by Fitzgerald Cecilio

Columbus, OH

Ohio State has boosted its already stocked 2014 class after St. Vincent-St. Mary's linebacker Dante Booker gave an oral commitment to join the Buckeyes.

Booker was the ninth oral commitment for the Buckeyes, whose 2014 class includes six in-state players.

"We'd much rather have more of a base here and then start branching out a little bit later," Buckeyes coach Urban Meyer said.

Among the top 75 players in Ohio as ranked by the Rivals site BuckeyeGrove.com, 25 have given oral commitments so far. The Buckeyes have more of them than any other school, with Cincinnati linebacker Sam Hubbard falling outside the top 75.

From the 25 pledged players, five have committed to Ohio State, including linebacker Dante Booker (No. 2), linebacker Kyle Berger (No. 6), offensive lineman Kyle Trout (No. 7), running back Parris Campbell (No. 15) and offensive lineman Marcelys Jones.

Currently, Ohio State is third in the recruiting ranks behind Notre Dame and Michigan. Last season, Ohio finished with a perfect 12-0 record but never made it to a bowl game because of NCAA sanctions.

In February, Meyer declared that Ohio State was much further ahead in recruiting for 2014 than the Buckeyes had been the year before.

However, Ohio State's recruitment has been challenged by Michigan, Notre Dame and other programs like Louisville and Kentucky.

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Ohio State Boosts 2014 class with commitment from Booker