Urban Meyer explains why Ezekiel Elliott is his favorite recruiting success story

Published Feb. 1, 2017 7:04 p.m. ET

Stewart Mandel

As Signing Day 2017 comes to a close, consider this reminder from Ohio State coach Urban Meyer that you never truly know which players in a given class will blossom into the biggest stars.

Toward the end of our interview Wednesday for The Audible, I asked Meyer about former Buckeyes star Ezekiel Elliott's amazing rookie season with the Dallas Cowboys. He immediately noted that Elliott was not even one of their highest-ranked signees in the Class of 2013, checking in at 109th on ESPN's rankings. (Meyer actually recalled him being 108th on 247Sports; his memory of the details was admirable but just a tad bit off.)

You can listen to the interview with Meyer here:

Elliott was no slouch, mind you, a four-star prospect out of St. Louis with plenty of interest. But among Ohio State's offensive skill guys that year, Elliott checked in lower than Jalin Marshall and Dontre Wilson.

"Zeke Elliot was a product of hard work," said Meyer. "He was a made player, he didn't show up like that and his work ethic is still legendary around here."

Meyer signed yet another stocked class Wednesday, arguably his best one yet at Ohio State. While second to Alabama's on most recruiting sites, the Buckeyes' class is smaller (21 signees) and higher on a per-player basis. Nearly a quarter (five) are five-star players.

None may be more important than five-star cornerback Jeffrey Okudah (Grand Prairie, Texas), the nation's No. 7 overall recruit per 247Sports and one of nine early enrollees for the Buckeyes. Meyer for the second straight year lost three starting defensive backs early to the NFL (Malik Hooker, Marshon Lattimore and Gareon Conley). Okudah, along with fellow early enrollees Shaun Wade and Isaiah Pryor, will have an opportunity to play right away.

As could several others recent arrivals.

"You know, these guys are already working out," said Meyer. "We got from the weekend from recruiting and the last three days. They're walking around the weight room and facility talking to our guys and my goodness, we've got nine guys here right now that I would anticipate the majority of them will play next year."

Which one becomes the next Elliott is anyone's best guess. In the meantime, Meyer now uses the leading candidate for Rookie of the Year as an example for his current players.

"I use him about every day, and not just for running back, but for every position group," said Meyer. "And the good news is, this last five-year run we've had, there's plenty of great stories from Mike Thomas to Zeke Elliot and some others. … Joey Bosa was a little more ready-made. There's some great storylines of guys we've seen develop, but Zeke might be the best of all."

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