Ohio State is one of the best, if not THE best, college football program of all time. They have one of the best rosters in the country this year, with blue chips on blue chips at every position. They will be tested in the preseason this year, with news coming out that Urban Meyer may have been involved in a cover up of a domestic violence situation. He has been placed on paid administrative leave as they do an investigation. If everything the report states turns out true, Ohio State will be starting the season with a new coach at the helm.
Prestige Ranking (If NCAA Football 19 existed): 6*… Ohio State is good both currently and historically. They have made it to two out of four playoffs and were just barely snubbed from the other two. All time, they lead all programs in “weeks at number 1 in the polls”, “weeks in the AP poll”, and “Heisman winners.”
Last Year’s Record: 12-2 (8-1 Big Ten)
Projected Returning Starters:
Offense: 7.5
RB JK Dobbins, WR Johnnie Dixon, WR Austin Mack, HB Parris Campbell, OL Isaiah Prince, OL Michael Jordan, OL Brandon Bowen (started before injury), OL Demetrius Knox
Ohio State will bring back their vaunted backfield of Dobbins and Mike Weber, who combined last year for 2000+ yards and 17 TDs. In addition, Ohio State will return their top six receivers from last year. All six split time, so right now it is unsure who the starters will be, but based on last year at the end of the season, I project Mack and Dixon over their very good teammates KJ Hill (#2 in yards last year) and Binjamin Victor. Parris Campbell will split Hback reps with Terry McLaurin as both have blazing speed and playmaking ability. Ohio State brings back basically three starters on the line, as well as Demetrious Knox (the man who filled in after Bowen’s injury). They will need to replace the leadership of Jamarco Jones and Billy Price if they hope to be as solid of a unit this year. With all of this returning, plus the coming of, who many fans believe to be the QB Messiah, Dwayne Haskins, Ohio State will have one of the most potent offenses in the country.
Defense: 6
DL Nick Bosa, DL DreMont Jones, DL Robert Landers, LB Tuf Borland, DB Damon Arnette, DB Jordan Fuller
Ohio State, as they have the past few years, will have one of the best defensive lines in the country. They return 3 starters, including the best DL in the country, Nick Bosa. They also have DL Chase Young, who dazzled in limited time last year, and Jonathan Cooper, a former 5 star DE who will get some reps this year in replacement of Bosa and Young. They will need to reload all of their linebackers, as they lost two, and Borland is going to miss the beginning of the season due to injury. They will need to replace a lot in the defensive backfield, but have the parts to do so. They replace their leading INT man, Damon Webb, and also top four pick Denzel Ward. They still have Damon Arnette and Kendall Sheffield at CB, who both played significant time last year, and looked pretty good doing so. Also at CB is true sophomore Jeffrey Okudah, who looked outstanding in the bowl game vs USC. Fuller was 2nd on the team in tackles last year, so him coming back is a big boost. Joining him at the other safety spot is former highly touted recruit out of IMG Academy, Isaiah Pryor.
Special Teams: 3
KR/PR Parris Campbell, K Sean Nuernberger, P Drue Chrisman
Staring Hback Parris Campbell also looked great as the return man for OSU last year, and with him returning, Ohio State is always a threat for a return TD. Nuernberger comes back after a stellar year last year, making every XP and hitting over 80% on FG attempts. Lastly, Chrisman returns to punt for the team, and when he’s not bottle flipping, he averages 44.2 yards per punt last year for the Buckeyes.
Key Losses:
QB JT Barrett, OL Jamarco Jones, OL Billy Price, DL Sam Hubbard, LB Jerome Baker, DB Denzel Ward, DB Damon Webb.
Though fans never truly appreciated JT, he was the most productive QB in Big Ten history, and he, and his leadership (only three-time captain in OSU history) will be sorely missed. As previously stated, they will miss Jones and Price’s leadership on the line, as well as their stellar production. Hubbard was a good offset to Bosa on the line, and it will take some time before Young will be able to replace him. Jerome Baker had absurd athleticism in the LB position, and with Ohio State having to replace all three LBs, he is irreplaceable. Denzel Ward is a self explanatory loss, and team INT leader and number three tackler, Damon Webb, will need to be replaced by committee as he has moved onto the next level. The good news for OSU is that they never rebuild, they only reload, as they have 4 and 5 star recruits playing backup at just about every position, and they will be fine despite the replacements.
Five Year Recruiting Rank (Bill Connelly): 2
Urban Meyer, since coming to Ohio State, has produced unreal recruiting classes every year. The only team they trail in the 5-year rank is Alabama. And, if it’s even possible, they are getting even better. Their 2-year rank is #1. Ohio State has never had trouble recruiting elite talent. They now have a pipeline to Florida with the Bosa brothers and a lot of IMG kids looking at Ohio State. They also have a pipeline to Texas now, as a couple years ago they were able to take three of the top five recruits out of Texas (Dobbins, Okudah, and LB Baron Browning). With such stellar recruiting, Ohio State is set up well to threaten every single year.
Alcohol Prediction for Fans By Seasons End: Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey… Jack Daniel’s is a classic that is loved and hated by millions all around the country, and is also the best thing around (as Ohio State is, yes even better than Bama).
The Tyroil Smoochie-Wallace All Name Team:
Ohio State surprisingly doesn’t have a lot of people that have weird/funny names. So I’ll go in another direction and say Freshman RB Master Teague. Again, it’s not really funny but the name Master is an a power name. Master is only a name for Alpha Males, and it deserves more respect as a name.
Outlook:
Ohio State has an interesting schedule this year. They play two power-5 teams in non conference (though week one, Oregon State, doesn’t really count). TCU will be tough, but they aren’t as good as they have been in recent years. They get UM at home in the last week, and the week before they travel to East Lansing, which is tough despite them winning the last couple times they’ve been there. They don’t have Wisconsin or Iowa on the schedule, which is lucky, but the unquestioned toughest road game in the country is on OSU’s schedule this year, to Beaver Stadium for Penn State’s whiteout game. They lost there in 2016, and nearly did in 2014, and they will look to avoid that same fate this year. The most important thing for Ohio State will be the outcome of the Urban Meyer situation, as they will almost assuredly need him if they hope to make a run at the playoff.
