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Ohio State Football: Top 5 rated Buckeye recruits

By Shayne Nissen

COLUMBUS, OH - OCTOBER 23: Terrelle Pryor #2 of the Ohio State Buckeyes calls signals against the Purdue Boilermakers at Ohio Stadium on October 23, 2010 in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images)
COLUMBUS, OH - OCTOBER 23: Terrelle Pryor #2 of the Ohio State Buckeyes calls signals against the Purdue Boilermakers at Ohio Stadium on October 23, 2010 in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images) /
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CHAMPAIGN, IL – NOVEMBER 16: Noah Spence #8 of the Ohio State Buckeyes rushes against Corey lewis #70 of the Illinois Fighting Illini at Memorial Stadium on November 16, 2013 in Champaign, Illinois. Ohio State defeated Illinois 60-35. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
CHAMPAIGN, IL – NOVEMBER 16: Noah Spence #8 of the Ohio State Buckeyes rushes against Corey lewis #70 of the Illinois Fighting Illini at Memorial Stadium on November 16, 2013 in Champaign, Illinois. Ohio State defeated Illinois 60-35. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /

Recruiting is the most important aspect of building an elite college football program. Ohio State football teams are aways loaded with talented players and here are the five highest ranked recruits to wear the Scarlet and Gray.

It takes a special type of program to win as many games as Ohio State football teams have over the years.  At this point, when it comes to recruiting talented players often it is accomplished by referring to the Buckeye name and their culture of championships. Ryan Day and his staff doesn’t rest on past success though and work hard on the recruiting trail.

The same went for Urban Meyer, Jim Tressel and all of the coaches before them. Landing the best of the best, the five-stars, is also a high priority and the Buckeyes have a lot of them. But what players were rated the highest coming out of high school.?

Out of all the highly rated Buckeye football recruits over the years, these are the top five rated recruits in Ohio State history since 2000. All recruiting rankings reflect the 247 Sports All-Time Football Players rankings. 

No. 5 Noah Spence | Class of 2012

To many Ohio State fans, Noah Spence won’t be remembered as one of the most beloved Buckeyes ever. That is largely because he was ruled permanently ineligible by the Big Ten after multiple failed drug tests at the end of his sophomore season. Still, in his short time at Ohio State, Spence showed why he was such a highly-touted recruit.

Hailing from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Spence played 12 games as a true freshman for Ohio State, totaling 12 tackles and one sack. It was his sophomore season, however, where he started to break out. Spence recorded 50 tackles and eight sacks in 2013, proving he was a force to be reckoned with on the defensive line.

Unfortunately, he wouldn’t see the field in a Buckeye uniform after being suspended for the Orange bowl in 2014. Spence would transfer to Eastern Kentucky, where he would be the Ohio Valley co-defensive player of the year in 2015.

This would be enough for him to get drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2016 with the 39th pick despite his troubles at Ohio State. Due to injury though, Spence hasn’t seen a ton of action on the field thus far in his career and currently resides with the New Orleans Saints.

Spence was no doubt a talented athlete and deserving of his spot among the highest-rated recruits in Ohio State history. But his time in Columbus will largely be remembered for what could have been.

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