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Is the 2016 Ohio State draft class the best of all time?

Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports / Reuters

The Ohio State Buckeyes broke the record for most players picked from the same school in one draft back in 2004 when 14 of their prospects were selected over seven rounds.

Oddly enough, the Buckeyes could actually break their own record with the class of 2016 this year. There were fourteen Ohio State prospects invited to the scouting combine, not including starting offensive guard Chase Farris.

What may be even more coincidental is the amount of similarities between the two player groups. But in retrospect, that may not be a good thing as only one member of the 2004 Ohio State class, the late Will Smith, made a Pro Bowl in his career.

2004 Class (by draft pick) 2016 Class
DE Will Smith (18th overall) DE Joey Bosa
CB Chris Gamble (28th overall) CB Eli Apple
WR Michael Jenkins (29th overall) WR Michael Thomas
TE Ben Hartsock (68th overall)  TE Nick Vannett
DT Tim Anderson (74th overall) DT Adolphus Washington
P B.J. Sander (87th overall) RB Ezekiel Elliot
DE Darrion Scott (88th overall) OT Taylor Decker
C Alex Stepanovich (100th overall) LB Darron Lee
FS Will Allen (111th overall) FS Vonn Bell
QB Craig Krenzel (148th overall) QB Cardale Jones
WR Drew Carter (163rd overall) WR Braxton Miller
LB Rob Reynolds (165th overall) LB Joshua Perry
OT Shane Olivea (209th overall) WR Jalin Marshall
OG Adrien Clarke (227th overall) OG Chase Ferris
  FS Tyvis Powell

There are a few easy parallels to draw between the prospects.

Smith and Joey Bosa are the safest picks of the groups, play the same position, and are likely to be the two highest drafted. Eli Apple and Chris Gamble also play the same position, have the same frame (6-foot-1, 200 pounds), and will likely finish with similar draft positions. Michael Thomas and Michael Jenkins are both receivers named Mike with a similar build and skill set.

Even Craig Krenzel and Cardale Jones have a similar story. Both quarterbacks were forced into starting roles before they were expected to be and each led the Buckeyes to a National Championship in their respective years. Jones didn't have as successful a college career as Krenzel, having only started eleven games, but has the ability to have better production at the NFL level.

Even if this Buckeye class can't match the total number of players picked, they will almost certainly have more impact players drafted than their 2004 counterpart.

Bosa, Ezekiel Elliot, Apple, Thomas, and Eric Decker are all basically considered slam dunk first-round picks. Darron Lee, Vonn Bell, and Adolphus Washington have also been mentioned as possible first rounders.

Related: Ezekiel Elliott might be the most polished RB prospect in years

If the Buckeyes can have seven of those eight possible names called on the first night of the 2016 draft, they will break another record set at the 2004 draft; most first-round picks from the same college in one draft.

The Miami Hurricanes currently hold that title. Safety Sean Taylor (5th), tight end Kellen Winslow Jr. (6th), linebacker Jonathan Vilma (12th), linebacker D.J. Williams (17th), tackle Vernon Carey (19th), and nose tackle Vince Wilfork (21st) were all selected in the first round from the U.

Those Hurricanes didn't have another player selected until the seventh round. There's no way that happens to these Buckeyes; there are just too many players who are too good.

The Buckeyes have lost only four games since 2012 when Urban Meyer took over as head coach and captured a national title in his third season. Meyer recruited 12 of the 15 prospects to Ohio State himself and it can be expected that he will continue to pump out NFL talent.

No one can crown this class as anything until they get a chance to prove what they can do on an NFL field. But if the Buckeyes break the record for most first-round picks in one draft and most total picks in one draft, it would be tough to put another school's class ahead of them.

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