What does it mean to be an NFL pipeline? Is it having players on 20 NFL rosters, including both sides of the most recent Super Bowl? What about a dozen first-round picks in the last five drafts? Or is it, perhaps, making up the majority of the secondary of the fourth-ranked defense in the league?
Under Urban Meyer, Ohio State has done all of this and more, making Ohio State a destination for NFL-caliber talent at many position groups. But Meyer’s ability to grow and develop talent did not start when he came to Columbus. Rather, he was a proven entity in terms of NFL production long before he came to Ohio State, having played a similar role while at Florida and Utah where he churned out players like Percy Harvin and Alex Smith.