Ohio State doesn't have nearly as much youth in its football program as it did a year ago when 44 freshmen entered fall camp. But Urban Meyer's team isn't that old all things considered, since it only lost six seniors and just one of them — All-American center Pat Elflein — was a full-time starter on either offense or defense.
The Buckeyes also lost six guys to the NFL that had eligibility remaining, four from a defense that ranked among the nation's best. Malik Hooker and Marshon Lattimore look like surefire first-round draft picks, while Gareon Conley could work his way into the discussion with a strong performance at the NFL Scouting Combine next week in Indianapolis. Elflein is one of the top linemen in this year's draft class, Curtis Samuel did everything and then some for Ohio State's offense in 2016, Raekwon McMillan put together a terrific three-year run at middle linebacker and Noah Brown is an intriguing prospect at wide receiver.
One thing that all of them have in common, however, is they leave behind noticeable holes on Ohio State's depth chart. Spring practice is the first opportunity the program has at deciding who gets the first crack at filling them.
Every year, a handful of names dominate headlines in Columbus as the breakout stars of spring drills. Let's pick five that need to make waves this time around.
Demario McCall — Running Back
With Curtis Samuel onto the NFL, Ohio State has essentially zero proven game-breakers on its offense. Mike Weber is a known commodity after a terrific season where he became just the third Buckeye freshman ever to rush for 1,000 yards but he hasn't yet shown the breakaway speed and ability that set Samuel apart in his career.
Enter McCall. Not nearly as sturdy as Weber, the sophomore is fleet-footed and shifty in the open field. We saw that multiple times in mop-up duty last year, where McCall took either a swing pass or pitch to the outside, made one cut and beat everybody to the pylon. His best moments came against bad teams like Bowling Green, Maryland and Rutgers but it was apparent that McCall has the potential to be electric for Ohio State's offense. That is provided he gets his body built the way it needs to be to become more of a contributor. To make himself more effective, McCall should work on his route running and catching ability. Doing so would make him even more of a prime candidate to step in for Samuel.
The void in speed and playmakers with Samuel gone is evident. Weber will take another step this season but Ohio State's offense needs more of a "wow" factor to show up on Saturday afternoons. McCall is a young player eager to become more of a central piece. J.T. Barrett is at his best when he gets the ball to guys that make plays. McCall needs to become one of them.
Binjimen Victor — Wide Receiver
Building off what we said about McCall, Ohio State desperately needs playmakers on the outside. Victor has all the tools to be that guy and barely scratched the surface of his potential last season.
Victor only saw action in five games but caught four passes for 64 yards and scored his first career touchdown on a 25-yard grab at Maryland. He is a tremendously long and lanky athlete and made a nice catch against Clemson. Part of the reason Victor didn't see the field more in 2016 was because he came to Ohio State without enough muscle on his frame. A full year of work under Mickey Marotti and on a college diet plan will help that.
Meyer talked about pulling the trigger and entering Victor into the lineup for a month last season before finally doing it in against Rutgers. Without really any proven commodities at the position outside of presumed starter and impact player K.J. Hill, Victor needs to become a bigger part of the passing game. It looked like he had worked his way up the rotation during Fiesta Bowl practice, something he looks to build off of this spring.
Even though they won't admit it, the Buckeyes have shifted their wide receiver recruiting philosophy to zero in on taller, longer and bigger targets at the position. Or at least have had more success landing them in recent cycles. Trevon Grimes, Elijah Gardiner and Jaylen Harris are the latest but won't arrive on campus until June. Victor must show he is elite this spring to enter training camp near the top of pecking order.
Austin Mack — Wide Receiver
We could literally rewrite the same thing for Mack as we did for Victor but that wouldn't be fair. Mack is set to enter his second set of spring drills at Ohio State after enrolling in January 2016. He became the first Buckeye in the Meyer era to lose the black stripe from his helmet in spring practice, doing so on March 31.
Since he has been in college a little longer than Victor, Mack should be further along in his development than the fellow sophomore. Whether or not that is true is up for debate. Mack played a ton of snaps in 2016, mostly on special teams. He saw action in 11 games and caught two passes for 15 yards. The first came in a blowout of Rutgers and the second in the blowout of Nebraska.
The fact Mack played consistently on punt and kickoff teams is a great sign for his progress. Usually, when players pay their dues on special teams, their chance to work at their actual position comes next. Meyer said multiple times last summer time that Mack "would play" in 2016 and though he technically didn't lie, many thought that meant actually at wide receiver.
Another taller wide receiver at 6-foot-2 like his classmate Victor, Mack looks the part of a player that can make a difference in Ohio State's passing game. Meyer alluded to him hitting a bit of a freshman wall at the end of last season. With a full year under his belt, Mack needs to take a jump and become a dependable weapon for Barrett.
Jordan Fuller — Safety
Like Mack, Fuller played a bunch on special teams as a true freshman. A key component to the punt and kickoff team, Fuller has a knack for being around the ball. Fuller finished his first year at Ohio State with 11 total tackles and the Buckeyes listed him second on the depth chart behind Damon Webb at strong safety.
With the Buckeyes saying goodbye to three more assumed draft picks from the secondary in Malik Hooker, Marshon Lattimore and Gareon Conley, plenty of attention will be focused on those next in line. Greg Schiano and Coombs have their hands full trying to replicate the production that turned pro, considering Ohio State intercepted 21 passes and returned seven of them for touchdowns in 2016.
Identified early in the recruiting process as one of Ohio State's favorite defensive backs in the 2016 class, the former 4-star recruit is blessed with a solid frame (6-foot-2, 205 pounds) and elected to come to Columbus instead of joining Michigan or Notre Dame. A late get in the recruiting cycle, the Buckeyes pulled the long athlete from the east coast two days before signing day.
Fuller, Erick Smith and Jahsen Wint are all in line to battle for the open safety spot alongside Webb this spring. Isaiah Pryor also enrolled early to join the fray. Smith should be considered the leader at the spot but dealt with an ACL injury near the end of 2015 that allowed Webb and Hooker to win the safety jobs ahead of last season. How does it shake out? Schiano will push to get the best player on the field at the back end of Ohio State's defense. With Fuller's potential being what it is, he will likely garner plenty of attention this spring.
A Cornerback
This is an admitted cop out but the message is pretty clear: Someone needs to take the lead for winning the starting cornerback job opposite Denzel Ward. Because Ward was listed as a co-starter and played in every game last season, it makes sense for him to step up and be the lead corner after Lattimore and Conley both left for the NFL.
That leaves a slew of young and eager talent. Redshirt sophomores Joshua Norwood and Damon Arnette join true sophomore Rodjay Burns and junior college transfer Kendall Sheffield as the players with some college experience at the position. Meyer said Sheffield will arrive on campus in March. The former Alabama commit didn't transfer to Blinn College in Texas and then head to Ohio State to sit the bench.
But the Buckeyes addressed the major need with some special talent in the 2017 recruiting class. Five-stars Jeffrey Okudah and Shaun Wade are already enrolled and taking part in workouts with four-star Marcus Williamson. Wayne Davis redshirted last season, so he too will be anxious to show what he can do.
There are a ton of names vying for one spot, assuming Ward is the guy at one cornerback spot. Okudah and Wade made it pretty clear on signing day they were told to be ready to play right away and on a three-year track to the NFL. Those players already in the program aren't going to just let them have the job, however.
It should make for an interesting spring in the defensive backfield.
Ohio State does not have nearly as many starting positions available heading into this year's spring practice as it did in 2016, yet there is a wide range of freshmen and sophomores who have waited their turn. The talent isn't in question. It never is at Ohio State.
Those listed above — aside from the cornerbacks — all made some form of an impact last fall even if it came in small doses. With vacancies ahead of them on the depth chart, they seem like the best candidates to break out when spring practice opens on March 7.
There are positions that need refining everywhere at Ohio State. As such, you probably have five different names than the ones listed above.
