First in, last in

The college football recruiting process is something that can take place over the course of years instead of weeks and months. There are times that a recruiting fan becomes aware of a player one week and a week later, that player suddenly ‘commits’ and is in the class.

But that does not mean we are in the old days where an unknown player just appears out of thin air, a friend of a friend calls into the football office telling the coaches that they, ‘Need to check this kid out’.

Outlets like Rivals.com were some of the first to put recruit highlights on the internet for all to see, fans and coaches alike. Then we came into the era of players putting their own video up on outlets like HUDL and YouTube and that has made way for social media with Twitter, TikTok and the next big thing that nobody is talking about waiting to move to the forefront.

There still is nothing like an in-person evaluation over watching game film. Game action still carries more weight than camp action. But there is an information overflow out there and while that doesn’t mean that programs will ‘miss’ on their evaluations of players, it is not for a lack of footage, from the biggest powerhouses in the country to the smallest schools that nobody has ever heard of.

More information leads to more offers and more offers lead to earlier commitments in many cases. While Ohio State may not have any members at the time of publication from the class of 2023, there are schools who have already taken non-binding commitments from that class and even 2024.

It got us to thinking about who was the first member of each signing class over the past 10 years. That does not mean that the first signee was the first commit as decommitment season is real and no school is truly insulated from that, Ohio State included.

But, who was first man in? And you can’t talk about first without talking about last. The early signing period has taken a lot of the February drama off the table for the Buckeyes over the past couple of cycles but there have been plenty of February signings before that.

For every hometown Jack Sawyer or Joshua Perry that was the first man up in his respective class there has been a Jordan Whiting or JT Moore. Some have worked out and others disappeared into the background over the course of their time with the Buckeyes.

Let’s take a look at first and last from the past 10 classes.

First up: Jyaire Brown

Last in: TBD

Many people expected an in-state player to be first-man up in this class and while Jyaire Brown is now currently at Lakota West, he was still living in Louisiana at the time that he committed in late-April of 2020. The four-star defensive back had ties to the state of Ohio but there always is a degree of skepticism about beating out the SEC for a player in its own backyard. Brown narrowly edged out in-state offensive lineman and future high school teammate Tegra Tshabola, by one day as Ohio State would land three top players in the span of less than two weeks with CJ Hicks becoming the third man in.

While we know who the first in was, we don’t know who the last one will be with four-plus months to the early signing period and two months to the traditional date.

First up: Jack Sawyer

Last in: JT Tuimoloau

The Buckeyes have done quite well in Pickerington (Ohio) and that is where Jack Sawyer resides and it would have been a meltdown of biblical proportions if Sawyer would have ended up anywhere other than Ohio State. Sawyer committed a few days before NSD 2019 (February) and gave the Buckeyes a solid foundation for a class that would up ranking No. 2 in the class of 2021 as well as be the second highest rated class for Ohio State in the Rivals.com-era.

As for the last man in, it took a lot of extra time but Bellevue (Wash.) defensive lineman JT Tuimoloau only recently ended his recruitment with a pledge to the Buckeyes, one that took until the Fourth of July, several months after the late signing period started with its traditional first week of February date. Ohio State is hoping that the wait was worth it but the five-star defender has all of the tools to be a generational type of player.

First up: Paris Johnson Jr.

Last in: CJ Stroud

Paris Johnson Jr. committed under Urban Meyer and there a few concerning moments as Johnson wanted to see what a new Ryan Day-led staff would look like and if his position coach, Greg Studrawa was still part of the plans. Ohio State obviously did more than enough to soothe any concerns for the five-star lineman and his family as he would maintain is June 2018 pledge and sign with the Buckeyes.

As for the last player in, Ohio State decided that it wanted a second quarterback in the class of 2020 and like many other programs from across the nation, CJ Stroud caught the eye of just about everyone after a strong Elite 11 showing and a solid senior season. Stroud would not take the Buckeyes or any program that deep into the process, committing in mid-December but beyond the early signing period, so the Buckeyes would have to hold on until February to get the signed Letter of Intent in.

First up: Ryan Jacoby

Last in: Enokk Vimahi & Dawand Jones

Ohio State’s class of 2019 would see six players commit in April of 2018 but Ryan Jacoby would get the jump on them all by committing on March 1st. The Mentor (Ohio) lineman was not the first commit of the class though, with Doug Nester actually committing first, but Nester would end up flipping to Virginia Tech, leaving Jacoby as the recruit who was committed to Ohio State the longest for the cycle.

The Buckeyes would land two players at the very end of the cycle with offensive lineman Enokk Vimahi, who would visit on the last weekend of the cycle and pick Ohio State over two-dozen-plus offers. Offensive lineman Dawand Jones was a late riser who also had some hoop dreams along the way but would visit a week before Vimahi and wait until the very end to pick the Buckeyes over 20-some other offers.

First up: Brian Snead

Last in: Nick Petit-Frere & Javontae Jean-Baptiste

At the time, it was a bit of surprise when Brian Snead up and committed to the Buckeyes as a Florida product, but that is what happened as the four-star back committed more than six months before anyone else would in the class. As we know, off-the-field accusations would derail Snead’s career before he ever had a chance to play any meaningful minutes and he would leave Ohio State.

Ohio State would get a pair of last minute commits with JJB and NPF. The Buckeyes would get the last crack with Petit-Frere and hold off late visits to Alabama and Florida to land the top five-star offensive tackle. When it comes to Jean-Baptiste, it may not have gotten the same attention but make no mistake, it was still a big deal picking up a February commitment from a four-star defensive lineman, more of a testament of what Larry Johnson means to this program and what recruits think of the veteran line coach.

First up: Shaun Wade

Last in: Thayer Munford

Shaun Wade was one of three players to commit on the day of Ohio State’s championship game against Oregon to wrap up the 2014 season but Wade was the only one to stick as both Kareem Walker and Bruce Judson would both eventually decommit from the program. That does not mean it was smooth sailing for Ohio State throughout this one as Wade was committed but listening to other programs and took official visits elsewhere before eventually signing with Ohio State.

It is hard to imagine Thayer Munford not being in the scarlet and gray but he was a late commit in the class, not giving his pledge until February 1st. Iowa State and Kentucky each had official visits earlier in the process but the Buckeyes turned up the heat down the stretch and were able to keep in-state star home and as they say, the rest is history.

First up: Tyler Gerald

Last in: Malik Harrison & Malcolm Pridgeon

Tyler Gerald never really got into the mix during his time at Ohio State, the Sciotoville (Ohio) lineman would end up making a stop at IMG Academy before heading to join the Buckeyes. He committed to Ohio State in June of 2014, four months prior to the next player up, tight end Kierre Hawkins.

On the flipside, Ohio State would land an in-state late riser with Malik Harrison and a JUCO lineman with Malcolm Pridgeon in the 11th hour of the class. Harrison was an intriguing prospect out of Walnut Ridge HS but nobody was quite sure what position he was going to excel at, and there were reports that Harrison had his eye on offense at some point. Needless to say it all worked out as Harrison is now a member of the Baltimore Ravens after a strong career with the Buckeyes.

As for Pridgeon, it was not the quickest path to the field, something that you worry about when you go to the JUCO ranks for someone to jump into the mix quickly. Pridgeon was a popular teammate and would eventually find his way, it just took a little longer than first planned for the February 2016 commit.

First up: Eric Glover-Williams

Last in: KJ Hill & Isaiah Prince

Eric Glover-Williams earned the nickname of Superman due to his choice of attire at the Ohio State football camp. He wasted little time getting into the class with a late-August 2013 commitment to Ohio State, three-plus months before Ohio State’s next commit. The issues of Ohio State not being able to find a role for smaller players was still a thing at this point and the 5-foot-9, 160-pounder (out of high school) struggled to find a spot, going from safety to wide receiver and eventually on to Slippery Rock as a transfer.

February of 2015 would be busy for Ohio State as the Buckeyes would land three players over the course of two days, Damon Arnette on the 3rd and then the pair of KJ Hill and Isaiah Prince on the 4th. Prince was the typical top-rated player waiting until NSD to make his call, he would take visits to Alabama, Maryland and Ohio State before deciding. These are the type of commitments that we don’t see as often with the extra signing period and the accelerated recruiting calendar.

As for Hill, despite being the No. 157 player in the nation, his recruitment didn’t capture the attention of as many people, despite Ohio State and Alabama each securing January visits down the stretch as Hill emerged late on the scene. The Buckeyes would come out victorious in this one and Hill still has his name plastered throughout the Ohio State wide receviers record book.

First up: Marcelys Jones

Last in: Darius Slade

We are back to the days of Cleveland Glenville high school turning out prospects with Marcelys Jones who committed to Urban Meyer and the Buckeyes on Christmas Day 2012.

"It means a lot to be the first in the class (of 2014) and being in a class that is going to do some big things," Jones said upon committing. "It means a lot to me and I am blessed to have these opportunities in my life. Not everyone gets these and I am humble and want to stay humble about the situation."

Jones’ career with the Buckeyes would never take off and the offensive lineman would end up transferring to Kentucky.

Darius Slade was another one of those Signing Day specials as Ohio State would land the former Nebraska pledge. Slade was slated to take a visit after signing period and take his recruitment beyond the start of the signing period but once again Larry Johnson was able to get this deal closed quickly and Slade would finish out the class. Slade would bounce around with stops at Arizona State and South Florida after transferring out of Ohio State.

First up: Cameron Burrows

Last in: Vonn Bell & James Clark

Ohio State would land five commits over the span of five weeks to start out the class but Cameron Burrows would edge out Jalin Marshall, Billy Price, Eli Apple and Evan Lisle, all who commit in late-January through the end of February 2012. Burrows would see limited action over the course of three years, playing in 14 games, recording 19 tackles with five passes defended.

The Buckeyes would score one of those big signing day television wins with Vonn Bell, especially after there was a strong belief the morning of that Bell would not end up at Ohio State, but Bell would shock the establishment and pick the Buckeyes and would eventually go on to be a second-round NFL pick after a stellar Ohio State career.

James Clark visited the Buckeyes at the end of the recruiting cycle after OVs to Clemson, Nebraska, Northwestern and Purdue. The Floridian would not see much success at Ohio State, being held to just six receptions in 2016 with the Buckeyes. He would transfer to Virginia Tech to finish out his career.