Written by David Regimbal

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After hauling in a top-five recruiting class last year, Ohio State and the football coaching staff has turned its attention to the 2012 recruiting grind. So to has Scout.com as they recently released their list of the top 300 senior high school football prospects.

Jim Tressel and the Buckeyes already have five players committed to the 2012 class, three of which appear in Scout’s list of top 100 prospects. Kyle Kalis, a 300 pound offensive tackle from St. Edwards, is ranked the fifth best at his position and the No. 22 overall recruit in the country. Right behind him is Brionte Dunn, a running back from Glen Oak who ranks as the No. 28 prospect and fourth best at his position. Another running back that plays his high school ball just a few miles from the Ohio State campus, Warren Ball of St. Francis DeSales, has also committed to the Buckeyes as the No. 53 ranked recruit.

It doesn’t stop there. Ohio State is also targeting many of the other top high school football players in the country. Adolphus Washington is the No. 21 ranked prospect, a defensive end from Cincinnati who has the Buckeyes on his short list alongside Alabama, Florida, Notre Dame, Texas and USC. The Buckeyes are also after one of the top outside linebackers -- Ifeadi Odenigbo. No, I didn’t just have a seizure and randomly slam my fists on the keyboard to produce “Ifeadi Odenigbo”, that’s a real name -- one that I will absolutely hate having to type if he commits and becomes an impact player for the Silver Bullets defense.

All of the prospects listed above are from Ohio, an indication that the state has a large number of highly sought after recruits. It will be interesting to see how Tressel’s current situation (tatgate) impacts Ohio State’s recruiting, because the Buckeyes can hardly afford other out-of-state schools to poach the best talent from its own back yard.