Take Two: Can Buckeyes withstand losing Cox and possibly Jones?

Take Two returns with a daily offering tackling a handful of issues in the college football landscape. Rivals.com National Recruiting Analyst Adam Gorney lays out the situation and then receives takes from Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell and an expert from the Rivals.com network.

MORE TAKE TWO: Can Taggart scramble to a recruiting victory for Florida State?

Ohio State has the top recruiting class in the country, so the Buckeyes cannot be doing much better, but recently four-star defensive end Brenton Cox decommitted and four-star quarterback Emory Jones might have one foot out the door as well.

Both players are from the state of Georgia and while Ohio State coach Urban Meyer has had tremendous success during his time in Columbus recruiting the South, it looks like two of his most-prized possessions in this recruiting class could be headed elsewhere.

Cox is serious about Alabama and Georgia. If Jones flips, the Crimson Tide would almost assuredly be the team. Ohio State recently took a commitment from three-star quarterback Matthew Baldwin from Austin (Texas) Lake Travis, which could be seen as insurance if Jones bolts.

So is Alabama coach Nick Saban beating Meyer down the stretch for some top Southern prospects? Is this a sign to never, ever worry about the Crimson Tide loading up in the end, even if early on their team recruiting ranking was poor?

Ohio State’s cupboards are still full and the Buckeyes are killing it on the recruiting trail, but they could miss out on two commitments from the South who could have been game-changers. Will it really hurt all that much?

“I was leaning slightly toward Alabama last week, but after Cox showed up in Athens this weekend and he plans to return there for his official visit to Georgia this upcoming weekend, I favor the Bulldogs now. His decision will not be a factor for Jones. Behind the scenes, Jones' recruitment has favored Alabama more than Ohio State the last couple of months, but Jones is still on the Buckeyes’ commitment list, so we will see how it plays out. Alabama doesn’t appear to be ready to move on another quarterback yet, so they likely feel they have a legit shot to flip him. Right now, I like Cox to Georgia and Jones to Alabama. That means Ohio State lose out on both.”

“It speaks to people worrying about Alabama recruiting early on and people shouldn’t worry. I don’t know if Cox will end up at Alabama or Georgia. Both schools want him and both schools are recruiting him at a high level. It seems like Ohio State taking a second quarterback is an indication that Jones is going to flip.

“Saban vs. Meyer, the two best recruiters in the game. I rank them Meyer first and Saban second, but you could put them 1A and 1B if you wanted. It’s always an interesting battle. For guys to decommit from Ohio State is very rare, but if they’re going to Alabama, it doesn’t surprise me at all.”