It shouldn't come as a surprise that the 2017 Ohio State football program is once again expected to contend for a national title.
That said, since the Buckeyes walked off the field following a 31-0 drubbing at the hands of eventual national champion Clemson, there have been plenty of changes.
With change comes questions and what follows are the top-five question marks entering the 2017 campaign.
5. Will the kicking game improve after a disappointing 2016 season?
The 2016 season for the Ohio State special teams unit was going smoothly until Tyler Durbin's 45-yard field goal attempt was blocked and returned for a score by Grant Haley, handing the Buckeyes their first loss of the season.
Things only got worse as Durbin, who won the kicking job after Sean Nuernberger suffered a minor injury in the offseason, missed four of his final five field goal attempts of the season against Michigan and Clemson respectively.
Entering 2017, Nuernberger is battling freshman Blake Haubeil for the starting job. The starting kicker on Ohio State's national title team in 2014, Nuernberger has always had the leg to be a starter, but struggled with accuracy at times in both 2014 and 2015.
Not only do the Buckeyes have to replace Durbin, they have to replace four year starting punter Cameron Johnston, who is currently trying to make the final roster for the Philadelphia Eagles.
Drue Chrisman is the clear leader to replace Johnston. Even though Chrisman is a more traditional punter, head coach Urban Meyer said at Big Ten Media Days that the Buckeyes are still planning on utilizing the rugby-style punt.
The last time Ohio State had to replace both a kicker and punter who did not attempt a kick at all the previous season, was in 2005 when the Buckeyes replaced Mike Nugent with Josh Huston and Kyle Turano with A.J. Trapasso.
4. Can Chris Worley be effective at middle linebacker?
Raekwon McMillan is arguably the best middle linebacker Ohio State has had since James Laurinaitis, so replacing his production will be no small task.
Chris Worley slides over from his spot as the strong side linebacker to fill McMillan's shoes, and the question here isn't concerning Worley's knowledge of the game or his ability. The question becomes, Does Worley have the size to withstand the physical toll that playing the position takes?
Worley is listed on Ohio State's fall roster at 6-foot-2, 230 pounds, which makes him just two pounds heavier than he was at the start of last season. To say he is too small to be successful in the middle might be an unfair statement as Brian Rolle, who started two years at middle linebacker for Ohio State, stood just 5-foot-11 and weighed around 220 pounds.
Playing behind one of, if not the best defensive line in the country should make the transition even easier for Worley, who enters his second season as a full-time starter.
3. Will J.K. Dobbins make a significant impact?
The debate surrounding the highly touted freshman running back has been one of the main storylines this offseason.
Dobbins was the first member of the 2017 class to lose his black stripe during fall camp, and even passed Antonio Williams on the depth chart during spring ball. But how much will Dobbins really play?
A lot of that will have to do with where Demario McCall lines up. If McCall gets more reps at H-back and Mike Weber isn't 100 percent going into the Indiana game, there is very good chance Dobbins could get some meaningful playing time.
That said, Dobbins has yet to take a single snap in a college football game and missed his senior season of high school due to an ankle injury. To be good in practice is one thing, but to produce in primetime under the lights in the season opener is another. Dobbins appears to have all the tools though, and the Indiana game should be a good indicator as to how much playing time he will get as a rookie.
2. Will Isaiah Prince and the offensive line be able to protect J.T. Barrett in big games?
When the lights were at their brightest in 2016, Isaiah Prince and the Ohio State offensive line seemed to crumble as the Buckeyes allowed 16 of their 28 season sacks against Michigan, Penn State and Wisconsin.
To be fair, a big part of that was lack of separation by the receivers (more on that in a second), but there is no denying that the Buckeyes struggled with their pass protection for most of the season.
Returning four out of five starters up front should help, and Prince appears to be gaining confidence, which can only help improve his game. With Kevin Wilson running the show, a more consistent running attack should help alleviate the pressure on the front five, as should an improved passing attack.
1. Will the offense be able to move the ball consistently through the air?
I could just have written 'Offense' as the subhead, and you would know exactly what we are talking about here.
To say Ohio State's offense was inconsistent last year would be an understatement of epic proportions. Plenty has been written about the changes made to the offense this offseason, but the key word that has been thrown around is tempo.
With Wilson calling the offense, the Buckeyes are likely to come out swinging on Aug. 31, with the intention of putting a rough ending to 2016 firmly behind them.
The other question that falls into this category is whether or not the Ohio State wide receiver group will create enough separation to generate yards through the air. The deep ball was almost non-existent last season, but the emergence of Binjimen Victor and Austin Mack combined with a veteran core could change all of that.
Much like they did in 2014, expect the Buckeyes to use a more balanced attack, with a power run game setting up the play action pass downfield.
