore year and that’s not really giving much thought to football. I hadn’t heard from many schools.

Hubbard, who will be on Ohio State’s campus Friday, has seen his recruitment explode in the last few weeks.  On the list of now interested football schools includes:  Boston College, Illinois, Louisville, Miami (Fla.), Miami (Ohio), Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio, Ohio State, Stanford and Duke.

Sam will be on campus this weekend for his first unofficial visit to Ohio State. “Ohio State has mentioned the opportunity to set up a meeting with the lacrosse coach, but I’ll probably just play football and see how my grades are doing from that point,” Hubbard said. “My mom hasn’t been on an [unofficial] visit to yet. The last time I went it was just me and my dad.

“My sister is a senior at Ohio State. She’ll tag along, too. I’ll be sitting down with Coach [Urban] Meyer and watching practice. I’m meeting with the president of the university, which will be cool, and getting to know everything better. It’s real exciting. I have a lot of people interested in me. I’m weighing all options.”

Playing free safety last season, Hubbard registered 75 tackles — seven for loss — forced two fumbles, intercepted two passes and also had a fumble recovery.

April 21, 2012; Columbus, OH, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Urban Meyer greets offensive lineman Taylor Decker (68) before the spring game at Ohio Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Greg Bartram-US PRESSWIRE

The Ohio State Buckeyes have done their absolute best to hang on to head coach Urban Meyer in the face of past NCAA violations, and throwing a ridiculous amount of money at him seems to have done the trick.

According The Plain Dealer, Meyer and the University came to terms on a six-year/$26.64 million contract—roughly $4.44 million per year—should he stay through the full duration of his tenure.

The Buckeyes, because of violations against NCAA regulations before Meyer took over, are banned from playing in a bowl game this season. As a result, this gaudy, new contract contains a paid opt-out of $1.5 million per remaining contract year should the Buckeyes receive more violations for issues that occurred before Meyer took over.

But no, folks. It doesn’t end there.

Coach Urban Meyer will also receive a $250,000 signing bonus and yearly raises that must be approved by Ohio State’s Board of Trustees. In addition to those raises, there are “three retention bonuses, in 2014, 2016 and 2018, for a total of 2.4 million.

But Wait! There’s More! (insert cheesy, salesperson voice here)

Meyer also has monetary incentives for on-the-field goals as well, including a $50,000 bonus for winning the Big Ten Leaders Division, a $100,000 bonus for winning the Big Ten Championship Game (which adds an optional, extra year to his contract if he accepts), a $150,000 bonus for going to a BCS bowl (because of those damn violations, Meyer can achieve his bonus by getting OSU ranked between No. 3 and No. 10 in AP standings), and finally; a $250,000 bonus for reaching the grandest stage of them all, the BCS National Championship Game.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen.

That bonus, too, can be achieved if AP standings rank Ohio State at No. 1 or No. 2.

I just know Jim Tressel (former OSU coach) is vomiting at the sight of that contract.

Regardless, we’ll see just how much those incentives push coach Meyer to push the Buckeyes for success. Once football season veers around, we’ll all see just how much he really wants it.