Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields and the rest of the class of 2019 early enrollees met with the media for the first time Wednesday on National Signing Day. (Birm/Lettermen Row) Good morning, Ohio State fans, and welcome to the Scarlet Sunrise! Football will always be our focus, but every day we’ll cover news, notes and analysis from across Buckeyes sports. Join us each morning to get caught up on everything you missed in the world of Ohio State football, recruiting, basketball and more. Buckeyes land two offensive linemen to close out 2019 class Ohio State knew it needed help along the offensive line and the February signing period delivered a double dose of help along the offensive line. Hawaii-native Enokk Vimahi was the first to announce his plans to sign with the Buckeyes Wednesday morning to kick off National Signing Day in Columbus. The program was relatively late into the game as a real factor for the 4-star offensive lineman. But the position was an enormous priority, and coach Ryan Day and his first coaching staff at Ohio State won Vimahi over down the stretch to convince him to leave the islands and head for the Midwest. Day needed to bolster a unit that is lacking the depth the Buckeyes would ideally like, and the Kahuku High School product was just about the perfect fit to address the issue. Playing right away is difficult at any spot up front, but Vimahi might find himself in the mix for playing time quickly depending on how quickly the projected guard can transition to the college ranks with his 6-foot-4, 265-pound frame. Next, Indianapolis 3-star offensive tackle Dawand Jones picked the Buckeyes over Penn State, USC, Indiana, Auburn and others. Indiana’s 13th-ranked 2019 prospect, Jones was discovered late in the recruiting process by the Buckeyes, but that didn’t stop them from making a major push for his signature in November. That came thanks to a double-pronged attack led by Kevin Wilson and Ryan Day. “It was the best fit for me,” Jones told Lettermen Row on Tuesday night. “The academics and the coaching staff, the best fit for me that way. When I visited there I really felt the love there, the brotherhood.” What did we learn from Ryan Day on National Signing Day? If the transition into the top job with the program has been like drinking from a fire hose, the water pressure still hasn’t let up yet for Ryan Day as he now shifts to the offseason conditioning program after a jam-packed first month, and is working with a revamped coaching staff while preparing for a spring camp that is already less than a month away. “It’s been a sprint to this point, really haven’t stopped,” Day said. “It’s been a lot on the recruiting trail. But putting the staff together was a big part, too. “I think I said this before, maybe even in the preseason [last year]. When you’re walking in these shoes, you notice things you didn’t notice before.” What all has he accomplished and what other key updates did he provide about the Buckeyes on Wednesday? Austin Ward recaps what we learned from Day after he closed out his first class as head coach. Additionally, watch the videos to hear from all five of the new members of the Ohio State coaching staff, as they met with the media for the first time Wednesday. Grading Ryan Day’s first Buckeyes recruiting class The 2019 recruiting class is complete for Ohio State. The Buckeyes signed just 17 players in this cycle, the smallest class since 2010, but they signed a handful of high-impact recruits that rank among the nation’s best at their respective positions. Overall, there’s a lot to like about this small Buckeyes group, even if there were a few key misses along the way. But that’s bound to happen to a program embroiled in controversy for much of the last few months, especially when it then loses a Hall of Fame head coach. So how’d the Buckeyes do overall? Birm graded the Ohio State 2019 recruiting class after all the signatures were collected at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center. Justin Fields ‘hoping soon’ to get eligibility answer from NCAA Justin Fields has a playbook to learn, teammates to get to know and some rougher weather to get used to at Ohio State. So, the transfer quarterback doesn’t have a lot of time to spend stressing about an NCAA decision about his pending waiver for instant eligibility with the Buckeyes. Certainly Fields and the program would both like an answer soon, and everybody involved is eventually expecting to receive good news for the highest-rated recruit to ever sign with Ohio State. But in the meantime, Fields isn’t giving it as much thought as the rest of the college football world seems to be given his potential importance to a College Football Playoff contender. “I mean, I don’t really know much about this process,” Fields said in his first public comments with the Buckeyes on Wednesday morning. “All that lawyer stuff, my job is strictly football. All this NCAA stuff, I really don’t have a great understanding of it. I’m just here to make this team better. I’d rather not have to deal with it, and I’m doing what I have to do to get eligible, but my main focus is the season.” Lettermen Live: Recapping busy month for Ohio State on National Signing Day On this week’s Lettermen Live presented by Byers Auto, Austin and Birm are inside the Woody Hayes Athletic Center after National Signing Day to break down an extremely busy month for Ryan Day and Ohio State. The guys discuss meeting and hearing from the new assistant coaches, what we learned from Ryan Day and what Wednesday’s signees — Enokk Vimahi and Dawand Jones — bring to the program. Check it out for a full recap from a loaded day! Counting down Ohio State hoops vs. Penn State: Today Sign up for the Scarlet Sunrise newsletter If you enjoy the Scarlet Sunrise posts, please consider having our newsletter delivered to your inbox every weekday morning.<doc-sep>Today is a big day for the Buckeyes, National Signing Day. Ryan Day is set to put the finishing touches on his 2019 Ohio State recruiting class. As the day begins the Buckeyes have 16 members in their 2019 class. Of those 16 members, 15 have already signed and six already enrolled at Ohio State. They also have one more recruit verbally committed though that prospect, Doug Nester, is expected to sign with Virginia Tech today according to sources. Day and his staff could land up to two more prospects today. The signed National Letters of Intent can start coming in as early as 7:00 am. The Buckeyes’ 2019 recruiting class is currently ranked No. 13 in the country in the 247Sports Composite recruiting rankings. The 2019 Ohio State recruiting class is likely not finished. There are three Buckeye related National Signing Day announcements. 12:30 pm ET: Offensive lineman Enokk Vimahi 5:00 pm ET: Offensive lineman Doug Nester 6:30 pm ET: Offensive lineman Dawand Jones Dave Biddle, Steve Helwagen and Patrick Murphy will cover Day’s National Signing Day press conference at 1:00 pm ET and Bucknuts will post video from that press conference later in day. Be sure to enjoy VIP access to Bucknuts.com with our 7-day Free trial offer. What's next for the Buckeyes? Make sure you're in the loop -- take five seconds to sign up for our FREE Buckeyes newsletter now! Bucknuts will be posting all day today on the thread below and we invite you to do the same. Check back often for plenty of discussion on this thread on the Front Row – your Ohio State National Signing Day hub!<doc-sep>UPDATE 12:40 p.m. -- Hawaii OL Enokk Vimahi becomes OSU's 16th signee in the 2019 class. Much of the suspense may be gone, but today is still National Signing Day for college football – at least in the traditional sense. This is the second year where high school seniors were permitted the chance to sign letters-of-intent for their colleges of choice during a brief signing period in mid-December. For decades prior to that, high school seniors had to wait until the first Wednesday in February to lock in their college choice. In two years, it is apparent that the December signing day is now the primary day for prospects to sign letters-of-intent. However, the February day remains for unsigned prospects. Ohio State signed 15 players on Dec. 19. They added Hawaii OL Enokk Vimahi for today’s “regular signing day.” Indiana OL Dawand Jones could join the fold at 6:30 p.m. today. Ohio State’s class was ranked No. 13 in the 247Sports Composite class rankings going into this second signing period. That puts OSU’s class third in the Big Ten behind Michigan (ranked seventh) and Penn State (ranked 10th). The 2019 class will be the first one signed by new Ohio State head coach Ryan Day. He was appointed to succeed the ultra successful Urban Meyer, whose duties wrapped up with OSU’s Rose Bowl win over Washington on Jan. 1. Day has a big act to follow. Six of Meyer’s seven recruiting classes were top-five classes and all of them were in the top 10. Day has been working hard over the last several weeks to try and salvage this 2019 class. The attached slideshow contains bios on OSU’s signees and possible signees. Here are some notables for the early signing period: * Still Out There – The Buckeyes were still working hard to add a pair of offensive linemen in Indiana’s Dawand Jones and Hawaii’s Enokk Vimahi. Vimahi announce he was signing with Ohio State as his college choice at 12:30 p.m. EST. Jones will announce his choice at 6:30 p.m. EST. * Nester To Virginia Tech – West Virginia OL Doug Nester – an OSU verbal since August 2017 – did not sign in the December period. He visited Penn State and Virginia Tech and now seems ready to sign with Virginia Tech, according to reports. He is due to announce his college destination at 5 p.m. * Our Coverage Plans – We have some big things planned: We will have ongoing Twitter updates from our corps of reporters, including @DaveBiddle, @SWiltfong247, @Bill_Kurelic, @AlexGleitman and @SteveHelwagen. Our friends at 247Sports.com will have an all-day webcast interviewing coaches and providing analysis. The first block of the show will run from 8-11 a.m. EST. The second block of the show begins at 1 pm and runs until 4 p.m. Click here for details on accessing the show. We will also be reporting from Ohio State’s Woody Hayes Athletic Center throughout the day. There will be interviews with the six early enrolling OSU freshmen as well as Georgia transfer QB Justin Fields in the morning. OSU’s five new assistant coaches will be interviewed at midday. Day will host his radio show at noon EST on the Ohio State football radio network (97.1 The Fan in Columbus). Day will then conduct his signing day press conference at 1 p.m. EST. We will post video from most of these interviews throughout the day. * Class Rankings – The 247Sports.com Network has pioneered the composite team recruiting ranking system. Using all of the available industry rankings, Ohio State was ranked 13th in the recruiting derby. Click here for the 247Sports.com team rankings, which will be updated hourly on Wednesday as signings are announced. * National Top 247 – Ohio State currently has seven national top 247 prospects, according to the 247Sports Composite. This includes four top-100 prospects. They include Ohio DE Zach Harrison (ranked 12th), Texas WR Garrett Wilson (ranked 20th nationally), Georgia center Harry Miller (30th) and Missouri WR Jameson Williams (82nd). OSU verbals ranked between 101-247 include Ohio LB Cade Stover (114th), New Jersey safety Ronnie Hickman (115th) and Georgia athlete prospect Steele Chambers (231st). * Signees By State – Five of OSU’s projected signees are from Ohio. Georgia has two signees with Florida, Hawaii, Indiana, Maryland, Missouri, New Jersey, North Carolina, Tennessee and Texas and having one each. * Signees By Position – There are some signees who could play multiple positions. But in general, here is the position breakdown: One running back, three wide receivers, four offensive linemen, three defensive lineman, two linebackers, three defensive backs and two athlete prospects. * Early Enrollees – Ohio State had six freshmen arrive as early enrollees for the start of winter semester on Jan. 7. That group would included Harrison, Wilson, Hickman, Ohio OL Ryan Jacoby, Ohio DE Noah Potter and Florida RB Marcus Crowley. * Scholarship Status – Tracking the exact number of spots for the 2019 class is a bit of a moving target. But the recent departure of linebacker Keandre Jones as a transfer to Maryland, puts OSU at 84 scholarship players for the 2019 season (including Vimahi). That would leave one open spot. In addition to Jones and Vimahi, OSU was also working to add Rutgers offensive lineman Jonah Jackson for the 2019 season. * Looking Toward 2020 – Ohio State has five 2020 prospects committed. They include Ohio OL Paris Johnson Jr. (ranked sixth nationally), New Jersey OL Luke Wypler (35th), Arizona QB Jack Miller (65th), Washington WR Gee Scott (70th), Arizona RB Darvon Hubbard (169th), Texas WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba (328th) and Ohio OL Jakob James (860th). * Looking Toward 2021 – Ohio State already has a commitment for 2021 in Ohio DE Jack Sawyer (ranked third nationally). Check out the slideshow for bios on OSU’s 2019 signees as well as today’s potential signees in Jones and Vimahi. (All heights and weights are from OSU’s signing day release for previous signees and 247Sports database for Vimahi and Jones.) Do you have your copy of Undisputed Champions? Click here for ordering information.<doc-sep>When Doug Nester revealed early Wednesday that he would sign with Virginia Tech instead of Ohio State, the Buckeyes had extra incentive to land their other two offensive line targets on the official National Signing Day. They did. On Wednesday afternoon, four-star Hawaii lineman Enokk Vimahi signed with Ohio State. On Wednesday evening, three-star Indianapolis offensive tackle Dawand Jones did the same. That puts the Buckeyes at the 85-player scholarship limit and completes their 17-member 2019 recruiting class. “O-line was an area of concern for us,” Ohio State coach Ryan Day said. “We had to go out there and kind of uncover all the stones.” Join the conversation at Facebook.com/groups/BuckeyeXtraFans and connect with us on Twitter @BuckeyeXtra In Vimahi’s case, that meant Day taking a commercial flight late last week to Hawaii for a three-hour visit before catching a red-eye back to Columbus. Vimahi was considered a near-lock to sign with Southern California until he played at the All-American Bowl in San Antonio, Texas, with some Ohio State signees Garrett Wilson and Zach Harrison. “The feedback we got about him was through the roof — (about him) and his family,” Day said. “That proved to be true. We thought he'd be a great fit here. We wouldn't just go over to Hawaii if it wasn't a good fit. It was. Then he came up for a visit, we all hit it off. That was great.” At 6 feet 4½ and 263 pounds, Vimahi has the frame to play guard or tackle. “Enokk is a very good athlete,” Day said. “He's a guy that we think can put on a lot of weight, get stronger. He's super-athletic. His father is one of his coaches. He from a young age has trained him to be an offensive lineman, but has done a lot of things with flexibility, body-weight stuff. He's very, very athletic, very agile. With his lower half, we think he's got the ability to put on a lot of weight.” Vimahi’s plan is to attend college for one year before going on a two-year Mormon mission and then returning to school. Jones, a 6-8, 360-pound tackle from Ben Davis High School, is considered more of a long-term project. He was also a Division I basketball prospect. “He is a terrific two-sport athlete who was offered scholarships in both football and basketball,” Day said. “We love his athleticism and length. He comes from one of the premier high school programs in Indiana and the Midwest.” Nester committed to Ohio State in August 2017. Though he never formally reneged on his pledge, it became clear that he was looking elsewhere lately, with Virginia Tech and Penn State the other options. “Ohio State is always the best of the best and they continue to get great talent and great guys, but it’s a big city and I don’t know if I would fit in well there,” Nester told his hometown Herald-Dispatch of Huntington, West Virginia. Ohio State’s 2019 recruiting class is ranked 14th nationally by 247Sports. That’s considerably lower than classes under Urban Meyer and behind No. 8 Michigan and No. 13 Penn State in the Big Ten, but much of that is because of the class’s size. The Buckeyes had a small senior class, and a few players considered possibilities to enter the NFL draft, such as Jordan Fuller, Damon Arnette and K.J. Hill, elected to return to Ohio State. In terms of ranking per prospect, the Buckeyes trail only Alabama and Georgia. brabinowitz@dispatch.com @brdispatch Listen to the BuckeyeXtra Football podcast:<doc-sep>
If you’re a longtime follower of Ohio State football recruiting, this year’s National Signing Day will be much quieter than you’re used to. In years past, Ohio State probably would have already announced multiple signees by the time this article even published this morning. As soon as National Signing Day officially began at 7 a.m., Ohio State’s fax machine would start lighting up with National Letters of Intent. Today, though, there’s no guarantee that the Buckeyes will even receive any NLIs – and if they do, they probably won’t receive any of them (or at least announce any of them) before noon. With the advent of the Early Signing Period two years ago, what used to be a race to February has now become a race to December, and as such, the Buckeyes already signed the vast majority of their 2019 recruiting class on Dec. 19. Last year, the Buckeyes signed five players on National Signing Day, including three who had already committed to Ohio State (Tyreke Smith, Tyler Friday and Chris Olave) and two who announced on signing day – Nicholas Petit-Frere and Javontae Jean-Baptiste. This year, though, the Buckeyes enter National Signing Day with just one unsigned commitment in Doug Nester, and he’s not even expected to sign with Ohio State on Wednesday. After opting not to sign with the rest of Ohio State’s commits in December, Nester is expected by recruiting insiders to announce he is signing with Virginia Tech when he makes his announcement at 5 p.m. Wednesday. (Update: Virginia Tech announced Nester's signing on Wednesday morning). Ohio State could still potentially sign two offensive linemen on Wednesday in Enokk Vimahi, who will announce where he is signing at 12:30 p.m., and Dawand Jones, who will announce where he is signing at 6:30 p.m. Both of those players would reinforce depth and give the Buckeyes building blocks for the future at a position group where they are thin on numbers. RELATED Signing Day Primer: Buckeyes' Recruiting Efforts Focused on Three Offensive Linemen to Close Out 2019 Class Even if both of those players ultimately choose to become Buckeyes, though, Wednesday isn’t going to feel like a traditional signing day. New Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields, the midyear freshman enrollees and their new assistant coaches meeting with the media for the first time on Wednesday is likely to garner more attention than anything that happens on the recruiting front. That doesn’t mean that Wednesday isn’t an important day for Ohio State to complete its 2019 recruiting class, but in the grand scheme of things, it’s not likely to be a day that makes or breaks the program’s future. You might find yourself nostalgically longing for the onslaught of #BOOMs that typically accompanied for the first Wednesday of February, but there’s no real reason to be alarmed about this year’s lack of signing day activity, because that’s likely to be the new normal going forward. Ohio State’s goal now is to sign as much of its recruiting class as possible during the early signing period in December, leaving the February signing day only for priority players who are not yet ready to make their decisions or to fill holes that might emerge late in the process. Even though they only signed 15 players in December, the Buckeyes never intended to add a large number of players to their recruiting class today. “We don't lose a lot of seniors this year, and so within the 85 scholarships, there's really not that many spots and limited room,” Day said during his early signing period press conference on Dec. 19. RELATED Garrett Wilson, Zach Harrison Stand Out As Potential Immediate Contributors Among Ohio State's Early Enrollees If Nester had signed with the Buckeyes in December as originally planned and fellow offensive lineman Michael Jordan had opted to stay at Ohio State for his senior season instead of entering the 2019 NFL draft, it’s possible the Buckeyes wouldn’t have pursued any February signees at all. They’d currently be at 85 scholarships if Nester and Jordan were on their roster, and neither Vimahi nor Jones became priorities for the Buckeyes until after the early signing period. Ohio State will surely sign larger recruiting classes in most years than it will this year, which could leave a few more spots open in February in future years. The Buckeyes also haven’t had many unexpected player departures yet this offseason, keeping their roster mostly full heading into National Signing Day.