Recruiting rankings are a relatively new tool. This series takes a look at the ranked Ohio State commits by position. Remember, many great Buckeyes never entered the program with a recruiting ranking. Also, some players came in with overly hyped numbers, or extremely low numbers. With that in mind, you will find the highest rated Buckeye running back commits below. 

#Signed in 2011 as a senior from California, but gray-shirted and entered with the 2012 class after attending a school in Virginia.

OHIO AGAINST THE WORLD
Let's start with why Ted Ginn Jr. and Anthony Gonzalez are not in the table above. Some might not have known this, but Ginn and Gonzalez came to Ohio State as corner backs. Ginn is currently the highest rated CB in program history. That's right, Ginn was expected to be the next great Ohio State defensive back. However, Tressel and the coaching staff decided to use the talents of Ginn and Gonzalez at receiver instead.

With that said, there are many players that committed as athletes and ended up at receiver. I should probably include those players here as well, but will let the "athletes" have their own battle as this series comes to a conclusion.

Now, with all of that out of the way, onto the players that came to the Buckeyes as wide receiver commits.

12 of the 33 wide receivers (36.4%) in the table above are from Ohio. Before Garrett Wilson committed to the 2019 class last month, Jalin Marshall was the highest rated, and only five-star wide receiver, for the Buckeyes. Heading into this season, Marshall, DeVier Posey and Angelo Chattams were three of OSU's top-four WR commits from Ohio.

Other recruiting rated commits from our great state that made their mark on the Buckeyes are Roy Hall, Devin Smith and Parris Campbell. Notable non-rated Ohioans listed on 247sports at receiver are Drew Carter, Brian Hartline, Brian Robiskie and Dane Sanzenbacher.

Jaylen Harris might find the field in 2019 after the departure of several key wide outs from this year's team. In all, Ohioans have contributed to the receiving corps quite nicely since 2002 and many are hopeful that Harris becomes the next. 

Where the 33 ranked wide receivers come from: Ohio (12), Florida (8), Missouri (3), California (2)*, Indiana (2), Texas (2), Arkansas (1), Illinois (1), Michigan (1), Mississippi (1).

Ohio or the World?
If you had to go empty, which group of five would you go with from the rated players, Team Ohio or Team World? To make it easier I will give you the five receivers for each side. Note, I am going to "cheat" and include Ted Ginn as a receiver because he started every game of his Ohio State career at receiver. 

Team Ohio: Ted Ginn, Anthony Gonzalez, DeVier Posey, Parris Campbell and Devin Smith.

Team World: Santonio Holmes, Michael Thomas, Evan Spencer, Terry McLaurin and Austin Mack.

Base your decision on what the players did for the Buckeyes on the field.

Honorable mentions for Team Ohio are Jalin Marshall, Ray Small and Chris Fields. The Team World honorable mentions are Johnnie Dixon and KJ Hill.

Remember, many great players are not listed above because recruiting rankings were not available when those players committed to Ohio State.

COMPARING THE COACHES
The table below breaks down how each coach performed with running backs that were rated by the recruiting services. 

If you're a kid wanting to grow up and play receiver for the Buckeyes, the current trend is for the WR to be just over 6-1 and 187 pounds. You should also be blessed with ridiculous speed, quick feet, great hands, a desire to run block and have steel balls to run crossing routes.

According to the recruiting rankings, Jalin Marshall and Garrett Wilson are the only five-star receivers for Ohio State. If Ginn is moved to WR, the number increases to three. A shame that players weren't rated in the past, because like all of the positions, it would have been very interesting to see where some of the Buckeyes' all-time greats would have rated.

Team Tressel or Team Meyer?
Forget about the recruiting rankings and base this decision on how the players performed on the field. Which coach's recruiting rated contributing wide receivers would you rather have? 

Team Tressel: Roy Hall, Santonio Holmes, Ted Ginn*, Anthony Gonzalez, DeVier Posey, Chris Fields, Evan Spencer and Devin Smith.

Team Meyer: Michael Thomas, Jalin Marshall, Johnnie Dixon, Parris Campbell, Terry McLaurin, KJ Hill, Austin Mack and Binjimen Victor.

Note, receivers listed above are in order of commitment year.

Below is a list of the receivers in 247sports database that did not receiver a recruiting rating. You will find some pretty talented guys in this table.

PENNY FOR MY THOUGHTS
About what this is worth, but my thoughts on the questions posed above.

Like the running backs yesterday, Team Ohio versus Team World is tough when comparing the receivers. Team Ohio might be unfairly boosted by the additions of Ted Ginn and Anthony Gonzalez (committed as a CBs), but the talented wide outs were used primarily on offense and returns.

Team Ohio's receivers made their mark on the Ohio State record book. Entering the 2018 season, Devin Smith holds the program record for average yard per catch over a season (28.2, 2014), is second with 30 career touchdown catches, is fourth on the list for career yards per catch (20.7) and TDs in a season (12). Parris Campbell capped off his senior campaign with the second most receptions in a season in Ohio State history. 

Looking at Team Ohio as a whole, the group has speed to burn with Ted Ginn and Parris Campbell. Devin Smith is arguably the best deep-ball receiver in school history. Then add Anthony Gonzalez and DeVier Posey as quick, athletic possession receivers this is an impressive group.

Team World: Santonio Holmes, Michael Thomas, Evan Spencer, Terry McLaurin and Austin Mack.

Santonio Holmes entered 2018 in the Top 10 in pass reception yards for a career and season, receptions per game and touchdown catches for a career and a season. Michael Thomas led the team in receiving in 2014 and 2015, but the insanely talented receiver is not listed in the Top 10 of any Ohio State receiving records in the 2018 Team Guide. 

Again, it's a shame that the older players were not ranked as it would have changed the landscape of this debate. I'm tempted to claim the not-rated players as the best group, but that's not fair to this series. Under the parameters set, Team Ohio gets my vote. Take Ginn and Gonzalez off and the answer might be different, but I'd still go with Team Ohio because guys like Cris Carter, Joey Galloway and Terry Glenn to name a few should be on the squad.

So, in the end my votes are going to Team Ohio and Team Tressel. However, in a couple of years, my vote could change to Team Meyer depending on how KJ Hill, Austin Mack, Binjimen Victor and Chris Olave finish their Buckeye careers.

Next Up: Inside Linebackers