DaytonDailyNews.com

COLUMBUS — Ohio State has 17 verbal commitments among high school seniors so far and is assured of ending up with one of the nation's top recruiting classes — with or without Terrelle Pryor.

The Buckeyes have landed seven top-100 prospects in the Scout.com ratings, matching Notre Dame for the most in the nation. They have perhaps only two more scholarships available, which will make for a relatively small class, but their average player rating is second-best nationally behind Southern Cal.

"It's a typically strong effort by the Buckeyes," said Allen Wallace, national recruiting editor for Scout.com and SuperPrep Magazine. "This looks like a real top-10 class, or even top-five, depending on what happens with people like Terrelle Pryor."

The Buckeyes have filled a need by landing three of the top seven offensive linemen in the nation in Mike Adams of Dublin, Ohio; J.B. Shugarts of Klein, Texas; and Michael Brewster of Orlando.

And they hope to land one more in guard Josh Jenkins, considered the top player in West Virginia. He's reportedly whittled his choices to OSU and the home-state Mountaineers.

But one player who made a verbal commitment may have to go shopping for another school. Massillon's Devoe Torrence, the top running back in Ohio, has had several off-field incidents, putting his future with the Buckeyes in jeopardy.

"I'll be surprised if he's in this class," said Duane Long, recruiting analyst for Bucknuts.com.

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