Urban Meyer does not get shut out in a football game and respond by maintaining the status quo. We expected shakeup, and we got it almost immediately. Let's take a look back at the wild week following Ohio State's 31-0 loss to Clemson.
Saturday 12/31
- Billy Price Announces Return: Billy Price wasted no time before announcing he will return to Ohio State for his senior season. The starting right guard announced his decision in the post game press conference after the Buckeyes' shutout loss to Clemson. Price will follow a very similar path as Pat Elflein, returning for his senior season and likely moving from guard to center.
- Sam Hubbard Announces Return: Shortly after Price and Worley's announcements, Sam Hubbard took to Twitter to tell Buckeye Nation 'he's not going anywhere.' Hubbard will return for his redshirt junior season and will bolster a loaded defensive line.
Monday 1/1
- Malik Hooker Declares for the NFL Draft: Earlier in the season, Malik Hooker claimed he planned to return to Ohio State for his redshirt junior year. When you get first round draft projections, plans quickly change and Hooker became the first Buckeye underclassman to declare for the NFL Draft.
- Joker Phillips Will Reportedly Leave Ohio State For Cincinnati: In his inaugural press conference at Cincinnati, Luke Fickell said he had not yet asked any Ohio State assistants to join his staff. He clearly has now as Joker Phillips' will reportedly join the Bearcats' coaching staff as the team's wide receiver's coach.
Tuesday 1/2
- QB Coach Tim Beck Leaves Ohio State For Texas: After two season's at Ohio State, Tim Beck has found a new home as the co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach will join former Ohio State offensive coordinator Tom Herman's staff in Texas. While the offense seemed to struggle during Beck's time in Columbus, he was undoubtably a great recruiter, locking down commitments from Dwayne Haskins, Tate Martell and Emory Jones when Ohio State appeared ready to bring in Tristen Wallace and Danny Clark.
- Ohio State Hires QB Coach Ryan Day: Ohio State didn't let Beck walk away without a suitable replacement. The Buckeyes hired former 49ers quarterbacks coach Ryan Day as their new quarterbacks coach. Day served as a quarterbacks coach for both the 49ers and the Eagles and coached receivers at Temple and Boston College before that.
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Gareon Conley Declares For NFL Draft: After his second year starting at cornerback, Gareon Conley will look to make it two consecutive years an Ohio State cornerback is taken in the first round of the NFL Draft. Conley was the lone remaining starter in the Buckeye secondary after Vonn Bell, Eli Apple and Tyvis Powell declared for the NFL Draft last season. If teammate Marshon Lattimore declares for the draft, that situation may repeat itself.
- Ohio State Will Reportedly Hire Kevin Wilson: After Ohio State's embarrassing shutout loss to Clemson, Urban Meyer promised offensive changes, and he appears to have delivered. Former Indiana head coach Kevin Wilson will reportedly join Meyer's staff as the Buckeyes' offensive coordinator.
Wednesday 1/3
- Raekwon McMillan Declares For NFL Draft: After one of the best performances of his career against Clemson in the Fiesta Bowl, Raekwon McMillan decided to forgo his senior season and enter the NFL Draft. McMillan was one of the highest-rated recruits in Urban Meyer's tenure at Ohio State and was a contributor since day one.
- J.T. Barrett Announces Return: After Ohio State's shutout loss to Clemson, J.T. Barrett said "It would be really hard for me to walk away when we just lost 31-0." While that did not formally announce his return, he put any remaining doubt to rest a few days later. Barrett will return for his senior year and is on pace to be arguably Ohio State's greatest quarterback, statistically.
Thursday 1/4
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Tyquan Lewis Will Reportedly Return: In a somewhat surprising decision, Tyquan Lewis will reportedly return to Ohio State for his senior season. Lewis led the Buckeyes in sacks as well as tackles for a loss and was the Big Ten's defensive lineman of the year. With Lewis' announcement, the Buckeyes return their entire defensive line for the 2016 season.
- OL Commit Wyatt Davis Says Greg Studrawa Will Return: With the offensive line's struggles, Ed Warinner's unclear role going forward and the fact that with the hire of Wilson, Ohio State technically has one more head coach than the NCAA allows, there was understandable speculation regarding offensive line coach Greg Studrawa's job security. Thursday, Ohio State's five-star offensive line commit Wyatt Davis seems to have put that speculation to rest saying "Coach Stud is still going to be the offensive line coach."
Saturday 1/6
- Evan Lisle Will Reportedly Transfer: With the addition of the 2017 recruiting class, Ohio State is substantially above the 85 scholarship limit, even with more NFL Draft declarations expected. Given this, transfers and departures were expected and Evan Lisle's exit was the first news to break. As a graduate, Lisle is expected to transfer to Duke where he will be eligible to play immediately.
- Jeffrey Okudah Commits to Ohio State: The rich got richer, Saturday afternoon as the nation's top cornerback Jeffrey Okudah committed to Ohio State. Okudah becomes the fifth top-16 defensive back of the 2017 class and as an early enrollee, will likely begin classes at Ohio State on Monday.
- Kyle Trout Will Reportedly Transfer: Just hours after the news of Lisle's transfer broke, news that his offensive line counterpart, Kyle Trout, is also expected to transfer from the program.
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Noah Brown Declares for the NFL Draft: In a somewhat surprising move, Ohio State wide receiver Noah Brown announced he will enter the 2017 NFL Draft. Brown was the team's leading true-receiver in terms of total catches, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns and tied the school record for touchdown catches in a single game with four against Oklahoma.
What to Watch For Next Week
Draft Announcements
While most players have already made their announcements, there are still a few outstanding –Marshon Lattimore , Jamarco Jones, Marcus Baugh and Curtis Samuel. Underclassmen must file draft paperwork by Jan. 16th, so we should know their intentions one way or another within the week.
Ed Warinner's Status
With the addition of Kevin Wilson, Ohio State currently has one more assistant coach than the NCAA currently allows, at least until April when a vote could allow teams to add a 10th assistant. Warinner's future became even more uncertain when Wyatt Davis' said Greg Studrawa will remain the team's offensive line coach.
Transfers
Given Ohio State's current scholarship situation, Buckeye fans should expect more early departures to be announced in the near future. While we won't make any speculations as to who may be on their way out, more early exits are a virtual certainty.
