Ohio State's highly-rated 2008 recruiting class is in the position many expected when those players signed to be Buckeyes -- leading the way for a national title contender.
Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor (2) and center Mike Brewster (50, blocking Southern Cal's Christian Tupou last season) are just two members of a talented 2008 recruiting class which provides the foundation for the Buckeyes' stated goal of a national title run.PRETTY CLASSY GROUP
Ohio State’s 2008 recruiting class was ranked as one of the top three in the nation. Of the 19 freshmen who were part of the 2008 team, four have transferred and two are deeper on the depth chart. But 13 should see the field often, with nine starters.
CLASS OF 2008
Starters (listed by position and with recruit star rating in parentheses): Terrelle Pryor QB (5); Mike Adams LT (5); Mike Brewster C (5); DeVier Posey WR (5); J.B. Shugarts RT (4); Jake Stoneburner TE (4); Nathan Williams DE (4); Andrew Sweat SLB (4); Ben Buchanan P (3).
Second team: Etienne Sabino LB (4); Garrett Goebel DT (4); Travis Howard CB (4); Orhian Johnson S (3).
Other backups: Nic DiLillo TE (3); Zach Domicone S (3).
Transferred: Willie Mobley (to Arizona) DL (4); Lamaar Thomas (to New Mexico) WR (4); Jermil Martin (to Ashland) FB (3); Keith Wells DE (3)
*— Star ranking from Rivals.com
-- Doug Lesmerises
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio State's potential road to the BCS National Championship game this season began on Sept. 20, 2008, the day quarterback Terrelle Pryor and center Mike Brewster started for the first time as true freshmen.
"He's going to be a great quarterback," Brewster said after that 28-10 win over Troy in Ohio Stadium. "Me and him still have a lot to learn, but we're both working really hard, so I think things are going to work out well."
Two years later, Pryor and Brewster each have made 22 career starts and won two Big Ten titles and a Rose Bowl. When the Buckeyes open the season against Marshall on Thursday, seven teammates from the 2008 recruiting class should join them as starters, with four others important members of the two-deep roster and expected to play.
Four members of that 19-player class have transferred, but 13 of the 15 remaining should be right where they saw themselves when they signed -- on the field a lot for a national title contender, with the Buckeyes ranked No. 2 in both preseason polls.
"This is where we expected to be," said redshirt sophomore Travis Howard, the Buckeyes' No. 3 cornerback. "We had one of the top recruiting classes, so we had high expectations for every individual in our class. Now you can see we've got big roles to play."
At a place like Ohio State, a national title is always in play. Coach Jim Tressel never sacrifices one season to prepare for the next.
Think about 2007, when a team that looked to be a year away reached the national title game. Or 2008, when a team led by seniors like James Laurinaitis, Malcolm Jenkins, Todd Boeckman and Brian Robiskie lost junior running back Beanie Wells to an injury in the first game, got blown out by USC and saw the next chapter of Ohio State football begin a little earlier than expected.
All that said -- this is the year.
It has been building to this for a while, since that Class of 2008 was ranked in top three in the nation by the Rivals and Scout recruiting services, along with USC and Notre Dame. Eight Buckeyes that year were ranked among Rivals' top 100 players, more than in any other recruiting class on the current OSU roster (2009 had six, 2006 had four and 2007 and 2010 each had two.)
"When we committed here, we tried to get everyone to come here because we wanted a team that was going to be able to contend to win it all," tight end Jake Stoneburner said. "When we signed here, we knew this day was going to come, that the pressure would be on us. A lot of us are playing right now, so we need to step up and lead us to a championship.
"And we're ready for that. We've been waiting for it and it's finally here."
The Buckeyes' efforts to build a national championship team have also benefited from good fortune, as when former Michigan guard Justin Boren decided to transfer to Columbus.They won't do it alone, obviously. There are other signs that the time is right for the Buckeyes.
Senior defensive lineman Cameron Heyward turned down a chance to be a first-round NFL pick when leaving would have made a lot of sense, and he returns as one of the best defensive tackles in the nation.
Senior left guard Justin Boren fell from the sky, a gift from up north as a Michigan transfer who now may be the best offensive lineman in the Big Ten. No one could have seen that coming.
Senior linebacker Ross Homan took an unexpected redshirt with a lingering turf toe injury in 2007, which was never part of the plan. The result is that he's back as one of the top two linebackers in the Big Ten, when he could easily be in the NFL.
"Definitely everything happens for a reason," Homan said. "I got hurt and came back and hopefully it all worked out for me."
It certainly worked out for the Buckeyes. You could argue that Heyward, Boren and Homan are the three best players on this team, and Ohio State easily could have been without all of them. No matter how highly ranked they were, these third-year Buckeyes weren't going to make it to Glendale, Ariz., on Jan. 10 on their own.
The Buckeyes may not have as much elite talent as, for instance, the 2005 Ohio State team that saw five players taken in the first round of the NFL Draft. But add in seniors such as linebacker Brian Rolle, corners Chimdi Chekwa and Devon Torrence, safety Jermale Hines, receiver Dane Sanzenbacher, running back Brandon Saine and right guard Bryant Browning, and the Buckeyes are deep in good, experienced players, without a glaring weakness.
That gives the much-hyped juniors an opportunity to do what they came to do.
"You come to a place like Ohio State to win a national championship," junior linebacker Andrew Sweat said. "We had a great recruiting class with guys from Florida and everywhere, and then when Terrelle signed, I guess there was a lot of hype. Of course there's more pressure, but that's just part of it."
It's part of what they set out to do in 2008.
"We definitely want to win them all," Brewster said. "Anything less won't meet our ultimate goal."