I'm not a coach, and I've never seen any of these guys play in person, but I have a blog, and that makes me more than qualified enough to evaluate the guys that will be coming to campus this summer (or that are already on campus). I'm not going to go way in-depth on these things, because I haven't followed recruiting as closely this year as I should have (and that's "should" in the "Ohio State blogger" sense, not the "well-adjusted individual that contributes to society in positive ways and doesn't obsess about the decisions of 18-year-old football players" sense). Today will be the defense. The links go to the players' BuckeyePlanet threads, and are followed by their measurables from Rivals. The comparison gimmick is borrowed, as all great college football blogging ideas are, from Brian, with the same caveat: I'm not saying he is or will be as good as the comparison. The comparison is just a dude you're likely to know. The recruit could end up worse, or even better.

The Defensive Backs

Travis Howard - 6'0", 172 lbs., 4.43 forty - **** Rivals, *** Scout
- Howard will almost certainly play corner, though the coaches do like to move their DBs around. He had offers from Auburn, Tennessee, and Miami, among many others, so he's not exactly a sleeper recruit, but he seems underrated by the recruiting services, given his list of offers. He has good size for a corner, and a nice vertical (supposedly in the 36" range) to go along with decent speed. Corner wasn't a position of need, but Howard is a nice grab.
- In 2008, he will: Redshirt, probably. He could end up playing special teams, but with plenty of talent ahead of him on the depth chart, he'll probably take a year to get stronger and faster.
- Reminds me of: Malcolm Jenkins. They're both physical corners with good size. They're also both corners that weren't that highly rated coming out of high school. Keep your fingers crossed.

Orhian Johnson - 6'4", 184 lbs., 4.57 forty - *** Rivals, *** Scout
- Nobody's really sure where Johnson will play. Safety seems to be the most popular guess, so I put him here, but receiver is a possibility, as is quarterback, especially if a certain uber-recruit heads elsewhere. Wherever he plays, he'll bring good size and a 40" vertical.
- In 2008, he will: Redshirt. Assuming he winds up as a DB, there is plenty of talent ahead of him
- Reminds me of: Chris Gamble, maybe? A guy talented enough to play on both sides of the ball. Nate Salley is a more reasonable hope, a high school QB who successfully switched over to safety.

Zach Domicone - 6'3", 215 lbs., 4.47 forty - *** Rivals, *** Scout
- Domicone is an interesting story. He's an Ohio kid, and the first major school to offer him was Nebraska. He was set to head there, then Oklahoma offered him a scholarship. He was about to hop on a plane to Norman, then the Buckeyes offered. He quickly committed. The measurables are good, and he seems like a bit of a sleeper (as much as that's possible with offers from Oklahoma and Nebraska). If nothing else, he's a pretty smart guy that'll be good for the team GPA.
- In 2008, he will: Probably redshirt. He'll need to learn the position, so the extra year could do him good. On the other hand, a guy with his size and speed, who plays as hard as he does in the various videos of him floating around, could contribute immediately on special teams. But my money's on the redshirt.
- Reminds me of: A guy in the BuckeyePlanet thread suggests Donnie Nickey, and that makes some sense. Good, not great, talent, but played smart and hard and ended up being one of the better parts of a couple great defenses.

The Linebackers

Etienne Sabino - 6'2", 222 lbs., 4.6 forty - **** Rivals, ***** Scout
- Sabino is considered the best inside linebacker in the country by Rivals, and the second best by Scout. So yeah, he's a major recruit. In an SI.com article, Rivals said he had the best instincts of all inside linebacker recruits. Not much to say, other than that. He's big, he's strong, and he's fast. One of the big names in the class.
- In 2008, he will: Play a lot of special teams. Plenty of talent ahead of him on the depth chart, but I wouldn't be surprised to see him get into the rotation eventually. But his biggest impact will be on special teams. He could be this year's Brian Rolle.*
- Reminds me of: I don't know, pick the highly-touted OSU linebacker recruit of your choice. I'm going with Chris Spielman, and that worked out pretty well. No pressure, Sabino.

* Except that, as we all know, there is only one Brian Rolle. Once, there were two, but they hit each other so hard that they combined into one entity, twice as strong, twice as fast, and twice as angry at opposing ball carriers for no apparent reason.

Andrew Sweat - 6'2", 225 lbs., 4.55 forty - **** Rivals, **** Scout
- Sweat was the awesome linebacker in the class before Sabino became the awesome linebacker in the class. So while you should be really excited about Sabino, you should still be excited about Sweat. The Buckeyes pulled him out of Western PA, competing against PSU, Alabama, Florida, and Michigan, among others. The Buckeyes are in good company there, and Sweat's a good recruit. He has a 4.3 GPA, which wasn't possible back in my day. Kids these days, completely ignoring the fundamentals of the four-point scale.
- In 2008, he will: Redshirt, maybe. He's talented, but it's not like the Buckeyes are lacking for talent at the linebacker position. I'm guessing either he or Sabino redshirts, and based solely on hype, Sabino's the one I pick to play.
- Reminds me of: A.J. Hawk. Why the hell not? Similar measurables coming out of high school, and each had a more heavily-hyped linebacker recruit in their class. Things worked out well for A.J., so why not Andrew? Of course, if Sabino ends up playing the Mike D'Andrea to Sweat's Hawk, I will tattoo this paragraph on my forehead as a reminder to never tempt the football gods. And Etienne Sabino will have my permission to punch me in the face weekly.

The Defensive Linemen

Garrett Goebel - 6'5", 264 lbs., 5.0 forty - **** Rivals, **** Scout
- Goebel is either the fourth-best (Scout) or sixth-best (Rivals) defensive tackle in the class. He's also one of the best high school heavyweight wrestlers in the country. He picked the Buckeyes over just about every midwestern school of note. He's also supposed to be a decent offensive lineman, though his future lies on the defensive side of the ball.
- In 2008, he will: Have a decent shot at working into the two-deep at defensive tackle. There are four guys ahead of him, and I wouldn't be shocked to see him beat one out. He'll have to add some weight to play Big Ten football, but with the Ohio State strength and conditioning program, I don't think that will be an issue. I don't know if we'll see a lot of him, but I don't expect a redshirt.
- Reminds me of: Tim Anderson, maybe? I gotta say, I can't really identify much in the way of playing styles among defensive tackles. Anderson, like current DT Dexter Larimore and Goebel, was an excellent wrestler in high school. So, uh, pick some dude who was a good high school wrestler and a great defensive tackle, and let's just say Goebel reminds us of him.

Willie Mobley 6'2", 260 lbs., 4.85 forty - **** Rivals, **** Scout
- Mobley's a bit undersized now (and was more so earlier in his recruitment; he was at 237 lbs. about a year ago), but he's still a highly-regarded recruit. He could end up at defensive end, or maybe even fullback, but my money is on defensive tackle for him, provided he can play at the higher weight. Mobley is also noteworthy for receiving a poorly-written fake letter notifying him that his scholarship offer had been pulled. Mobley saw through the cunning ruse and remains a Buckeye.
- In 2008, he will: Have a shot at defensive tackle or fullback. Both are positions where the team is thin. If Mobley is best at a lighter weight, he'll probably have a shot at fullback and defensive end. If he can bulk up, though, I have to think the coaches would like him at DT.
- Reminds me of: Plenty of Buckeyes in the Jim Tressell years that have played all over the defensive line. David Patterson a couple years ago, Cameron Heyward most recently. I could also see him as a Quinn Pitcock sort of guy; not that big (relative to other defensive tackles), but strong and skilled enough to beat bigger linemen.

Shawntel Rowell - 6'4", 325 lbs. - *** Rivals, *** Scout
- Rowell is from Glenville. That's probably all you need to know. But there's more. Word is that Rowell's scholarship offer was contingent on him getting his weight under 300 lbs. He's a Buckeye now, so he apparently did so. Not only that, he apparently came to Glenville at 370 lbs., before Ted Ginn, Sr. told him to drop a few dozen pounds. Dude has a work ethic, if nothing else. Or at least a killer diet plan.
- In 2008, he will: Redshirt. As I understand it, he hasn't played that much on the defensive side of the ball, and a lot of his playing style was dependent on being a lot bigger than the opposition. Give him a year of practice and a year in the weightroom, and we may have a quality defensive tackle on our hands.
- Reminds me of: Big Daddy Wilkinson. Wilkinson also started out on the offensive side of the ball. He also dropped a lot of weight and moved to the defensive side (albeit during his freshman year). Can Rowell mirror that success? It's unreasonable to expect he can, and college football fans are nothing if not unreasonable, so I'm going to say that I expect him to be the next Big Daddy.

Nathan Williams - 6'5", 245 lbs., - **** Rivals, **** Scout
- Williams picked the Buckeyes over schools all over the country: Cal, Oklahoma, West Virginia, and Georgia, among others. He could end up at linebacker, but the thinking is that he'll end up being too big for the position, and he'll play on the line. Sounds like your prototypical Leo to me.
- In 2008, he will: Probably play special teams. He sounds like a pretty good talent, but so are the guys ahead of him at LB and DE. If he beats out one of them, then he deserves a shot. I'm guessing he'll be good enough to play special teams and in blowout situations. I'm not willing to project him seeing time over the guys already on the roster, though.
- Reminds me of: Bobby Carpenter. Not the early-career linebacker Bobby, but the senior year Leo Bobby, the guy that would line up with a hand on the ground often as not. He was big, he was strong, he was fast. I think that's the position we'll see Williams at eventually.

Keith Wells - 6'5", 211 lbs., - *** Rivals, **** Scout
- Wells was the subject of a rather long and dramatic recruiting battle. He committed to Florida State, then decommitted and considered a who's-who of southern schools, and eventually chose the Buckeyes. He's undersized, and he only started playing football in 2006, but the potential certainly seems to be there. Plus, he's a pretty smart dude; word is that he picked the school as much for the engineering program as for the football program.
- In 2008, he will: Probably redshirt. Lack of experience and size would seem to make a redshirt necessary. However, I'm not a coach. I don't even play one on TV anymore. Damn writer's strike.
- Reminds me of: Vernon Gholston. Or maybe the bizarro Vernon Gholston. Gholston hadn't been playing football long, but was offered a scholarship on the basis of his potential and strength. Wells is similar, but he has the speed to go along with his potential. Whether he can convert all that into a productive career at Ohio State remains to be seen.

The offense will follow next week. Leave comments, thoughts, and corrections below.