As Holmes was talking, fellow receiver Roy Hall yelled behind him, "You’re going to the league!"

Holmes is a fourth-year junior. His announcement after the Buckeyes defeated Notre Dame 34-20 did not seem to come as a surprise to coach Jim Tressel.

"He’s a fourth-year guy, well along toward his degree," Tressel said. "I think he’s proven that it’s time to move along.

"I tell all our players that if you’re a first-round pick, you should go. And Santonio is going to be a first-round draft pick."

Quarterback Troy Smith said, "It’s time for him to step up and go to another level."

There are 10 players from the state of Ohio, including three from Cleveland Glenville and two from Cincinnati Colerain, and 10 players from out-of-state. The latter list includes three players from California, two from Florida and one each from the states of Georgia, Indiana, Michigan, Pennsylvania and South Carolina.

Broken down by position, Coach Jim Tressel and his staff signed five linebackers, four defensive backs and three defensive linemen on defense; and two tight ends, two offensive linemen, two running backs, one wide receiver and one quarterback on offense.

Tressel’s Buckeyes are coming off a 10-2 season that included seven consecutive wins to close out the season and the No. 4 spot in the final national polls. But graduation took a heavy toll on the defensive side of the ball, where just two starters return; hence the emphasis on defense. On offense, Ohio State will welcome back eight starters.

One of this year’s recruits, All-Ohio linebacker Ross Homan, enrolled at Ohio State at the beginning of Winter Quarter and is currently taking classes. Two others, running back Chris Wells of Akron Garfield, who is generally considered the No. 1 prospect in the country, and defensive back Kurt Coleman, a two-time all-Ohio pick, are expected to enroll at the beginning of spring quarter and will take part in spring practice.

"I think the strength of this class is its versatility," said Tressel, whose five-year record with the Buckeyes now stands at an impressive 50-13. "It has a little bit of everything: character, solid academic credentials and athletic ability.

"We went looking for help across the board at every position and feel as though we accomplished that goal."

Tressel points with pride to the 10 players from Ohio.

"Ohio is always going to be our point of emphasis," he said. "This was a very good year in-state and we believe we got the 10 best players. At the same time, to be able to get players from six other states, really in all parts of the country, says a lot about the national reputation of Ohio State, both athletically and academically."

The Buckeye coach noted, too, that the collective grade point average of this year’s class in the required core courses is over a 3.00.

"That goes right along with our goal of wanting to be a 3.00 football team," he said.

Tressel, whose first head coaching position came at Gibsonburg High School (1971-73) in Gibsonburg, Ohio, was the head coach at Hamline University in St. Paul, Minn., for 23 seasons from 1978-2000. While compiling a 124-102-2 record at Hamline with two conference championships, he was active in the Minnesota High School Football Coaches Association. He was named the 1984 Football News Div. III National Coach of the Year and is a member of the Hamline and Berea High School (Berea, Ohio) Halls of Fame.

Tressel is a 1970 graduate of Baldwin-Wallace College, where he played for his father, Lee. Along with his father and brother, Jim Tressel, those three comprise the only family of coaches who each have over 100 victories in NCAA football.

The first of Tressel’s many coaching honors came as head coach at Gibsonburg when he was named the conference coach of the year in 1973.

Tressel spent his first three years at Ohio State as associate director of football operations before taking over the running backs in March 2004.

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