Urban Meyer never believes he has enough talent on his team, especially on offense, one of the many reasons he's already one of the most dominant college football coaches of this era.
Think about it: Ohio State has the choice to have Jalin Marshall, Ezekiel Elliott, Curtis Samuel and Michael Thomas all on the field at the same time in 2015. That's a pretty scary lineup for any defensive coordinator, and whoever plays quarterback between Cardale Jones, J.T. Barrett or Braxton Miller wasn't even mentioned.
But Meyer isn't satisfied. Not one bit.
"We had to go get more people that fit that type of system that we wanted, spread the field horizontally," Meyer said this spring. "That's the Jalin Marshall, Dontre Wilson, Curtis Samuel-type player. We're still looking for more, because that's what's a big part of (our success)."
Ohio State did lose team Most Valuable Player Evan Spencer and leading receiver Devin Smith from the wide receivers room following the national championship, but all the players Meyer mentioned are still in Columbus for at least another year.
Toss in guys like Thomas, Corey Smith, Noah Brown and younger players Terry McLaurin, Johnnie Dixon, James Clark and Parris Campbell, and you'd think Meyer's being selfish with how much talent Ohio State has on the sideline.
But that's just how his mind works.
"I kind of like our skill set," Meyer said last month. "We just gotta keep going because we're going to start losing some guys."
It isn't farfetched to think Thomas or even Marshall could leave after 2015 for the NFL Draft if they have solid seasons — after all, they're set to be eligible. Even if they do leave Columbus, there's plenty of talent stockpiled and more on the way.
"We had to go get more people that fit that type of system that we wanted, spread the field horizontally. That's the Jalin Marshall, Dontre Wilson, Curtis Samuel-type player. We're still looking for more, because that's what's a big part of (our success)."– Urban Meyer
"I saw a lot of development in the receiver position," offensive coordinator Ed Warinner said after the Spring Game. "Guys like Noah Brown making some development, and Parris Campbell, and then Terry had a nice catch for a touchdown. Corey Smith. I thought we made progress there. I saw that position have a lot of numbers where we could get them in there. There wasn’t a lot of running backs to work, there weren’t a lot of tight ends to work."
Losing two starters at any position (Devin Smith wasn't listed on the depth chart as a starter, but come on now) is cause for concern for any head coach, but Meyer and his staff have plenty of skill waiting in the wings. The deep threat lost with Smith's graduation is apparent, but it seems unwise to think Ohio State can't replace it.
"If you look at our success last year, even the inside run game to Zeke was created by the threat of the outside," Meyer said. "If not, you're going to defend the box and if you defend the box with Jalin and Dontre and some of those cats out there, there's a nice match."
There's nice matches on paper everywhere, inciting competition to get the best out of each player involved. And whoever fits the mold as a starter to replace Smith and Spencer's production is sure to have the support of those who didn't.
"It’s not a matter of keeping us happy," Brown said this spring. "We’re all rooting for each other. We’ve got some dangerous talent and it’s a great thing to have. I think we’re all unselfish and just pulling for each other and trying to get each other better."
