Ohio State Football: Meyer Targeting State of Georgia for 2014 Recruiting Class

For many of the past head coaches at Ohio State, priority No. 1 was finding a way to keep Big Ten schools—and other elite programs around the country—from raiding the "Buckeye State" of its top high school talent.

Famed coaches like Woody Hayes and Jim Tressel consistently relied on Ohio to fill the majority of the Buckeyes' recruiting needs, and with its rich tradition of great high school football, that certainly wasn't a bad move.

That's not to say the Buckeyes are ignoring their state. In fact, 26 of the Buckeyes' 50 commitments over the last two recruiting classes played their high school football in Ohio (16 in 2012, 10 in 2013).

Considering the talent Georgia is offering in 2014, it shouldn't be a surprise that Meyer is tossing his (and Ohio State's) hat in the mix.

The two Georgia linebackers Ohio State offered last week—Kirk Tucker and Detric Dukes, both 3-star recruits—joined the 20 other Peach State prospects the Buckeyes have already offered.

Featured in that group is some of Ohio State's top recruiting targets. Raekwon McMillan, a 5-star linebacker, currently has the Buckeyes at the top of his list. Four-star wide receiver Demarre Kitt also has Ohio State on his short list, while 4-star prospects like athlete Myles Autry and quarterback Deshaun Watson are receiving a ton of attention from the Buckeyes.

Recruiting states in the SEC footprint makes a lot of sense for Meyer. Not only does he have a lot of experience doing so from his days at Florida (having strong relationships with high school coaches is a big part of recruiting), but Meyer knows that if the Buckeyes are going to compete with the SEC for national championships, they need to go head-to-head with those teams on the recruiting trail.

Looking back at Ohio State's 2013 recruiting class, Meyer's top-rated recruit—5-star safety Vonn Bell out of Rossville, Ga,—chose the Buckeyes over Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida and a host of other SEC schools.

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