Ohio State coach Urban Meyer has not been shy about making the comparisons. He knows the dangers, well aware how the 2014 season ended. But Meyer is often blunt with his comments; when he says something, he often believes it.
That’s why it’s important to pay attention when Meyer states his 2016 team can be like the one that won a national championship just two years ago.
“I see that potential,” Meyer said back at Big Ten Media Days. “I see, I think 2014 was the template that everybody wants. J.T. Barrett was buried on the depth chart. Darron Lee, Eli Apple, Zeke Elliott, Mike Thomas — those guys were no-names and they became very good throughout the course of 2014.”
If the Buckeyes are to have any chance of similar success this season, it’s going to take another 2014-type effort with inexperienced players turning into superstars. That end result is certainly a tall task, but the parallels between the two teams at this point in the season — the second week of fall camp — are somewhat striking.
Ohio State's quarterback is established much like it thought back in 2014 as Barrett will lead the Buckeyes much like Braxton Miller was expected to. That’s supposed to be what Ohio State falls back on, Barrett’s experience, to lead it to success. Of course, Miller’s 2014 season was cut short due to an injury sustained in fall camp; Buckeyes fans are hopeful there’s no repeat there with Barrett.
At running back, Elliott was tasked with replacing Carlos Hyde, a 1,000-plus yard back who was a second-round NFL Draft selection. Elliott did that and more over the 2014 and 2015 seasons before becoming an early-round pick himself. Mike Weber, much like Elliott in 2014, must replace a star.
Taylor Decker was the lone returning starter on the offensive line in 2014 as an overhaul was needed after a star-studded 2013 group moved on. Replacing four starters was difficult at first, but by the end of the year, Ohio State’s offensive line played as well as any in the country. There are three new starters in 2016, but both Pat Elflein and Billy Price are multi-year starters. The hope is their experience aids with the transition.
“They’re hungry and they’re ready to go and I think as experienced guys we’ve seen it and we know what to expect,” Elflein said. “I think it’ll be good.”
On defense, the Buckeyes lost a pair of first-round draft picks in linebacker Ryan Shazier and cornerback Bradley Roby following the 2013 season. Noah Spence — who would later turn into a second-round selection himself — also left the team after the Big Ten ruled him “permanently ineligible from all intercollegiate athletics competition” following a second failed drug test. There was talent lost all over the field, yet Lee, Apple, Vonn Bell and more emerged into All-American-type talents and the Buckeyes became a championship unit on defense.
With eight defensive starters gone — Lee, Apple, Bell, Joey Bosa and more included — there’s more talent lost in 2016. yet despite all of that, there’s a sense of confidence coming from Ohio State players.
“I think our secondary can be the best it’s been since I’ve been here,” said redshirt junior cornerback Gareon Conley, who is one of the three returning starters.
Added middle linebacker Raekwon McMillan, another returner: “Everything that we do is always a high expectation. They know when they come in they already know the expectation and the sense of urgency that we have. That’s just the culture at Ohio State, that’s just how it is. As soon as you come in, you’re expected to be mature and ready to go.”
The Buckeyes’ storybook 2014 season ended at AT&T Stadium in Dallas with the team holding up a trophy near midfield as the first-ever College Football Playoff winner. Ohio State handled the loss of Miller and then Barrett — who suffered a broken ankle in the Week 12 win against Michigan — as Cardale Jones led the charge for the national championship. It was tough to explain what happened that year and how exactly it was done, but the Buckeyes finished as the No. 1 team in college football.
That end result has hopes high for players, coaches and fans alike in 2016. Perhaps those expectations should be toned down a bit since things like Ohio State's 2014 season aren't supposed to happen, but those around the team remain confident a repeat performance can occur.
"We’ve got a ton of talent,” Elflein said. “The program we put guys through, it’s a culture, it’s a foundation, it’s a process. With all the talent we have and putting those guys through this, the whole crucible of training that we have, we develop players and it’s worked.
“It’s like the 2014 season when no one knew who Zeke was, no one knew who J.T. was and now we’ve got a whole other group of guys that I think will do the same type of thing, that’ll go out and play well.”
