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Ohio State Recruiting: 4 Star Recruits Push 2018 Class to No. 5

By Charlie Lockhart

Oct 24, 2015; Piscataway, NJ, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Urban Meyer prior to the game against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at High Points Solutions Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim O'Connor-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 24, 2015; Piscataway, NJ, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Urban Meyer prior to the game against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at High Points Solutions Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim O'Connor-USA TODAY Sports /
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In Urban Meyer’s 2018 Ohio State recruiting class, the hits just keep on coming.

Urban Meyer received commitments from offensive tackle Max Wray and safety Josh Proctor over the weekend. Adding two more Top 100 players boosted the 2018 Ohio State recruiting class to No. 5 in the 247Sports Composite rankings. 

Not only do the 4 star athletes keep the overall player average at a record-setting pace, they are key recruits because of the positions they play. Let’s begin by looking at the safety from Owasco, OK.

At 6-2, 190 pounds, Josh Proctor is the ideal size for a defensive back as far as Urban Meyer is concerned. He is also ranked as the No. 7 safety in the country and the 87th best player overall.

Even though Jeffrey Okudah is expected to move over from corner at some point, Isaiah Pryor was the only true safety in the 2017 Ohio State class. I’m sure Urban will be looking for at least two or three safeties in the ’18 class, so Proctor committing this early is a great addition.

Now a look at the big offensive tackle:

Max Wray is listed at 6-6.5, 289 pounds and is from Franklin, TN. He is ranked as the 4th best tackle and the No. 57 player overall.

While watching clips of Wray, certain things jumped out at me. He is long, athletic and a road grading tackle. But more importantly is the fact he achieved his high-ranking as a right tackle, which is fairly unusual. That could be very important as Urban Meyer has had issues with left tackles not transitioning well to the right side of the line.

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Coach Meyer has loaded his offensive line with highly ranked tackles who protected the blind side in high school. But only one of them has made the move to right tackle and performed well in his first year as a starter for Ohio State.

Taylor Decker backed up Reid Fragel (converted tight end) at right tackle his freshman year, and then had a fine season starting as a sophomore. After Decker moved to left tackle, he was replaced by Darryl Baldwin who was then followed by Chase Farris the following season. Both Baldwin and Farris were converted defensive linemen.

Everyone is aware of the struggles Isaiah Prince had last year at right tackle, and he was a highly ranked player coming out of high school. Evidently the transition from one side of the line to the other is quite a challenge, even if you are big and talented. The fact that Wray is already used to playing right tackle could allow him to be effective earlier than most linemen.

Next: Will Urban Land These Outstanding Cornerbacks?

Well, the Urban Meyer recruiting train just keeps rolling. With these two outstanding commits, the 2018 Ohio State recruiting class is on pace to break the overall player average that was set in the ’17 class. If Urban keeps getting commitments from Top 100 players, that record may be history by February 2018.

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