RB Warren Ball

6-2 205

Columbus (DeSales)

He was the second commitment to the 2012 class. Considered the 13th-best running back nationally by Scout.com and No. 16 by Rivals.com, he rushed for 1,232 yards and 29 touchdowns as a senior and was named to The Dispatch all-Metro team and first-team Division III all-state by the Associated Press. Although nicked by injuries throughout high school, he helped DeSales to the state-title game in 2009 and to the second round of the playoffs last year. He will play in the Ohio high-school all-star game on April 20 at Ohio Stadium.

DB Devan Bogard

6-0 175

Cleveland (Glenville)

He was named first-team Division I all-state by the Associated Press this past season, posting 91 tackles and two interceptions. Was ranked the 14th-best safety prospect nationally by Rivals.com and 24th by Scout.com. The 247Sports website ranked him the sixth-best overall prospect in the state. Although he committed to OSU this past summer, he turned some heads when he took an official visit to Southern California in January. He’s from the same school that produced several former Buckeyes, including safeties Donte Whitner and Jermale Hines. He will play in the Ohio high-school all-star game.

OL Jacoby Boren

6-2 275

Pickerington (Central)

He enrolled at Ohio State in January. He is the youngest brother of OSU fullback Zach Boren and former OSU lineman Justin Boren. Jacoby was a two-way performer at Central, helping the team to the Division I state championship game last year, where it lost to Cleveland St. Ignatius. He was named first-team Division I all-state by the Associated Press and was a member of The Dispatch all-Metro team. Rivals.com ranked him 37th nationally among guard prospects, and SuperPrep rated him the 37th-best overall prospect in the Midwest. He was a four-year letter winner.

OL Taylor Decker

6-8 315

Vandalia, Ohio (Butler)

Decker initially committed to Notre Dame, but he flipped in January to Ohio State, which before coach Urban Meyer took over in late November had not recruited him. The largest of the 2012 OSU recruits, he was a three-year starter in football and basketball. Rivals.com rated him No. 23 among tackle prospects nationally, and Scout.com ranked him the 77th-best overall prospect. He was named first-team Division II all-state by the Associated Press after helping his team to its first winning record (6-4) in eight years. He will play in the Ohio high-school all-star game.

OL Kyle Dodson

6-6 315

Cleveland Heights, Ohio

Dodson committed to and signed with Ohio State yesterday. He had committed to Wisconsin months earlier but reopened the recruiting process in December, and he also considered Southern California and Michigan State. Dodson was ranked 16th nationally among tackle prospects by Rivals.com, and the 178th-best overall prospect. Scout.com rated Dodson No. 24 among tackle prospects nationally. He helped his team make the state playoffs for the first time in school history, even though he played the last four games with a major injury to his right shoulder.

RB Bri’onte Dunn

6-2 220

Canton (GlenOak)

He made waves when, despite being a longtime commitment to Ohio State, he took an official visit to Michigan in early December. But he enrolled at Ohio State in January. Scout.com ranked him seventh nationally among running backs, and Rivals.com ranked him 11th. Dunn played his first two years of high school at Alliance, Ohio, and he rushed for 5,479 yards in his four-year high-school career, including two 300-yard games. He was named first-team Division I all-state by the Associated Press the past two seasons. After rushing for 2,030 yards during his junior year, he rushed for 1,657 yards as a senior.

OL Pat Elflein

6-3 285

Pickerington (North)

He was named first-team Division I all-state by the Associated Press and to The Dispatch all-Metro team. He was rated No. 22 among guard prospects nationally by ESPNU and No. 31 by Scout.com. He is working to become a 12-letter winner at North in three sports. He is an accomplished wrestler who was named performer of the year in the Ohio Capital Conference for the 2010-11 season and has advanced deep into state and national tournaments. He is a shot-putter in track and field.

WR Frank Epitropoulos

6-3 197

Upper Arlington

He is a second-generation Buckeye, son of three-year letterman John Epitropoulos (1978-80) and nephew of Ernie Epitropoulos. Frank is taking part in the International Bowl all-star game in Austin, Texas, tonight. He was a three-way performer in high school as a receiver, defensive back and punter. Despite missing four games as a senior because of a hand injury, he caught 29 passes for 459 yards and seven touchdowns on a team that made the state playoffs. He was named a second-team all-state punter by the Associated Press. With a 40-inch vertical leap, he also runs track for UA as a sprinter and long jumper.

QB Cardale Jones

6-5 220

Cleveland (Glenville)

He originally was going to be a member of Ohio State’s 2011 class, but went to Fork Union (Va.) Military Academy in the fall to bolster his academics. He enrolled at OSU in January. He was 24-3 as the starting quarterback at Glenville, leading the Tarblooders to the Division I state-title game in 2009, where they lost to Hilliard Davidson. Considered a dual-threat quarterback, he preferred to throw in high school, passing for 2,168 yards and 18 touchdowns in 2009 and 1,689 yards and 22 touchdowns as a senior. He helped the Ohio team beat Pennsylvania in the 2011 Big 33 game. He also played basketball at Glenville.

LB Jamal Marcus

6-2 230

Durham, N.C. (Hillside)

Marcus made his college choice on signing day, picking Ohio State over East Carolina. Marcus is listed as a linebacker, but he has the size and ability to be a linebacker/defensive end. He has 4.6-second speed in the 40. He was ranked 32nd nationally among outside linebackers by Rivals.com, and Scout.com had Marcus 70th among defensive ends. He had 14 sacks as a junior on a team that went 16-0 and won a state championship.

DB Najee Murray

5-11 172

Steubenville, Ohio

He committed to Ohio State in June. He was named a Division III state co-defensive player of the year in 2011 by the Associated Press while also being named first-team all-state after his team went 11-1, losing in the second round of the state playoffs. He had 54 tackles as a senior. Although he was a two-way player considered a shutdown cornerback in high school, Rivals.com ranked him 16th nationally among safeties. He was part of the state-champion 4-x-200 relay team last year. He will play in the Ohio high-school all-star game.

OL Joey O’Connor

6-4 295

Windsor, Colo.

He is student-body president as a senior. He originally committed to Penn State but reconsidered after the Jerry Sandusky child sex-abuse scandal rocked the school in November. He committed to OSU in January and is the first player from Colorado to sign with OSU since receiver Chris Sanders in 1990. He was Colorado’s Class AAA player of the year after helping his team win a state championship, and was ranked 12th nationally among tackles by Rivals.com. After being named first-team all-state the past two seasons, he played in the Under Armour All-America game in January in St. Petersburg, Fla.

LB David Perkins

6-2 220

South Bend, Ind. (Washington)

He was listed as an “athlete” prospect by national recruiting services because of his defensive abilities and his prowess as a running back (1,311 yards rushing, 20 catches as a senior). He will play linebacker at Ohio State. He had committed to Notre Dame but withdrew that in the fall, then pledged to OSU in January. With 4.43-second speed in the 40-yard dash, he was ranked 13th nationally among athlete prospects by Rivals.com, which also rated him No. 2 among overall prospects from Indiana. He had 22 tackles for loss among his 103 stops last season, including seven sacks for a team that went to the state title game.

LB Joshua Perry

6-3 230

Lewis Center (Olentangy)

He was the first commitment to this class, pledging in June 2010 before his junior year in high school. He enrolled at OSU in January after compiling a 3.8 grade-point average in high school. He was ranked sixth among overall prospects in Ohio by Rivals.com, and 11th nationally among outside linebackers, and Scout.com had him at No. 9. He was runner-up in the long jump in the Division I state track and field meet in 2010, an event won by OSU receiver Devin Smith. A second-team all-state player last season, he had 70 tackles, including seven sacks.

DE Se’Von Pittman

6-5 245

Canton (McKinley)

He made news in June when he eschewed an Ohio State offer in favor of committing to Michigan State. He was in the headlines again when he flipped to OSU in December. He was considered the 58th overall prospect in the nation by Scout.com and 95th by Rivals.com, which also rated him the third-best overall prospect in Ohio. He had 102 tackles as a senior, including eight sacks among his 20 tackles for loss as his team advanced to the second round of the state playoffs. He was first-team Division I all-state the past two seasons.

DB Tyvis Powell

6-3 180

Bedford, Ohio

He committed to Ohio State on June 1, two days after Jim Tressel resigned as coach. Powell enrolled in January. It remains to be seen which position he will play for the Buckeyes. Rivals.com rated him the 33rd-best cornerback nationally, and Scout.com has him as the 37th-best safety prospect. He had four interceptions as a junior and two as a senior. Powell also played basketball and baseball at Bedford, although he opted for track and field instead of baseball his junior year so he could improve his speed, which reportedly is in the 4.4-second range in the 40-yard dash.

DB Armani Reeves

5-10 185

West Roxbury, Mass.

(Catholic Memorial)

He had committed to Penn State before the child sex-abuse scandal. He committed to Ohio State on Sunday night after making OSU and Michigan his final two. He is a high-school teammate of fellow OSU signee Camren Williams, whose father, Brent, is his godfather. Reeves was ranked sixth among cornerbacks nationally by Scout.com, and 17th by Rivals.com, and he was ranked the No. 2 overall prospect in Massachusetts behind Williams. Reeves was a two-way performer, rushing for 1,103 yards and making 51 tackles last season.

LB Luke Roberts

6-2 225

Lancaster, Ohio

With a 4.3 grade-point average and a 30 on the ACT pre-enrollment test, he could have written his ticket to several Ivy League schools, but he committed to Ohio State in July. Although not rated nationally by Rivals.com, he is ranked 28th by Scout.com among inside linebackers and 44th by ESPNU. His 118-tackle senior season, which included 19 tackles for loss, earned him second-team Division I all-state recognition by the Associated Press. From the same school that produced former Buckeyes Rex Kern, Bobby Carpenter and Jim Cordle, he plans to enroll at OSU in March so he can take part in spring drills.

DL Tommy Schutt

6-3 300

Glen Ellyn, Ill. (Glenbard West)

Originally committed to Penn State, he reconsidered and became the first to commit under Urban Meyer. He played in the Army All-American Bowl in January in San Antonio. Scout.com ranked him the 47th-best overall prospect in the nation, and Rivals.com had him No. 64. SuperPrep had him as the No. 6 overall prospect in the Midwest. He made 73 tackles his senior season, with 14 sacks among his 23 tackles for loss. He was named all-state by the Illinois high-school coaches association three straight years.

WR Ricquan Southward

6-2 190

Lakeland, Fla.

He is the only player in the class from Florida, and he committed on Nov. 27, the day before Urban Meyer was named coach. Southward, who originally committed to the University of Miami, had 54 catches — including a school-record 12 in a game — for 994 yards and nine touchdowns in his senior season as his team reached the state’s Class 7A semifinals and finished 13-1. He was ranked 36th nationally among receivers by ESPNU and 60th by Rivals.com. The Associated Press named him first-team all-state in Class 7A in 2011.

DE Noah Spence

6-4 245

Harrisburg, Pa. (Bishop McDevitt)

He is the highest-rated prospect in this class. He was ranked fifth by Scout.com among overall prospects nationally and ninth by Rivals.com, which also rated him first among defensive ends. He is one of nine sons of Greg Spence, who played at N.C. State. Noah Spence was the state’s big-school defensive player of the year the past two seasons, and was the Maxwell Club’s national high-school player of the year. He had 204 tackles the past two seasons; his 50 tackles for loss included 35 sacks. His three sacks set an Under Armour All-America game record.

TE Blake Thomas

6-4 245

Cleveland (St. Ignatius)

He is the only tight end in this class, committing to Ohio State in mid-May. He then helped St. Ignatius win the Division I state championship, its 11th. After catching 24 passes for 256 yards as a junior, he caught 25 for 250 yards as a senior, but four of those catches came in the title-game victory over Pickerington Central. Rivals.com ranked him 16th nationally among tight ends, and Scout.com had him 22nd. He was considered the 25th-best overall prospect in Ohio by Rivals.com,

WR Michael Thomas

6-4 205

Woodland Hills, Calif. (Taft)

He enrolled at Ohio State in January. He went to Fork Union (Va.) Military Academy last fall to improve his academic standing, rooming with fellow OSU recruit Cardale Jones. Thomas committed to Ohio State in October. He had a stellar senior season in California in 2010, catching 86 passes for 1,656 yards, the most in the state, and 21 touchdowns. Ranked 98th among receivers nationally by Scout.com during the 2011 recruiting period, he played in last year’s Under Armour All-America game. At Fork Union last season, he caught 23 passes for 497 yards and seven touchdowns.

DE Adolphus Washington

6-5 245

Cincinnati (Taft)

He committed to Ohio State on the Tuesday before last season’s Michigan game, six days before Urban Meyer was named coach. After a 90-tackle senior season that included 23 sacks, he was considered a five-star prospect by Scout.com, which ranked him 10th among overall prospects nationally and first in Ohio, and by Rivals.com, which ranked him 25th overall nationally. He also is a standout basketball player, and he led Taft to the Division III state championship in 2011 with 18 points, eight rebounds and two blocked shots in the title game.

LB Camren Williams

6-2 215

West Roxbury, Mass. (Catholic Memorial)

A former commitment to Penn State, he committed to Ohio State two weeks ago. He is a high-school teammate of OSU signee Armani Reeves. Williams was rated the No. 1 prospect in Massachusetts by Rivals.com after a 119-tackle season, and Rivals rated him No. 8 among inside linebackers nationally. Scout.com ranked him 16th among outside linebackers. He is the son of former NFL defensive end Brent Williams and is a member of the National Honor Society.

tmay@dispatch.com