Tops of the class: Part One

Over the course of the Rivals.com-era (2002-current) the Ohio State Buckeyes have been a force on the recruiting scene, even if it feels like recruiting success has been only a recent phenomenon.

Approaches have changed from the days of Jim Tressel to Urban Meyer to Ryan Day but landing top players is nothing new.

Between the classes of 2002 through 2021 (the most recent signed class) the Buckeyes have landed 122 members of the Rivals100, meaning that a little bit more than 6-percent of all Rivals100 players have signed with Ohio State out of high school.

While that may sound like a small number off the top of things, remember that Division I-FBS has always had between 115-130 schools, all vying for those top recruits, and while most of these players will gravitate towards a smaller group of 20-25 schools on the regular, Ohio State is landing more than its fair share of these top players through the years.

The Buckeyes are well on their way with the 21st class of the Rivals.com era, the class of 2022, with six commits already in the fold and the opportunity to add several more come December and February signing days.

As we were pouring through the classes and the numbers, it got us to thinking about who the top-rated player in each class was. Now, this does not mean the player that went on to have the most collegiate or professional success. Rather just the player who ranked the highest in each Rivals100 class for the Buckeyes.

This week we will look back at each of the top ranked players from each class, try and place things in a historical perspective and mention other members of that Rivals100 class and see where it takes us.

There was no shortage of excitement around Avon Lake (Ohio) linebacker Mike D’Andrea coming out of high school. A sure-fire five-star, 6-foot-3, 230-pounds, had all of the tools. D’Andrea checked in at No. 29 in the Rivals100 and without a doubt, Ohio State fans likely felt that was too low.

Unfortunately, knee injuries would prevent D’Andrea from ever having a shot to live up to the highly-rated billing he received coming from the high school ranks.

D’Andrea would be behind Matt Wilhelm on the depth chart in 2002, would play in 13 games and tally seven tackles in spot duty. 2003 would see D’Andrea collect 24 tackles before a shoulder injury against Michigan State would cost him the remainder of that season. A knee injury in September of 2004 would be the most critical injury and D’Andrea would only see a handful of snaps during the rest of his Ohio State career.

D’Andrea is now the owner of T3 Performance in Avon Lake, “To help athletes in varying sports reach their full potential.”

Other members of the Rivals100 in 2002: Maurice Clarett (37), Justin Zwick (40), Doug Datish (68), Quinn Pitcock (72)

Things would work out better for Donte Whitner, who checked in at No. 27 in the 2003 Rivals100. The then 5-foot-11, 175-pounder came to Ohio State from a school that fans would learn to love, Cleveland Glenville high school. Whitner would miss out on five-star coming out of high school but going No. 8 overall to Buffalo in the 2006 NFL Draft and going on to a lengthy NFL career would be a suitable replacement.

Whitner would string together stellar 2004 and 2005 seasons where he would have a combined 142 tackles, five sacks, three picks and a defensive touchdown.

Whitner would then go on to play 157 games in the NFL with Buffalo, San Francisco, Cleveland before ending his career in 2016 with Washington. He would have 922 tackles during his 11-year career, 11 interceptions, six fumble recoveries and three sacks. Whitner would be named to the Pro Bowl in both 2012 and 2014.

Other members of the Rivals100 in 2003: Louis Irizarry (38), David Patterson (83)

Ginn was listed as a cornerback with the recruiting services and Jim Tressel saw something with the then 6-foot, 170-pounder that offense may be a better calling, and as usual, Tressel was correct with the nation’s No. 2 prospect in the class of 2004.

Ohio State would beat out the likes of Michigan, Pittsburgh, USC and Miami (Fla.) for Ginn’s pledge and as they say, the rest is history.

Ginn is one of the fastest players to ever play for the Buckeyes and while some people may say that Joey Galloway would have won in a foot race, there has not been a player who made running look so effortless, at least not up until Parris Campbell in much more recent days.

The Cleveland Glenville product never had 60 or more catches in a season, but it didn’t matter as he would rack up 135 catches over three years for 1,943 yards and 15 touchdowns on offense. Ginn was also an explosive return man and had eight returns for scores (six punt, two kickoff) over the course of three seasons as well for the Buckeyes.

Ginn would go No. 9 overall in the 2007 NFL Draft to Miami, where he would play three seasons. Ginn would also have stops with San Francisco, Carolina, Arizona, New Orleans and Chicago. Ginn has played in a193 games and has 412 catches for 5,742 yards and 33 scores.

Other members of the Rivals100 in 2004: Marcus Freeman (31), Kyle Mitchum (56)

As a recruit, Alex Boone was a dominating 6-foot-8, 296-pounds and was a no-doubter as a five-star as the No. 20 player in the nation and the top-ranked player in the class of 2005. Boone committed to Ohio State very early in the process as a Lakewood (Ohio) St. Edward product and nobody was going to flip him off of that commitment.

Boone would go on to play in 46 games, start 35 of them, with 22 at the Cadillac position of left tackle. He would also be a two-time All-B1G selection, garnering first-team honors in 2008.

With that type of success, a high draft grade should have followed but the talented lineman struggled with alcohol issues and went undrafted before catching on with San Francisco, where he played six seasons before stops with Minnesota, Arizona and Seattle. Over the course of his NFL career, he would play in 106 games, starting in 86. Boone would exit the league after the 2017 season, only to attempt a comeback in 2020 that saw him play one game with Seattle.

Other members of the Rivals100 in 2005: Jamario O’Neal (31), Doug Worthington (80)