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Big number recruiting weekends have been infrequent through the years

It will be a big month for the Buckeyes on the recruiting scene
It will be a big month for the Buckeyes on the recruiting scene (Scott Stuart)

"It's obviously, for one month, very overwhelming."

From Ohio State’s Mark Pantoni's lips to God’s ears.

June is going to be an unprecedented month for recruiting across the country and Ohio State is among the leaders when it comes to numbers of official visitors set to descend upon campus over the 30 days that encompass the month of June.

On Friday we learned that Ohio State has approved 51 official visits for the month and while we may not know the identities of a couple of the visitors at this point, we have a pretty good idea of who, when and where this will all be taking place.

It got us to thinking about other big official visit weekends in the past, or at least in the Rivals.com-era, with data that we can easily track as the university is under no obligation to share who is visiting each weekend in an official or unofficial capacity.

RELATED: Ohio State official visitor list

Sure, there are going to be some visit weekends that are big because it is the designated weekend by the school for the commits to go through their visit, but that is not what we are trying to get after here.

For example, the Buckeyes will have 17 prospects on campus for the first weekend of June visits, but nine of those players are already committed to the Buckeyes but that still leaves a staggering number of at least eight uncommitted players going through the visit process.

The following week there will be seven uncommitted players and the final weekend of the month will see at least 11.

ALSO: Ohio State prepares for monster recruiting weekends

Now, these numbers can change along the way, a player could pick up an offer early in the month and come back for an official visit later in the month or some players will just drop off the visit list either by committing elsewhere before the visit takes place or Ohio State accepting a commitment from a player at the same position, no longer leaving an open spot for other players at the same position.

So, what does that mean?

It means that you need to keep it locked in here for the latest on who is visiting and when.

But back to the original point, where do these weekends rank against some other large weekends over the past 20 years?

Taking away the designated “commits on campus” weekends, there were still a few major weekends to speak of, and Ohio State did pretty well on some of those periods, and not so much on others.

June 21st, 2019 – Class of 2020

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Paris Johnson was an absolute must-get for the Buckeyes
Paris Johnson was an absolute must-get for the Buckeyes (Nick Lucero/Rivals.com)

On campus: Cam Martinez, Makari Page, Kourt Williams, K. Bingley-Jones, Jaylan Knighton, Cody Simon, Paris Johnson, Darrion Henry-Young, Lathan Ransom, Joe Royer, Josh Fryar, Cam Large, Clark Phillips, Sam Adams, Grant Toutant

The Buckeyes would end up holding commitments from nine of those players at one point or another, with Clark Phillips flipping to Utah at the end of the cycle.

Running back Jaylan Knighton seemed like a player who was destined for the Ohio State class but the Buckeyes’ flirtation with Knighton and Bijan Robinson at running back faded as both opted elsewhere.

June 22nd, 2018 – Class of 2019

On campus: Dwan Mathis, Etinosa Reuben, Marcus Washington, Peyton Powell, Elijah Higgins, Jameson Williams, Jordan Battle

This weekend was mixed as Ohio State would hold the commitments of three of these players but would only end up signing one with Dwan Mathis flipping to UGA at the 11th hour and Jordan Battle opting to go to Alabama after the retirement of Urban Meyer.

Obviously the Buckeyes would sign Jameson Williams, but he left the program over the offseason to find a home at Alabama as well.

Ohio State’s class would end up being small this year, just 17 commits and would make a rare appearance outside of the top-20 in the Rivals.com team rankings but even with that, Ohio State’s average star ranking would have been good enough for the No. 5 class, if measuring by those numbers.

September 8th, 2017 – Class of 2018

On campus: Micah Parsons, Max Wray, Josh Proctor, Jaiden Woodbey, Anthony Cook, Master Teague, Tommy Togiai, Jayson Oweh, Christian Tutt

Ohio State did well this weekend with more than half the visitors being committed to the class at one point or another.

Jaiden Woodbey would ultimately flip to Florida State, but the Buckeyes would still land Wray, Proctor, Teague and Togiai out of this class. From this point back, official visit weekends would only occur on game weekends and because of that, decisions were made to try and keep the groups somewhat more manageable with the whole “win the game” thing going on concurrently.

October 27th, 2017 – Class of 2018

Tyreke Smith was a huge in-state grab for the Buckeyes
Tyreke Smith was a huge in-state grab for the Buckeyes (Nick Lucero / Rivals.com)

On campus: Kam Babb, Jackson Carman, Emory Jones, Taron Vincent, Brian Snead, Tyreke Johnson, Sevyn Banks, Tyreke Smith

Every person on this official visit weekend listed above was a one-time member of the class outside of Ohioan Jackson Carman who turned down the Buckeyes to sign with Clemson.

Quarterback Emory Jones would end up flipping to Florida as the process went on. Everyone else made it to signing with the Buckeyes and several members from this weekend will either be starters this season or at least in the two-deep.

November 25th, 2016 – Class of 2017    

The Buckeyes cleaned up in the state of Texas
The Buckeyes cleaned up in the state of Texas (Nick Lucero/Rivals.com)

On campus: Baron Browning, Marvin Wilson, Isaiah Pryor, Markquese Bell, Trey Smith, Jay Tufele, Dylan Moses, Kendall Sheffield, Xavier McKinney

Ohio State swung for the fences this weekend with three five-stars on campus and while Ohio State would only land one (Browning) it was still a productive weekend with Kendall Sheffield and Isaiah Pryor.

Ohio State fans are still smarting over “honey fried chicken” wooing Marvin Wilson to Florida State as the Buckeyes seemed to be a cautious favorite in that one.

A pair of players from that weekend (McKinney, Moses) would end up at Alabama, once again highlighting the battles between the Buckeyes and the Crimson Tide on the recruiting landscape.

November 23rd, 2012 – Class of 2013

On campus: Eli Apple, Trey Johnson, JT Barrett, Tyquan Lewis, Michael Hill, James Quick, Marquez North, Tony Stevens, Martrell Spaight, Daniel McMillian

This one is far enough back that Eli Apple was still going by the name of Eli Woodard. You look at this weekend and there were several players that would end up signing with Ohio State and winning a national championship in 2014.

James Quick would end up flipping to Louisville, a sting at the time but just another page of how recruiting goes.

September 11th, 2009 – Class of 2010

On campus: Seantrel Henderson, James Louis, Jordan Hicks, Corey Brown (Philly), Joshua Shaw, Lamarcus Joyner, Chaz Green, Brandon Linder, Will Hagerup

Back into the Jim Tressel-era and recruiting was very different in the way that Ohio State under “The Senator” would often take pride in having 29 visits for a 23-man class and would not go out and need to cast that wide net as the state of Ohio was producing almost everything that the Buckeyes needed with a few picks from some other key states.

This weekend has several big names that did not end up at Ohio State and will stick in Ohio State lore for various reasons. Jordan Hicks was from down the road in Springfield and opted for Texas, a real sting for a program that kept almost everyone in state.

Lamarcus Joyner was a highly visible recruit and his stock may have been higher than even a five-star in some circles.

And then there is Seantrel Henderson and his father’s desire music career and the decision to put Doc Tressel on this commitment. Oh memories.

November 17th, 2006 – Class of 2007

On campus: Brian Rolle, Deonte Thompson, Anthony Davis, Major Wright, James Wilson, Joseph Barksdale, Clyde Yandell

This is the earliest class we will look at, three of these players would end up at Florida with Major Wright being the toughest loss of the group. There is an urban legend that it really either came down to a coin flip or something of that nature, we are not sure that we are 100-percent buying that one.

The loss of Joseph Barskdale was a big one as Ohio State absolutely could have used him moving forward but the Buckeyes got a good one in Brian Rolle, a player that didn’t make a ton of noise on the recruiting circuit, despite being a four-star but developed into a leader with the Buckeyes.

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