Recent blue-chippers who have lived up to the hype

Ohio State football has never been a program that has struggled on the recruiting trail. In fact, dating back to 2000, no program in the history of college football has seen more players drafted than the Buckeyes.

Since 2001, when Jim Tressel took over the program, the Buckeye staff has always had coaches that could bring in the sought after blue chip recruits. From Tressel grabbing Terrelle Pryor and Braxton Miller, to Urban Meyer landing Joey Bosa and Ezekiel Elliot , we take a look inside at the blue chip Buckeyes from 2016 to present who lived up to the hype.

We made the decision in order to keep this piece manageable to set a couple of guidelines. For a player to be eligible to be considered a “blue chipper” he had to be within the Rivals100 for his specific year according to Rivals.com. This is also based solely on college performance, not anything beyond that in terms of a professional career or things of that nature. We had several players who just missed the cut and will give them special mention at the end of the piece.

When Garrett Wilson landed in Columbus, he was already a highly groomed receiver out of the Austin (Texas) area but had ties to Columbus, spending the first years of his life in Central Ohio. From the moment he returned home, he was bound for greatness.

As a true freshman, Wilson showed flashes of stardom. Whether it was going up eight feet over a Clemson defender or hauling in a 30-yard touchdown strike against Michigan, Wilson was already a star as a freshman.

Capping off this past season as a sophomore, Wilson burst on to the national spotlight as one of the top slot receivers in the country.

The 2020 season was highlighted by Wilson helping the Buckeyes finally break through Clemson barrier and ultimately end up in their first National Championship appearance since 2014. The highly regarded blue chipper is sure to be a future first rounder in next year's draft.

Chase Young entered Ohio State as a highly touted Rivals top-10 player. Young may have been some of Larry Johnson's greatest work ever. As a true freshman, he saw the field as a reserve but by his sophomore year, he was a force to be reckoned with.

The predator of Ohio State posted 10.5 sacks as a sophomore while playing with both of his ankles sprained. His career would progress as a junior being named a team captain and later winning the national Defensive Player Of The Year Award.

Young left his mark on Ohio State as true blue chipper when he was drafted second overall to the Washington Football Team.

Being the No. 1 player at your position comes with a lot of hype, but that was no problem for the Grand Prairie (Texas) native Jeff Okudah. As a true freshman, Okudah did what most freshmen only dream of: He saw the field early, and he saw the field often. Recording 17 tackles in 14 games, Okudah was setting the stage for what was to come.

After a strong sophomore showing, Okudah caught fire as a junior and helped the Buckeyes to the College Football Playoffs. Following the season, Okudah went on to be a unanimous All-American and a finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award.

Being someone who was always under the national microscope, Okudah did what he was supposed to do during his time in Columbus. By foregoing his senior year, Okudah went on to be the top cornerback off the board in the 2020 NFL draft while living up to the blue chip hype.

St. John Bosco High School in California produces some of the most sought after talent in the country year in and year out. It was no surprise when the Buckeyes came knocking on the west coast door of Wyatt Davis.

After redshirting most of his freshman year, Davis was first man up as an offensive line reserve for the 2018 Big Ten championship game and 2019 Rose Bowl game.

Carrying on the momentum of that postseason, Davis went on to his sophomore year playing the full season as a starter. 2019 would be the year of Wyatt Davis as he went on to be named a First Team All American by the Associated Press and named to the First Team All Big Ten.

Due to a wild offseason, Davis would forego his junior year before opting back in and anchoring the offensive line en route to the Buckeyes first trip back to the College Football Playoff since 2014, showing why he was a blue chip who deserved the hype.

Urban Meyer was said to be the master of spotting talent that was undiscovered. Well, this was not the case with Shaun Wade. As a four-time state champion out of high school, Wade was always under the spotlight.

It was not until he reached Ohio State, though, that he would be talked about as becoming a true NFL defensive back. As a young player, Wade could be found making plays all over the field as a slot corner.

Whether it was lowering the boom on Michigan's Karan Higdon to force a fumble or the controversial hit on Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence, Wade was one of the hardest hitting cornerbacks to play in The Shoe. As Wade heads off to the NFL Draft this offseason, we are reminded why he is considered a blue chip who lived up to the title.

Without ever stepping foot inside of The Horseshoe, J.K. Dobbins was born to be a Buckeye. The blue chip running back, who ran for over 5,000 yards in his high school career, came into Ohio State behind a loaded depth chart.

As his predecessors moved on, Dobbins took on a full workload that would eventually lead to him being the first player in Ohio State history to rush over 2,000 yards, passing Eddie George in the process.

Dobbins would also go on to be named First Team All-Big Ten before solidifying himself as one of the greatest running backs in Ohio State history.

It's never easy being the younger brother, but it should have been a lot harder than it was for Nick Bosa to earn his blue chip hype after his brother set the precedent for Buckeye defensive linemen everywhere. After attending the highly regarded St. Thomas Aquinas in Florida, like his brother, Joey, Nick earned the respect of Buckeye Nation on his own.

From the moment he stepped on the Columbus gridiron, Bosa had major shoes to fill in to become a Buckeye great. The task seemed to be effortless, though, as he posted 29 tackles and five sacks in his freshman campaign.

The following year was much of the same and more as Bosa would go on to be named First Team All-Big Ten and the winner of the Smith-Brown Big Ten Defensive Lineman of the Year Award.

His junior campaign was cut short after a major abdominal core injury that would require surgery, leaving a sour reminder to Buckeye fans everywhere of what could have been in his junior year alongside Chase Young.

Make no mistake about it: Although it seem short lived, Nick Bosa filled those shoes as a Buckeye blue chip before going on to become a NFL second overall pick.

As a Rivals100 prospect, it seems many often forget that Michael Jordan started on the Ohio State offensive line as a freshman. The massive 6-foot-7, 300-pound guard made his imprint on the Buckeyes from day one as a starter.

Being known as Mr. Consistent, Jordan was a three year starter for the Buckeyes, something that is unheard of for an offensive lineman and especially in the Big Ten. As large of a task as it was, Buckeye fans to this day are reminded of one of the most reliable players to ever line up at the offensive guard position in Columbus.

Before his NFL departure, Jordan was given First Team All American honors and was named twice to the All Big Ten Conference Second Team.

Another Rivals100 recruit who had a lot riding on his shoulders was the 6-foot-3 gunslinger out Maryland (granted he was born in New Jersey). With a release on the football that shot like a rubber band, Dwayne Haskins went on to be the single season passing yards and passing touchdowns leader in Ohio State history.

As only a RS-sophomore, Haskins broke almost every single season passing stat there was en route to leading an offense to the most yards in program history.

Although, he departed after a quick three years, we can never forget that Haskins is the only Ohio State quarterback to be drafted in the first round of the 2000's era.

We had a few names that we debated over who just did not have enough to make the top of the list. It starts with a pair of players in 2017, Baron Browning (No. 9) and Josh Myers (No. 55). Both had tremendous Ohio State careers but for Browning, he certainly had his moments where he flashed like a top-10 player but other moments where he would disappear. With Myers, he was the last player we cut from the list, but it was close.

Nobody from the Class of 2018 made the list but we had three names that were very close. For guys like Nick Petit-Frere (No. 11) and Tyreke Smith (No. 34), another year of playing will surely get each across the finish line while Tommy Togiai (No. 76) came close to make the cut, but the rotational nature of his defensive tackle position made it tough for him with a limited number of snaps through his career. With an NFL future within grasp, he could end up proving us very wrong in hindsight.