Old Man Winter has been kind so far to Columbus this year.
But this still feels like Christmas for the Ohio State football program and it's an equally big day for the Eleven Warriors crew.
National Signing Day 2016 is officially upon us.
The first Wednesday in February serves as a bridge for fans between the college football season and Ohio's cold. A host of talented #teens are ready to put pen to paper and shove their National Letters of Intent in fax machines and become official Buckeyes. Urban Meyer and his coaching staff are preparing to put the finishing touches on another top-5 national class to complete one recruiting cycle, then turn their calendars to the 2017 group.
When the clock hit midnight, Ohio State held the No. 2 class in the country—behind LSU—according to 247Sports, Scout.com and ESPN. Rivals.com had the Buckeyes at the top spot in their rankings.
Recruiting national championships bring actual national championships, so it is not just another Wednesday for Ohio State. The same goes for Eleven Warriors, your one-stop shop for comprehensive coverage on the day in just about every angle you can imagine.
Keep the home page open in a tab on your browser and don't feel bad about hitting the refresh button every 10 minutes (or more often). Also, if you're on Twitter follow our recruiting master, The Lord of Whispers, Jeremy Birmingham (@Birm), Tim Shoemaker (@TimShoemaker), Eric Seger (@EricSeger33) and the whole crew over at @11WRecruiting for constant updates throughout the day.
Join us, won't you?
11W COVERAGE
The entire crew at Eleven Warriors is working overtime to bring you the best Ohio State recruiting coverage possible Wednesday. The Signing Day war room will be buzzing throughout the day.
Our National Signing Day open thread will start the day off (it's open now) and we'll chat as the biggest happenings from around the country make news.
There remains a small group of potential Buckeyes making their decisions today, and we'll be monitoring the news behind their decisions all the way to the wire.
Here are the timelines of the currently non-committed players who could end up selecting Ohio State.
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8:30 a.m. • Mecole Hardman • ★★★★★ • Elberton, Georgia
- Hardman, who made an official visit to Ohio State in mid-January, has been adamant he's seriously considering the Buckeyes but the smart money is on the five-star athlete committing to Georgia.
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9:30 a.m. • Carlos Becker • ★★★★ • Kissimmee, Florida
- Becker will decide between Ohio State and Florida State. The Seminoles are the favorite.
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9:30 a.m. • K'Von Wallace • ★★★ • Highland Springs, Virginia
- Wallace, offered by the Buckeyes last week, will choose between Ohio State, Clemson, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh. He's currently committed to the Bearcats and is not expected to pick the Buckeyes.
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10 a.m. • Malik Harrison • ★★★ • Walnut Ridge, Ohio
- Harrison has a Buckeye offer, is from Columbus, and is expected to select Ohio State over Wisconsin and Indiana. Eric will be at Walnut Ridge for the announcement.
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10 a.m. • Malcolm Pridgeon • ★★★★ • Nassau Community College (New York)
- One of the country's premier junior college talents, Pridgeon will decide between Ohio State and Baylor. We believe he will select the Buckeyes.
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2 p.m (estimate) • Jamar King • ★★★ • Mendocino College (California)
- Another highly-ranked JUCO talent, King made an official visit to Ohio State in January but right now it the majority of the discussion about his recruitment says he'll sign with Alabama.
Aside from Eric on the scene Walnut Ridge High School for Harrison's announcement and signing ceremony, Tim will do the same at Leipsic High School for Gavin Cupp—so look for live updates from those schools.
Birm will be around his computer all day. Should anything wild come to fruition, you know he'll be on it. We'll have Inked stories running all day as Ohio State's commitments send in their National Letters of Intent to help you relive each player's recruitment as well as update on any surprises.
From noon to 1 p.m., Birm will be in the Premium Lounge for an hour-long question and answer session with 12th Warriors. From there, Birm, Eric, Tim and Intern Kevin will head to the team meeting room at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center for Ohio State's signing day press conferences.
Later in the evening, Birm and Andrew will be live in the Recruiting Forum from 8-9 p.m. for another hour-long question and answer session.
Bottom line? We'll be here all day.
URBAN MEYER ON THE SCREEN AND RADIO
To no surprise, Ohio State's strong incoming recruiting class will keep Meyer busy with interviews all day long.
Quint Kessenich will speak with the Ohio State head coach often Wednesday on ESPN, as will Allison Hayes for BTN. Meyer will also then sit down and talk with Paul Keels and Jim Lachey from noon to 12:30 p.m. on 97.1 The Fan, before yielding to new staff additions offensive line coach Greg Studrawa and co-defensive coordinator Greg Schiano in the final half hour of the show.
Meyer will then turn his attention to the local media at 3 p.m. in the team room at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center. Cornerbacks coach and special teams coordinator Kerry Coombs and defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Luke Fickell will then follow suit. Those press conferences are slated to be streamed live at ohiostatebuckeyes.com.
Unlike past years, none of the seven early enrollees or any other assistant coach is expected to be available for interviews following the press conferences of Meyer, Coombs and Fickell.
ESPN COVERAGE
The World Wide Leader selected Ohio State as one 15 programs to have a reporter on site. Kessenich is scheduled to interview Meyer multiple times throughout the day at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center, as he has in years past.
Kessenich is a friend of Meyer, so expect solid stuff from him as National Letters of Intent churn through Mark Pantoni's fax machine. Keep it locked on ESPNU from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. for the network's coverage, then flip it to ESPN2 from 1-4 p.m. if you haven't had your fix. Then, head back to ESPNU from 5-7 p.m. for a final recap of the day's biggest announcements.
ESPN is also set to have reporters at LSU, Ole Miss, Florida State, Michigan, Florida, Georgia, Clemson, Auburn, Alabama, Notre Dame, Stanford, Texas A&M, South Carolina and Texas, with Joe Tessitore and Matt Schick holding down the fort in the studio. Analysts Tom Luginbill, Mike Bellotti, Mack Brown, Joey Galloway, David Pollack and Craig Haubert will all cycle in throughout the day to share their insight.
If you're not into the ESPN scene, there are plenty of other ways to get your recruiting fix.
BIG TEN NETWORK AND OTHERS
The Big Ten Network is planning to dedicate eight hours of programming to National Signing Day, the most it has since its conception. Big Ten Football and Beyond: Signing Day Edition is set to air from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and be streamed online or through the BTN2Go app.
The network is set to show Gerry DiNardo's extensive one-on-one interview with Meyer, along with behind the scenes looks at Nebraska and Penn State. Michigan's “Signing of the Stars” and Northwestern’s special event at the iconic Harry Caray’s Restaurant in Chicago will also be featured.
Reporters will also be on site at Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, Penn State, Maryland, Wisconsin, Iowa and Nebraska. As noted above, Hayes is scheduled to be in Columbus.
Mike Hall will anchor the coverage along with DiNardo and Howard Griffith.
CBS Sports Network will also broadcast its own Signing Day show from 10 a.m. to noon Wednesday.
Buckle up.
