Five Ohio State Players With The Best Chance To Win a Big Ten Award In 2016

It is one thing to witness multiple players from one team win conference awards, but doing so season after season is one mark of a program's consistency.

Ohio State led the Big Ten with three individuals that earned various awards in 2016 — Ezekiel Elliott took home the Silver Football as the conference's best player in addition to offensive player and running back of the year honors, Joey Bosa won defensive lineman of the year for the second straight season, and Taylor Decker was named offensive lineman of the year.

All three of them turned pro following the season, coming off the board among the first 16 picks in the 2016 NFL Draft. They joined nine other teammates as draft picks, while three others signed as free agents. Ohio State's entire roster experienced an overhaul following its 12-1 campaign in 2015, one that ended with a 42-13 thrashing of Michigan and a 44-28 defeat of Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl.

Just six seniors remain, with young talent seeping through the pores of the Woody Hayes Athletic Center and set to be pressed into duty early and often this fall.

Expectations in Columbus won't change — Urban Meyer and fans alike expect the Buckeyes to contend for the Big Ten crown, but now they must do so with a wide range of different faces making plays.

Here are five players that have the best chance at breaking onto the scene and hearing their name called in December as winners of a conference award.

J.T. Barrett, Quarterback

OK, let's get the easy one out of the way first.

Barrett returns for his redshirt junior season already with a trophy case that is fairly full. Following an outstanding 2014 season when he was thrown the keys to the offense due to Braxton Miller's injury, Barrett tallied more touchdowns (45) than any other player in Big Ten history. That led to quarterback and freshman of the year awards, both of which were no-brainers for voters.

Barrett, who broke his ankle in the Michigan game that season, lost his starting job to Cardale Jones ahead of the 2015 season but eventually got it back by the end of the year. Neither quarterback had a great statistical season last year, but that should change with how much Barrett means to the offense this fall. With so much talent gone from last year's team, the Barrett is the catalyst for everything Ohio State does in 2016.

He could win anything from Quarterback of the Year to Offensive Player of the Year to Big Ten Player of the Year in 2016. It is on the table for him provided he stays healthy.

Pat Elflein, Center

Elflein could also classify as an easy pick, but because he isn't a quarterback we'll say it isn't. Or something like that.

Anyway, the fifth-year senior spurned the NFL for one more year of college football as well as a position switch. Elflein moved from guard to center to step in for Jacoby Boren, who graduated.

Already named a team captain with Barrett and middle linebacker Raekwon McMillan, Elflein will be looked to as a leader. The fact he shifted to center gives him a greater impact on the offense, plus he already turned in a pair of All-Big Ten seasons. Elflein is a terrific football player.

Pencil Elflein in as a frontrunner to follow in Taylor Decker's footsteps as the Rimington-Pace Offensive Lineman of the Year.

Raekwon McMillan, Linebacker

McMillan tallied 119 tackles as a sophomore on his way to being a Butkus Award finalist in 2015. He is the lone returning starter at linebacker for the Buckeyes, so he must be a force for the unit and defense as a whole when the season gets under way.

The Big Ten returns some terrific players at linebacker in 2016 — Iowa's Josey Jewell, Michigan State's Riley Bullough and Northwestern's Anthony Walker to name a few — so McMillan will have plenty of competition to be named the conference's best at the position. Chris Worley, Dante Booker, Jerome Baker and others aren't slouches either, and they play for the same team he does.

Still, McMillan's play last season exhibited his talent and the reason he was a must-have five-star recruit. Unless something drastic happens, expect the leader of Luke Fickell's defense to be in consideration for plenty of post-season laurels, including Butkus-Fitzgerald Linebacker of the Year.

Sam Hubbard, Defensive End

Hubbard blossomed into a solid player as a redshirt freshman, playing behind two-time All-American and future No. 3 overall pick Joey Bosa on Larry Johnson's defensive line. He finished with 28 tackles, 6.5 sacks, eight tackles for loss, a forced fumble and an interception, and he wasn't even a full-time starter.

For Ohio State to get where it wants this fall, however, Hubbard must become a star. He is well on his way, and along with Tyquan Lewis bookends Ohio State's defensive line. No one is asking him to bring the same impact as Bosa, but he must continue to be productive from the end spot as a full-time starter.

With more opportunities, Hubbard has a shot to follow in Bosa's footsteps and earn the Smith-Brown Defensive Lineman of the Year honors. Could he win Defensive Player of the Year too? McMillan and a host of other top Big Ten defenders will have a say in that.

Mike Weber, Running Back

This is a bold prediction because Weber is still "neck-and-neck" with Bri'onte Dunn for the starting running back job according to Urban Meyer, but the redshirt freshman had a terrific spring and was expected to step in for Ezekiel Elliott once he left for the NFL. That time is here.

Weber carries a low center of gravity when he runs the ball (he is only 5-foot-10, but is listed at 215 pounds) can catch and block. If he takes hold of the starting spot — which many, including this writer, believe he will — look for him to rack up the rushing yards. In Meyer's first four seasons in Columbus, the lowest yardage output for his top running back was 970 by Carlos Hyde in 2012, when the offense didn't trust anybody but Braxton Miller to move the chains. Hyde rushed for 1,521 yards in 2013, while Elliott ended up with 1,878 in 2014 and 1,821 last year.

Ohio State's running back will get his touches, which is why Weber could earn consideration for Running Back of the Year. He'll have stiff competition with Penn State's Saquon Barkley, Northwestern's Justin Jackson and Wisconsin's Corey Clement. At the very least, Weber should be in the running for Freshman of the Year.

This is a strong #take, but isn't that what the offseason is about?

OTHERS: Punter Cameron Johnston, Wide Receiver Noah Brown, Cornerback Gareon Conley