ESPN College Football

Posted by ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg

After landing the Big Ten's top recruiting class, Ohio State is up next on the snapshot rundown.

Number of recruits: 25

Key needs: Running back, quarterback, linebacker, defensive back

Highest-rated player (Scouts Inc.): Jaamal Berry (No. 3 nationally among running backs)

The quote: "Florida plays great football. You've got excellent population. When I started recruiting 30-some years ago, Florida had 11 million people and we probably had 15 million [in Ohio]. Now the tide has turned. Florida [high school] football has just continued to grow and grow. Those guys that we got out of Florida are highly thought of." -- Head coach Jim Tressel, on Ohio State's three skill recruits (Berry, running back Carlos Hyde and wide receiver Duron Carter) from Florida.

Quick take: A year after winning the Terrelle Pryor sweepstakes, Ohio State inked a first-rate recruiting class that includes seven players in the ESPNU 150. Running backs Berry and Hyde will compete right away for the starting job vacated by Chris "Beanie" Wells, and defensive standouts like linebacker Dorian Bell and cornerbacks C.J. Barnett and Corey Brown add depth after the losses of multiyear starters like James Laurinaitis, Marcus Freeman and Malcolm Jenkins. For the second straight year Ohio State added several top offensive linemen, and Cris Carter's son Duron gives Pryor another playmaker at receiver. The class fell in the rankings after Justin Green switched to Illinois and Tajh Boyd and Marlon Brown went elsewhere, but Ohio State filled needs on both sides of the ball. Arguably the most critical recruit was unheralded quarterback Kenny Guiton, an eleventh-hour commit who gives Ohio State a third scholarship quarterback.