Recruiting: Ohio State is Looking Nationally, but Still Hitting the State of Ohio Hard

Many were curious to know how Urban Meyer's recruiting approach would fit in at Ohio State. He showed his success at landing the nation's best during his time in Gainesville, but had less pressure to recruit in-state because of the presence of other elite schools in Florida State and Miami.

Parris Campbell is a top five player in Ohio

Recruiting in-state is a necessity at Ohio State and the current regime in Columbus has answered the bell. Shortly after taking over at the end of the 2012 recruiting cycle, the new staff stole Taylor Decker from Notre Dame, poached Se'Von Pittman from Michigan State, and landed Cleveland native Kyle Dodson, who was once a Wisconsin pledge.

In the past class, OSU laid claim to 10 signatures from Ohio prospects, and a junioe college recruit originally from the Buckeye State. Lancaster's Kyle Trout, Cleveland's Marcelys Jones, and Akron's Parris Campbell have already joined the fold for the 2014 class.

The state of Ohio is known for producing top-end football talent year in and year out. While the 2014 class is not loaded with some of the firepower that the previous classes have had, several prospects have multiple elite offers.

Read on for more on who Ohio State has offered, where they stand and where other possible offers could go.

OL Kyle Trout, OL Marcelys Jones, and RB Parris Campbell are Buckeyes, OL Jimmy Byrne is a Domer, and LB Michael Ferns went Blue. Five of the 11 OSU offers have chosen what school they plan to attend, while six others still contemplate their decision.

Two wide receivers in Ohio have been offered, with the most recent being Cincinnati La Salle product Derek Kief. The Queen City talent also has offers from Alabama, Boston College, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Northwestern, Vanderbilt, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.

Kief will be at Alabama this weekend, and Ohio State the next. A great visit to Columbus could give the Buckeyes a stranglehold for his services.

Springfield's Thaddeus Snodgrass is another in-state receiver with an offer. The speedy wideout earned an offer from Meyer and the staff after a standout performance at OSU's underclassmen camp last June where he ran a sub-4.4 second 40-yard dash.

Will Booker don the Scarlet and Gray on Saturdays?

After some miscommunication and timing issues on a possible early commitment, Snodgrass has now slowed down the process. Ohio State has fallen out of consideration for the most part, with Penn State, Kentucky, and Michigan State appearing to be in the best position.

Other possible in-state offers that could go out on the offensive side of the ball are Minster TE Ethan Wolf, Toledo Central Catholic QB DeShone Kizer (recently offered by Alabama), Marion Harding RB LJ Scott, Lakota West RB Mikel Horton, and Westerville Central OL Nick Richardson.

The linebacker position is one of the stronger groups in Ohio with three earning offers from the home-state Scarlet and Gray. The best of that group may be Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary's Dante Booker.

Notre Dame, Michigan, Nebraska, Maryland, Penn State, Tennessee, Louisville, Indiana, and Illinois have also offered the elite backer. Booker is an Auburn legacy but if his visits are any indication, Ohio State is in the driver's seat to land one of the state's bests.

The other undecided in-state linebacker is Cleveland (OH) St. Ignatius's Kyle Berger. Ohio State was the first offer Berger received, but Cincinnati, Georgia Tech, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Penn State, Tennessee, and West Virginia have since followed suit.

The visits show it will be an Ohio State-Michigan battle for the northeast Ohio product's pledge, but a decision should be coming soon. Berger wants to make his college choice by the end of the spring.

The last two with OSU offers both hail from Cleveland's Glenville Academy, Ohio State's pipeline.

High school secondary mates Marshon Lattimore and Erick Smith could find themselves in the same situation in Columbus in a few years. Both are supremely talented, but neither is expected to make a decision anytime soon.

Lattimore holds offers from Alabama, Georgia Tech, Illinois, Indiana, Louisville, Michigan, Michigan State, Penn State, Tennessee, and USC. Meanwhile, Smith has additional offers in Alabama, Georgia Tech, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Michigan State, Penn State, Tennessee, and West Virginia.

Both are extremely sought-after prospects but it would be difficult to see them end up anywhere other than Ohio State.

Other defensive prospects in the state of Ohio that could eventually attract an offer from the Buckeyes are Lima Central Catholic DB Darius West, Winton Woods DB Mike Edwards, Massillon DB Marcus Whitfield, Huber Heights Wayne LB Dorian Hendrix, Moeller LB Sam Hubbard, Winton Woods DL Daniel Cage, Shaker Heights DE Joe Henderson, and Galion ATH Dareian Watkins.