Whenever a top flight college football program loses a breadth of talent to the NFL, the immediate question is 'Who's next?'
Roster attrition happens often in the sport, the result of 85 available scholarships and in some cases, coaches leaving for open jobs. Ohio State had nine players declare early for the 2016 NFL Draft after the Buckeyes defeated Notre Dame 44-28 in the Fiesta Bowl New Year's Day.
One of the most successful senior classes in program history is gone too, but a sizable portion of the next wave of talent is already donning scarlet and gray threads as official members of Urban Meyer's 2016 team.
Bodies set to for molding by Mickey Marotti. Via.
Tuesday afternoon, the school announced the enrollments of seven players who graduated high school early and are on campus taking classes, among them a pair of defensive linemen, two offensive linemen, a linebacker, running back and wide receiver.
Two walk-ons—punter and kicker Alex Craft and running back Alex Backenstoe—also enrolled at Ohio State for spring semester.
That's nine new faces getting acclimated to the Ohio State way of life, including a headfirst dive into Mickey Marotti's chamber of sports performance. Here is a peek at how the seven scholarship early enrollees fit in. Reminder: National Signing Day is 20 days away.
DT Malik Barrow, 4-Star from Tampa, Florida (6-3, 287 pounds)
Barrow is set to add some much-needed depth on the Ohio State defensive line, which will have almost an entire new look to it following the departures of Joey Bosa, Adolphus Washington, Tommy Schutt and Joel Hale. Tyquan Lewis and Sam Hubbard are all but locks to start at the defensive end spots in 2016, but the interior defensive line vacancies has Meyer perturbed.
"Interior defensive line is the biggest concern, but we have some guys coming in," the head coach said Jan. 7.
Ohio State is still on the prowl for at least one more defensive tackle for 2016, but Barrow enrolling early gives him an early jump on the competition within his class—if it in fact comes.
Michael Hill, Donovan Munger and Tracy Sprinkle saw their playing time spike in the Fiesta Bowl, but it isn't a secret Meyer and defensive line coach Larry Johnson want to see what the young blood has to offer this spring and into summer. Four players redshirted the 2015 season. It is up to Barrow to avoid a similar fate in 2016.
LB Tuf Borland, 4-Star from Bolingbrook, Illinois (6-2, 225 pounds)
Borland is one of those dudes that just looks like a linebacker. Blessed with a solid frame, he will undoubtedly add some weight under Marotti's watch.
An outside linebacker prospect, Borland enters a room with only one returning starter; Raekwon McMillan is slated to be the man in the middle again for Luke Fickell's defense. The defensive coordinator said if he needed to piece together a depth chart today, returning juniors Chris Worley and Dante Booker would start.
Still, a slew of young talent like Jerome Baker, Justin Hilliard and Nick Conner wait in the wings and will push for playing time all spring if healthy. Add Borland to that bunch, but he will likely be near the bottom of the totem pole in 2016 if everyone ahead of him stays off the injury report. It doesn't hurt that he enrolled early, though.
DE Jonathon Cooper, 5-Star from Gahanna, Ohio (6-3, 235 pounds)
Cooper joins a pool of talent itching for an opportunity behind Hubbard and Lewis. Jalyn Holmes, Darius Slade and others will be eyed heavily by the staff in spring practice and beyond. His ascension up national recruiting rankings make him a big get for the Buckeyes, especially with Joey Bosa headed to the NFL.
Cooper isn't Bosa—nor is Nick Bosa, Joey's younger brother set to enroll later this year—but his frame and quick twitch ability have recruiting analysts drooling over his potential.
As mentioned above, Hubbard and Lewis should be the starters next season at defensive end. But with how Meyer and Johnson want to be able to rotate anywhere from eight to 10 players up front, Cooper could certainly find a place to step in. Plus, his motor never stops, so it is wise to believe he'll at least contribute on special teams in 2016.
OG Tyler Gerald, 4-Star from Portsmouth, Ohio (6-5, 325)
Gerald is massive, with long arms and a hellacious nasty streak you want from an interior offensive lineman. Ohio State said goodbye to Taylor Decker, Jacoby Boren and Chase Farris after the Fiesta Bowl, but Pat Elflein is set to return and play center next season.
Billy Price is all but locked into the starting left guard spot for 2016, which leaves three remaining holes on Ohio State's offensive line. The Buckeyes signed five offensive linemen in their 2015 class, so it looks like Gerald will probably take a year and learn behind them unless injuries wreck the depth chart.
Gerald getting to campus early shows he's ready for the next level. He just might have to wait a bit before he truly gets an opportunity.
OT Michael Jordan, 4-Star from Canton, Michigan (6-7, 315 pounds)
Jordan is a coup for Ohio State, heading south to Columbus despite strong pull from home state Big Ten schools Michigan and Michigan State. He has great size just like Gerald, and chose Ohio State because he wanted to major in International Business and Chinese. Pretty cerebral for an 18-year-old.
Like Gerald, though, Jordan will probably sit and wait at least a year before he sees playing time in Columbus. With such a heavy offensive line recruiting haul last year, those players—and the ones who entered the program before them—will be depended upon in 2016 to replace the departed starters. Matthew Burrell, Demetrius Knox, Jamarco Jones, Kyle Trout, Evan Lisle — it is time for these names and others to make a dent in the trenches for the Buckeyes.
Jordan and Gerald are next in line.
WR Austin Mack, 4-Star from Fort Wayne, Indiana (6-2, 205 pounds)
Speed, size, character—all of these can be used to describe Mack, a very much-needed piece to Ohio State's plan at wide receiver. Michael Thomas, Jalin Marshall, Braxton Miller and Jeff Greene are gone and Corey Smith might be too if he's not granted a medical redshirt (Meyer said last week Ohio State is moving forward as if he'll be back in 2016 from a broken leg).
Noah Brown, who broke his leg in training camp in August, figures to be a huge contributor next season, along with Dontre Wilson, Johnnie Dixon, James Clark and Torrance Gibson provided they can stay healthy. Mack has been ready to get to campus for a while now, committing to Ohio State last summer.
Mack will be a contending talent with the aforementioned players and two freshmen who redshirted in 2015, K.J. Hill and Alex Stump. The room is crowded, but with how injuries plagued it last season, Mack could be called upon earlier than expected.
RB Antonio Williams, 4-Star From New London, North Carolina (5-11, 215 pounds)
Williams hops into a running back room tasked with the responsibility of replacing the 2015 Silver Football winner, Ezekiel Elliott.
Williams, Mike Weber, Bri'onte Dunn or Curtis Samuel won't automatically fill Elliott's shoes, but the quartet is primed for a spring of jet-fueled competition to try. Because he enrolled early, Williams will be right in the mix with the others in an open battle.
"Right now, there’s no preconceived this guy is ahead of anyone else," running backs coach Tony Alford said last week. "We’re just going to go to work every day and see how it all comes out."
The running back situation is bound to look much different than it has the last two season in Columbus, but the room isn't short on talent. Williams is a huge part of that and could find himself in the mix if things fall into place.
