As the Urban Meyer recruiting train marches on and Ohio State's talent at most positions continues to make opposing coaches drool, the Buckeyes are set to enter the season as prohibitive favorites to repeat as national champions.
Despite being three deep at quarterback, boasting four returning starters along the offensive line and dominating preseason all-conference teams, the Buckeyes still feature a handful of players considered virtually irreplaceable.
Of course, there are factors beyond the individual talent of a player that could deem him irreplaceable such as surrounding experience and/or depth within the position group. With that, in order of importance, here are the four most indispensable Buckeyes entering the 2015 season.
TAYLOR DECKER
The top choice feels pretty inarguable. Left tackle Taylor Decker teams with Billy Price to give Ohio State the most dominant left side of the offensive line in college football.
Beyond his stellar play at the anchor position on the team's most important unit, Decker has emerged into a no-brainer choice as a captain, learning leadership skills from the likes of Jack Mewhort, Andrew Norwell and Corey Linsley when he started at right tackle back in 2013.
Decker's importance to this year's title hopes is further magnified by the lack of any proven depth at his position. Jamarco Jones feels poised to eventually be a factor on the offensive line but being forced to permanently insert him at left tackle should something happen to Decker this season is not a situation Ed Warriner or Urban Meyer wish to entertain.
The only other options include potentially moving a veteran but fairly inexperienced Chase Farris to the left side or losing continuity from guard-to-guard by relocating either Pat Elflein or Billy Price.
JOEY BOSA
One of the truly elite pro prospects playing college football this fall, it's no surprise Joey Bosa is high on the irreplaceable list.
As a true sophomore, Bosa was a beast a season ago posting 21 TFL and 13.5 sacks, which were six more than the next Buckeye (D. Lee) while forcing four fumbles. He also ended the victory in Happy Valley with an overtime sack among his notable exploits.
Even with his freakish talent, another huge factor in his indispensable status is the lack of proven depth in his orbit. That's not to say the defensive line is void of talent but taking away the nation's most disruptive defensive lineman would be a painful for any team in today's version of college football.
Yes, Adolphus Washington will be on the inside and is poised for a breakout year but the departures of Michael Bennett and Steve Miller along with the fact Noah Spence was gone too soon means the Buckeye defense already needs some unproven commodities like Tyquan Lewis, Tommy Schutt and Donovan Munger among others to step up. Specific to pass rushing, it's up to Lewis and Jalyn Holmes and maybe Sam Hubbard or Grown and Sexy to potentially complement Bosa. Having to fill both of those defensive end spots out of that group is not a thought Luke Fickell and Chris Ash want to explore in 2015.
ELI APPLE
With Doran Grant off to the NFL, Eli Apple has assumed the role as Ohio State's top cornerback.
Last year, Apple made his case for the vacant #1 cornerback role as he ranked 2nd on the team with 13 passes defensed and led the team with 10 pass breakups while posting three interceptions along with a forced fumble and fumble recovery.
Apple's makeup is off the charts which will become increasingly evident as the games play out this fall and if he doesn't turn pro early, he's a guy that should be in line for a future captaincy.
Furthering Apple's value is the fact Ohio State, though loaded with prospects at the position, doesn't boast any other proven depth. Gareon Conley earned a starting spot in the spring and all signs point to him growing into the role but his play in spot duty last year didn't wow many folks. Behind Conley is Damon Webb who is a kid that I'm personally bullish on but he wasn't able to show much of what he could do last year with Grant and Apple logging heavy minutes.
A crop of other blue chips wait in the wings but at the end of the day, losing Apple would be a significant hit to a position group high on talent but low on experience.
VONN BELL
Vonn Bell is set to again team with Tyvis Powell to give Ohio State one of its most formidable safety duos in school history though it is Bell that does the heavy lifting on the defense's back line.
Bell placed 2nd on the team last year with 92 stops – the most by a Buckeye safety since Mike Doss in 2002 – while leading the team with six interceptions. A sure-tackler and clutch performer, Bell posted four of those picks over Ohio State's final seven games.
Some might think it's a reach to slot Bell as the fourth-most irreplaceable player but with the fact Powell has a tendency to gamble and sometimes give up the big play and the reality Cam Burrows is not a proven guy, losing Bell would hurt Ohio State's ability to contain the big play which is something they were dominant at a season ago.
