What Ohio State's 2015 Opponents Lost in the NFL Draft

In the last few weeks, we’ve talked a lot about the NFL Draft: which Buckeyes went where, who might leave early after next season, and who could be a surprise breakout star in the pros.

Ohio State lost five players to the Sunday league, including some key contributors. But the teams the Buckeyes will face in 2015 also lost some pro level talent. None of the 12 teams on Ohio State’s 2015 schedule lost as many as five players to the NFL Draft (that’s just the cost of doing business when you’re a Buckeye), but all lost some key pieces from last year’s team.

Herein, we’ll take a team-by-team look at what the 2015 OSU opponents will be missing when they take the field this fall.

Virginia Tech

In what can only be considered a down year in Blacksburg, the high point of the Hokies’ 2014 season was beating eventual national champion Ohio State. The Buckeyes were not yet fully formed when that happened, with a disjointed offensive line, a disconnected passing attack, and, well…Zeke just wasn’t Zeke yet.

The opening night revenge game on the road will not see a notable drop in talent from Virginia Tech. Only two Hokies were drafted in 2015, and neither until the late rounds. Strong safety Kyshoen Jarrett was selected by the Washington Redskins in the sixth round, becoming the latest in a long line of Tech defensive backs to join the League. You might recall the three-year starter’s five tackles and two interceptions against Ohio State last season.

Virginia Tech also had offensive tackle Laurence Gibson taken by Dallas in the seventh round.

Hawai’i

Unfortunately, one of my favorite Rainbow Warriors to watch won’t be making the trip to Ohio Stadium. Running back Joey Iosefa, a large man who somehow is able to run fast and make people miss, was selected by Tampa Bay in the seventh round. It was probably the perfect pick by a team that once had Mike Alstott. Here are some of Iosefa’s college highlights.

Iosefa was banged up a lot, but he still rushed for 617 yards and eight touchdowns last year. He ran for more than 450 yards in all four of his college seasons. It was fun to watch the big Samoan rumble into the open field. We won’t see that in Columbus this fall. It’ll be the awesomely named Steven Lakalaka toting the rock for the Warriors.

Northern Illinois

The Huskies are defending MAC champs and generally are one of their conference’s front runners in terms of talent. But this year, Northern Illinois had only one player chosen in the NFL Draft, and that wasn’t until the final round. Wide receiver Da’Ron Brown went to Kansas City in the seventh round, serving as the entirety of the Northern Illinois 2015 draft class.

Brown put up 1,065 yards receiving in 2014, with six touchdowns. He led the Huskies in receptions (68) and yards and tied for the lead in receiving touchdowns. He also averaged 10.8 yards on his 10 rushing attempts, scoring one touchdown on the ground. Brown will be missed.

Western Michigan

The Broncos did not have a player selected in the 2015 NFL Draft. WMU finished third in the MAC West, with an 8-5 (6-2) record. They lost the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl to Air Force, 38-24, at the end of last season and will be looking for an upset. The Broncos open their season against Michigan State, so we should get some idea of their level of play.

Indiana

Buckeyes are glad to see Tevin Coleman go.

The Hoosiers can be a frustrating team for Ohio State. Despite the fact they’re usually hilariously bad, the Buckeyes have failed to cover the spread in the last four meetings and have trailed at some point in six of the last nine games between the teams. That isn’t to say Indiana doesn’t have talent. Offensively, they can be dangerous and their attack isn’t likely to slow soon. Running back Tevin Coleman was the team’s lone draftee, going in the third round to the Atlanta Falcons.

Ohio State fans would just as soon not see Coleman again. He rushed for 230 yards and three touchdowns –including a 90-yarder – in last year’s game in Columbus. Coleman ran for 2,036 yards and 15 touchdowns as a senior.

Wide receiver Shane Wynn, who caught seven passes for 93 yards against the Buckeyes last year, wasn't drafted, but he did sign as an undrafted free agent with Atlanta.

Maryland

The Terrapins had both an offensive and defensive player selected in 2015. One-time Ohio State wide receiver target Stefon Diggs went to the Minnesota Vikings in the fifth round and defensive tackle Darius Kilgo was picked up by Denver in Round 6.

Diggs spent only three seasons in College Park, and some injury problems kept him from maximizing his time there, but he still led the Terps in receiving last year, with team highs in catches (62), yards (792) and touchdowns (5). He grabbed seven balls for 52 yards and a score against the Buckeyes in 2014.

Kilgo started 13 games at nose tackle last year and registered eight tackles for loss—one against the Buckeyes—and two sacks. He made five tackles in the meeting last year, including four solo stops.

Penn State

Three Nittany Lions were drafted in 2015, in a down draft year for Penn State. They lost offensive tackle Donovan Smith to Tampa Bay in the second round, and in Round 5 had two players selected—free safety Adrian Amos by Chicago and tight end Jesse James to Pittsburgh.

Amos made seven tackles against Ohio State last season, while James caught four passes for 22 yards. They, along with Smith, were useful players against the Buckeyes but none really stood out. Despite losing three NFL players, Penn State will likely suffer most from losing an undrafted player.

Mike Hull made a game high 19 tackles against the Buckeyes last season, with 2.5 tackles for loss and an interception. Hull was a beast in that game and is probably the biggest off-season loss for the Nitts. It’s surprising to see the Big Ten’s Linebacker of the Year not get picked, and even more surprising to see one with this list of weaknesses. Hull signed as a UDA with Miami.

Rutgers

There were two Scarlet Knights chosen in the 2015 NFL Draft and you might not remember either of them. Tight end Tyler Kroft was taken by Cincinnati in the third round, but was inconsequential against the Buckeyes last year, catching only two passes for 17 yards. He caught only 24 passes last season for 269 yards and didn’t score. Fullback Michael Burton, who went to Detroit in the fifth round, carried the ball only once last year, for two yards. He caught 15 passes for 150 yards, without a touchdown. Against the Buckeyes, Burton had two receptions for 22 yards.

Minnesota

The Golden Gophers tied for the most players drafted by any of Ohio State’s 2015 opponents, with four. It started with tight end Maxx Williams going to Baltimore in the second round. Inside linebacker Damien Wilson went to Dallas in Round 4. Running back David Cobb was picked by Tennessee in the fifth round, and free safety Cedric Thompson went to Miami later in the fifth.

Offensively, I’m not sure Minnesota could have lost two more valuable players. Williams led the Gophers in receptions (36), receiving yards (569) and receiving touchdowns (8). Three of his receptions and 47 yards came against the Buckeyes in Minneapolis. Meanwhile, Cobb was one of the conference’s best backs, rushing for 1,626 yards and 13 touchdowns. Three of his scores and 145 yards came at Ohio State’s expense.

Wilson had eight tackles against the Buckeyes, but blew an assignment on J.T. Barrett’s long touchdown run. Thompson started 11 games last season and led the Gopher defense against Ohio State with a team high 10 tackles, including one for a five-yard loss.

Illinois

Tim Beckman’s so-called Fighting Illini had no players drafted. That’s it. That’s the joke.

Michigan State

Lippett, B1G's top receiver: gone.

Like Jerry Kill’s Gophers, Sparty had four players drafted in 2015. The Spartans also had the highest draft pick of any of Ohio State’s 2015 opponents, with cornerback Trae Waynes going to Minnesota in the first round with the 11th overall pick. Waynes had just four tackles against the Buckeyes in 2014, without a pass breakup or an interception. Still, Ohio State mostly threw away from him.

Running back Jeremy Langford was scooped up by Chicago in the fourth round, which is probably a steal. Langford went for 137 yards and three touchdowns against the Buckeyes last season, and posted 1,522 rushing yards and 22 touchdowns in 2015 for Michigan State.

The remaining two draftees were receivers. Miami picked up Big Ten Receiver of the Year Tony Lippett in the fifth round. Being the Dolphins, they want to turn him into a defensive back. In fairness, he did play at that spot some in East Lansing. Lippett led Sparty receivers in catches (65), yards (1,198) and touchdowns (11). He struggled at times against Doran Grant but still finished with five receptions for 64 yards against the Buckeyes.

The Houston Texans picked up Keith Mumphery in the fifth round. Mumphery caught three passes against Ohio State, but racked up 72 yards and a 44-yard touchdown among them. He was second on Michigan State in receiving yards (495) and third in receptions (26) and touchdowns (3).

Michigan

The Wolverines lost a pair of players in the second round. Wide receiver Devin Funchess went to the Carolina Panthers and defensive end Frank Clark was picked up by the Seattle Seahawks, who swear they did a thorough background check. (Honest!) In addition, linebacker Jake Ryan was swept up in Round 4 by Green Bay.

Funchess created all kinds of matchup problems for the Buckeyes a year ago, finishing The Game with seven receptions for 108 yards. He led the Wolverines receiving corps last year in receptions (62), yards (733) and touchdowns (4). He was a favorite jump ball target for Michigan because of his size, so Ohio State’s defensive backs aren’t sad to see him go.

Clark didn’t play against Ohio State last year after being kicked off the team for a domestic violence charge. He was an explosive player who has hurt the Buckeyes in the past, however, including a particularly nasty sack of Braxton Miller in the 2012 game. Ryan had eight tackles, a TFL and a quarterback hurry in last year’s match-up. Ryan was a good player who made the transition from outside linebacker to inside last season.

And there you have it. The Buckeyes may have shed some experience and talent in the off-season, but so did pretty much everyone they face. The loss of guys like Coleman, Langford, Cobb and Funchess off this list is pretty big, but then again, if Wisconsin plays the Buckeyes in the B1G title game again, they’ll probably breathe easier knowing they won’t see Devin Smith.