The Big 10 is falling even further behind Ohio State

Do you happen to remember that challenge which Urban Meyer issued to the other member institutions of the Big Ten back in February?

It went something like ... "quit making us look bad compared to the SEC, and let's start recruiting better as a conference."

Well, the other coaches around the Midwest don't seem to have gotten the memo, quite yet.

After looking over the roster of prospects who attended Nike's elite prospect camp – "The Opening" – it's clear that Ohio State has lapped the field on the recruiting trail in the Big Ten. They've also put together one of the more impressive classes in the country for 2014.

11 players who headed out to the Nike Campus in Beaverton, Ore. last month can count themselves as pledges to the Buckeyes. That's MORE THAN THE REST OF THE ENTIRE BIG TEN COMBINED. At the time this post goes live, there will be a grand total of eight prospects* from The Opening which are committed to the other 11 schools in the conference. Incredible.

Of course, Ohio State has surged out to a very strong start. They are only in on a handful of other prospects at this point. Other Big Ten programs will very likely close out with strong classes and land a few more top prospects to make those numbers look a little less lopsided. It should also be noted that not every top blue-chip prospect from around the country attends The Opening (five-star Michigan pledge Jabrill Peppers being a prime example). Many elect not to, and more than a few players get bids by impressing on stopwatches at regional Nike SPARQ combines across the country. This is not the end-all, be-all measure of how good a recruiting class (or particular) is.

However, the fact that Ohio State has already landed 11 prospects for 2014 who attended The Opening is impressive, nonetheless. Meyer and his staff are going out and getting big, strong, fast and skilled athletes to fill out their roster, without a doubt. The Buckeyes should be a formidable program under Urban Meyer as long as he stays in Columbus.

And for those wondering, the school with the second-most commitments to at this point to have attended The Opening? That would be Florida, of course, with seven.

*Breaking that down by team: Michigan and Penn State both had two commitments who attended The Opening. Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska and Purdue all had one representative each.