I've been arguing for a long time that recruiting sites intentionally warp fanbases analysis of how well they are recruiting at various positions. In this analysis, I took players composite 247 positional rating and used it to give them an adjusted positional rating. The best at each position (1 QB, 1 RB, 2.5 WR, 1.5 TE, 3 IOL, 2 OT, 2 DE, 2 DE, 2.5 LB, 2 S, and 2.5 CB) were given an adjusted positional rank of 1. The next at each position was given a rank of 2. For example, the 5th best QB has a rank of 5, while the 7th best CB, would be a rank of four (because each team on average plays 2.5 CB at a time) More detailed procedures are listed below my analysis.
| Position | Class of 2017 | Class of 2018 | Class of 2019 | Class of 2020 | Class of 2021 | Class of 2022 | Class of 2023 |
| Quarterback | Gebbia- 54 | McCord- 6 | Brown- 6 | Kienholz- 15 | |||
| Running Back |
Williams-45
Trayanum-35 |
Henderson-1
Pryor- 06 |
Hayden- 24 | ||||
| Wide Receiver | Johnson- UR | Flemming- 1 |
Harrison- 6
Egbuka- 1 Ballard- 6 |
Antwi- 11
Grayes- 6 |
Tate- 4
Inniss- 2 Rogers- 3 Rodgers- 20 |
||
| TE | Stover- 3 |
Scott- 3
Royer- 14 |
Hart- 15 | Christian- 15 | Thurman- 3 | ||
| OT | Fryar- 20 |
Simmons- 10
Michalski- 11 |
Tshabola- 5
Fitzpatrick- 11 |
Montgomery- 5
Walker- 17 |
|||
| IOL | M. Jones- 2 |
Vahimi- 4
Cutler- 12 |
James- 8
Leroux- 32 |
D. Jackson- 1 | Hinzman- 3 |
Padilla- 4
Siereveld- 5 |
|
| DT | McKenzie-29 | Hamilton- 32 |
Williams- 13
Hall- 5 |
Kanu- 10 |
Moore- 4
McDonald- 18 Smith Jr.- 16 |
||
| DE | Melton- 20 |
Tuimoloau- 1
Sawyer- 2 |
Jackson- 03
Curry- 7 Arbor- 3 |
Mickens- 9
Reese- 7 |
|||
| LB |
Eichenberg- 15
Chambers-13 |
Simon- 4
Williams- 9 |
Carrico- 4 |
Hicks- 1
Powers- 3 |
Glover- 12 | ||
| S | Procter- 4 |
Ransom- 6
Carter- 5 Martinez- 9 |
Styles- 1
Stokes- 8 |
Hartford- 6
Bonsu- 12 Hawkins- 18 |
|||
| CB |
Burke- 4
Hancock- 2 |
Igbinosun-8
Brown- 10 Turner- 15 |
Matthews- 3
Simpson-Hunt- 3 |
- Team Talent
- The top 25 percent of OSU players rank 1-3 at their positions, the next 25 rank 4-6, the 3rd quartile is 7-14, and the last quartile is 15-unranked.
- 9 Starters were Q1 recruits (rank 1-3), 6 were Q2 recruits (rank 4-6), 3 were Q3 (7-14), and 2 were Q4 recruits (15-UR)
- This shows that higher ranking players are starting much more often than lower ranked players.
- Overachievers include Eichenberg, Fryar, Johnson, and Tyliek Williams.
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Team Quartile Rankings Position Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 QB 0 2 0 2 RB 1 1 0 3 WR 5 3 1 2 TE 3 0 1 2 OT 0 2 3 2 IOL 3 3 2 1 DT 0 2 2 5 DE 4 0 3 1 LB 2 2 3 1 S 1 4 2 1 CB 3 1 2 1 Positional Rankings
- This is a ranking of how well we have recruited at each position. This is analyzed not by star ranking, or by hype, nor even by how well we are playing on the field, but by the amount of Q1 and Q2 Talent.
- 1: WR. With 5 tier 1 players, and 3 Q2 players (including Harrison Jr.), Hartline has dominated recruiting.
- 2: CB. Our CB recruiting has been incredible these last 3 years. It is bearing fruit on the field, and it looks like it is only improving in the 24 and 25 classes.
- 3: DE. DE is very hit or miss. We have several Q1 recruits leaving after this year. Johnson needs to hit in the next several classes.
- 4: TE. TE recruiting has been very good, with Thurman, Scott and Stover being top tier recruits (some at other positions).
- 5: IOL. This is the position that in my opinion, is most underperforming. The recruiting talent is there, but the results in the run game are not.
- 6: LB, headlined by Hicks, Simon, and others, LB recruiting has been stout. Most production, however, has been performed by veteran Q3 and Q4 players.
- 7: RB, Henderson and Pryor highly wanted recruits. The others were low ranked (though underrated)
- 8: S, Styles super highly rated. Lots of high performing Q2 players.
- 9: QB. Not much top tier talent. No top three players.
- 10: OT. Not much talent. Results shown on field.
- 11: DT. Larry Johnson is a wizard. Underrated talent has performed extremely well. If we get some premier talent.... watch out!
- Methodology
- Recruits who are in a different position than they play had their composite score compared to the position at they position they play now. For example, Gee Scott had his composite score compared to all TE, and it was the third highest in his class.
- Transfers had their Transfer rating compared to recruits in their original class.
- I did not worry about the difference between edge and DL. Players had their positional rating/2 to reach their adjusted positional rating.
I sincerely hope you enjoyed this analysis. I put a lot of work into it. I know it is disheartening to see our QBs ranked so low, but I view it as a compliment to how well we have recruited other positions.
