Ohio State Football: 2017 recruiting class as good as advertised

There are always Ohio State football players who excel as freshmen or sophomores but you have to judge a recruiting class after three years.

On every Ohio State football team there are players who make an impact early on. But it has always been said it takes three years to judge an entire recruiting class. That being the case, the No. 2 ranked 2017 class is living up to expectations.

Let’s look at the players still wearing Scarlet and Gray beginning with those who will be playing on Sundays and one who was drafted last year.

Chase Young:  Possibly the best player in college football last season and the No. 2 pick in the NFL draft.

Jeff Okudah:  Top corner in college football and the No. 3 pick in the draft.

J.K. Dobbins:  Three straight 1,000 yard rushing seasons and 2,003 his junior year, and a second round pick.

Kendall Sheffield was a member of the 2017 class as a JUCO transfer and was chosen by Atlanta in the fourth round of the 2019 draft.

Now for players still on the roster. I’ll begin with the slobs, and it’s a great trio.

Thayer Munford has been a two-year starter at left tackle. Wyatt Davis proved last year why he was the No. 1 guard in the 2017 recruiting class and Josh Myers looks like he will be the next great Ohio State center.

On the other side of the ball, defensive linemen Haskell Garrett and Jerron Cage made strides last season and will be key players. Behind them are two excellent linebackers from their class.

Outside linebacker Pete Werner has started for two seasons and performed well. It appears as though former five-star recruit Baron Browning has settled in on the other edge with Malik Harrison graduating. Expect great seasons out of these two linebackers.

Now for the defensive backs.

Shaun Wade was the No. 2 corner in the 2017 class, only Okudah was ranked higher, and he has played well all over the defensive backfield. Now he will be moving to the edge full-time so expect him to be the next Ohio State corner drafted in the first round.

Former four-star corner Marcus Williamson has performed well in limited action but now should be a starter either on the edge or covering slot receivers. He may surprise people who haven’t followed his progress.

Kicker Blake Haubeil has simply been outstanding so far. Wide receivers Jaylen Marshall and Ellijah Gardiner are tall, athletic receivers who have yet to make their mark. With three receivers graduating the two have a chance to see playing time next season.

A look at the 2017 Ohio State recruiting class proves it was worthy of the No. 2 national ranking. With the number of impact players coming back for their fourth season I would have to think that would make opponents a little nervous.