COLUMBUS (WCMH) — Early signing day for college football is here and the Buckeyes aren’t expecting any surprises or last-minute decisions.

Ohio State has 20 players committed to sign for the 2021 class, and right now that group ranks second in the nation behind Alabama.

“From top to bottom, this is just another blockbuster class for Ohio State and really proves that Ryan Day can carry over the momentum Urban Meyer had,” said Steve Helwagen, a recruiting writer for 24-7 Sports. “They don’t have to take a backseat to anybody. Clearly the best class in the Big 10. Michigan is the next best at number nine in the country, and so everybody in the Big 10 is looking up at Ohio State once again.”

While it seems like any other year for Ohio State recruiting, 2020 hasn’t been at all.

“It’s incredibly different! You don’t get to have them on your campus,” said Ohio State defensive coordinator Kerry Coombs. “You do everything through Facetime and Zoom and conversations.”

Some schools like Ohio State have had an even bigger challenge than others with fan restrictions at games. No fans inside Ohio Stadium also means no potential or current recruits are able to experience a game day atmosphere or watch the Buckeyes dominate the Big 10 in person.

And of course, there’s no in-person interaction, tours or showing off all the amenities Ohio State has to offer.

“I think there’s a lot of kids out there that want to be Buckeyes and they should! They need to come to campus and want to come to campus and want to be a part of this experience,” Coombs said. “So the art of recruiting has changed dramatically. Coach Day, one of the many things he does very, very well is he stays engaged with all of the recruits, which that’s a burden for the head coach.”

Head coaches across the country have had to take on a lot more things this year — and now next year. With the added year of eligibility for current players due to COVID-19, they will have an added challenge of organizing rosters and finding guys playing time.

But Helwagen said he doesn’t anticipate a lot of Buckeyes hanging around.

“We’ve heard a couple names, guys that might want to come back,” Helwagen shared. “Marcus Williamson, originally from Westerville, may come back for a 50 or next year, possibly, Haskell Garrett, too. He was not mentioned in the senior day festivities, so a couple guys may avail themselves to that. A lot of them, I think, are fourth- or fifth-year guys who are ready to move on with their lives, so it’ll be interesting to see who takes advantage of it and who doesn’t. I don’t think it has a major impact in terms of recruiting numbers because those guys should not count against the scholarship total going forward.”

With regards to this 2021 class, Helwagen said Ohio State is still looking at adding a couple players on the February signing date, and if that happens, it could bump the Buckeyes up to the top recruiting class in the nation.

“I don’t get too caught up in the rankings, I don’t worry too much about it,” Helwagen said. “It’s the end product on the field really where it all counts.”