Ohio State Urban Meyer smoke walk

Some players are going to have to disappear so Urban Meyer (center) can get the Ohio State roster to the 85-player limit before August.

(Marvin Fong, The Plain Dealer)

COLUMBUS -- Some of the players who currently are Ohio State Buckeyes or you think will be Ohio State Buckeyes aren't going to be Ohio State Buckeyes when the 2015 season opens on Sept. 7.

The numbers won't allow it.

National Signing Day is Wednesday, and as of late Tuesday morning, the Buckeyes had 25 players verbally committed to their class. That doesn't include the four players with whom Ohio State is still involved.

But the Buckeyes are already at a roster of 89 players. That's four over the limit of 85. And Ohio State is back at that full 85-man limit for the first time under Urban Meyer, after they were held to 82 scholarship players because of NCAA sanctions from the Jim Tressel era for Meyer's first three Signing Days.

Ohio State doesn't have to get down to the limit of 85 until preseason practice starts in August. But the school does have to keep the Big Ten informed now about its roster management.

And there is some managing to be done.

The coaches know more about the future of players than we do right now, but there have to be some things in the works. Already, the Buckeyes are losing four players from last season who are not seniors. Defensive lineman Chris Carter and offensive lineman Antonio Underwood will not be returning for their potential fifth seasons as redshirt seniors. And linebacker Trey Johnson and offensive lineman Kyle Dodson are ending their careers because of injury.

And the Buckeyes are still at 89. And maybe counting.

We're not going to speculate on departures here, but backups leaving to find more playing time is typical in the offseason. That could certainly happen with a couple players, and maybe the coaches know for sure some of those pending moves. Maybe some other Buckeyes won't be coming back because of injury.

And we still don't know for sure what senior quarterback Braxton Miller plans to do. Right now, we're counting him in the 89.

The Buckeyes could also lose a player or two out of this class before Wednesday, though, as we said, they could also add players.

But right now, Ohio State is planning to add 25 recruits to a roster that currently lists 64 players.

So at least four moves are coming.

Here's the roster breakdown as it stands, with players listed by the eligibility they will hold next season. There are several recruits who could wind up at different positions than where they are listed here - defensive end Rashod Berry, cornerback Eric Glover-Williams, quarterback Torrance Gibson - but this is where we're listing them for now. Things always change.

So we have Ohio State with 41 players on offense, 44 on defense and four on special teams.

OFFENSE (41)

Quarterback (6)

J.T. Barrett, So.

Braxton Miller, Sr.

Cardale Jones, Jr.

Stephen Collier, R-Fr.

Joey Burrow, Class of 2015

Torrance Gibson, Class of 2015

Running back (5)

Ezekiel Elliott, Jr.

Curtis Samuel, So.

Bri'onte Dunn, Jr.

Warren Ball, Jr.

Mike Weber, Class of 2015

H-back (3)

Jalin Marshall, So.

Dontre Wilson, Jr.

Noah Brown, So.

Receiver (7)

Michael Thomas, Jr.

Corey Smith, Sr.

Johnnie Dixon, R-Fr.

James Clark, So.

Terry McLaurin, R-Fr.

Parris Campbell, R-Fr.

Alex Stump, Class of 2015

Tight end (3)

Nick Vannett, Sr.

Marcus Baugh, So.

A.J. Alexander, Class of 2015

Offensive line (17)

Taylor Decker, Sr.

Jacoby Boren, Sr.

Chase Farris, Sr.

Pat Elflein, Jr.

Billy Price, So.

Joel Hale, Sr.

Evan Lisle, So.

Marcelys Jones, R-Fr.

Jamarco Jones, So.

Demetrius Knox, R-Fr.

Brady Taylor, R-Fr.

Kyle Trout, R-Fr.

Mirko Jurkovic, Class of 2015

Matthew Burrell, Class of 2015

Grant Schmidt, Class of 2015

Kevin Feder, Class of 2015

Branden Bowen, Class of 2015

DEFENSE (44)

Defensive line (17)

Joey Bosa, Jr.

Adolphus Washington, Sr.

Tommy Schutt, Sr.

Michael Hill, So.

Donovan Munger, So.

Dylan Thompson, R-Fr.

Tyquan Lewis, So.

Tracy Sprinkle, So.

Jalyn Holmes, So.

Sam Hubbard, R-Fr.

Darius Slade, R-Fr.

Jashon Cornell, Class of 2015

Dre'Mont Jones, Class of 2015

Davon Hamilton, Class of 2015

Robert Landers, Class of 2015

Rashod Berry, Class of 2015

Joshua Alabi, Class of 2015

Linebackers (11)

Joshua Perry, Sr.

Darron Lee, So.

Raekwon McMillan, So.

Camren Williams, Sr.

Devan Bogard, Sr.

Chris Worley, So.

Dante Booker, So.

Kyle Berger, R-Fr.

Justin Hilliard, Class of 2015

Jerome Baker, Class of 2015

Nick Conner, Class of 2015

Cornerbacks (10)

Eli Apple, So.

Gareon Conley, So.

Armani Reeves, Sr.

Damon Webb, So.

Marshon Lattimore, R-Fr.

Denzel Ward, Class of 2015

Eric Glover-Williams, Class of 2015

Jamel Dean, Class of 2015

Joshua Norwood, Class of 2015

Damon Arnette, Class of 2015

Safeties (6)

Tyvis Powell, Jr.

Vonn Bell, Jr.

Cam Burrows, Jr.

Ron Tanner, Sr.

Erick Smith, So.

Malik Hooker, R-Fr.

SPECIAL TEAMS (4)

Cam Johnston, punter, Jr.

Sean Nuernberger, kicker, So.

Bryce Haynes, longsnapper, Sr.

Liam McCullough, longsnapper, Class of 2015