How will this year’s Ohio State team be different than last year’s team? Who will be the Buckeyes’ toughest competition? Which players will the Buckeyes miss most from last season, and who are the team’s most important players this season?
The Eleven Warriors staff has come together to provide our answers to those questions and more in our 2017 Season Preview roundtable.
See how our 11-man team of editors and staff writers weighed in on an 11-pack of questions regarding the upcoming season, and feel free to weigh in with your own thoughts in the comments section below.
1. What will be the biggest difference between this year’s team and last year’s team?
Ramzy Nasrallah: The passing game, which was poorly coached in each of the past two seasons, should enjoy significant upgrades by way of Ryan Day and Kevin Wilson. Rhythm and cadence were absent for long stretches last year (to the point where J.T. Barrett was visibly frustrated, on several occasions, with the sideline’s inability to get plays in on time). The 2017 season should be, at minimum, the beginning of the return to what Buckeye fans have been waiting for since the final three games of the 2014 season.
Kevin Harrish: The offensive line will be a team strength this season when it was a weakness in 2016. The Buckeyes return four starters on the line including Billy Price, who is probably the most experienced lineman in college football, and Jamarco Jones, who I believe is one of the best offensive tackles in the nation. Sure, the line resembled a turnstile at times last season, but I think you’ll see a huge, physical, veteran group of slobs in 2017. The Buckeyes will control the trenches on both sides of the ball.
Dan Hope: Last year’s Ohio State offense, hindered by slow pace and a lack of creative play calling, could be described as predictable. While the Buckeyes could get away with that against most teams, it proved to be a fatal flaw when the season was on the line. That should change in 2017 with Wilson calling the shots. The Buckeyes will play fast, and Wilson should add plenty of wrinkles to the game plan. Because Wilson is the most experienced offensive coordinator Urban Meyer has ever hired, he’ll have the authority to make changes other coordinators might not have, which could mean big changes from Meyer’s previous offenses. Only time will tell if Ohio State’s new offense will truly be better – the Buckeyes will need their personnel to step up for that to happen – but it will certainly be different.
2. Which preseason storyline has been most overhyped?
Kyle Jones: The expectations placed upon the ‘Rushmen’ package of Sam Hubbard, Tyquan Lewis, Nick Bosa and Jalyn Holmes are ridiculous. While the quartet played well in Norman and Madison, they were largely invisible in what became the three most important games of the 2016 season (Penn State, Michigan and Clemson), tallying a modest three sacks and two quarterback hurries combined in those contests. For a team with so much supposed talent up front, it’s time they live up to all the headlines and finish better than 54th nationally in sacks, as they did last fall.
Johnny Ginter: I don’t particularly care if J.T. Barrett has a Heisman-worthy season, at least in the sense of wondering if he’ll miraculously become some kind of mind-bending quarterback demigod that we stare at in slack-jawed awe as he makes legendary play after legendary play. The goal for Barrett should be to run Kevin Wilson’s offense well; that means continuing to be a distributor, not making stupid decisions with the football, allowing a young group of receivers to flourish and supplementing the running game where needed. If he does all that and raises his completion percentage by five to seven points, he’ll probably be a Heisman finalist anyway, but the idea that he needs to be bigger than the player we know him to be is kind of silly. He’s already great just by being the player he already is.
Andrew Lind: Fans and media alike have been obsessed with freshman quarterback Tate Martell since he arrived on campus in January and subsequently showed off the athleticism through spring and preseason practices that made him the top-rated dual-threat quarterback in the country for the Class of 2017. To an extent, I get it. He’s the shiny new toy everybody wants to play with. But with a Heisman-caliber starter who holds nearly every school record looking to cap his redshirt senior season with a national title and two — well, one for the immediate future — very capable backups ahead of him, there’s no need to take that toy out of the box for a year or two. Martell is a great athlete who dominated at the high school level and has shown flashes of that potential in practice/scrimmages, but let’s pump the brakes on the hype until he cracks the two-deep.
3. Which team will be Ohio State’s toughest competition in the Big Ten?
Vico: It’s gotta be Penn State. Last year’s Big Ten champion returns important key players, certainly on offense (e.g. Trace McSorley, Saquon Barkley). Penn State never wanted for talent in the past few years and the addition of Joe Moorhead as offensive coordinator made the most of what it had on offense. Michigan will also provide some headaches for the Buckeyes at season’s end, but Penn State should be the best conference team on Ohio State’s schedule.
Hope: I’m with Vico on this one. With McSorley at quarterback, Barkley at running back, Mike Gesicki at tight end, a talented crop of wide receivers and an improving offensive line, Penn State should have the best offense in the Big Ten and one of the best offenses in the entire country. The Nittany Lions were good enough to beat the Buckeyes last year, and they are a more experienced team that should be even better this year. I expect this year’s game in Ohio Stadium to decide who wins the Big Ten East, just as last year’s game in State College did.
D.J. Byrnes: Michigan. Look, I get the hype about Penn State. It entertained the masses throughout its improbable Big Ten championship run, and I’m a big fan of the Sober Johnny Manziel quarterback. I also can’t believe James Franklin has as many Big Ten titles as Urban Meyer.
But surprising teams one year is a different task than coming into the season as the reigning champs. Everyone will be gunning for the Nittany Lions this year. Plus, Ohio State plays them in Columbus, where the Lions are historically not as powerful.
I also get Michigan lost most of its team. But "rebuilding years" are no longer a thing for elite coaches. And say what you want about Jim Harbaugh (and I’ve said a lot), he’s an elite college coach. I don’t expect a drop-off from them at all, and I worry about that last game of the season in Ann Arbor. Staring down the barrel of going 0-3 against Ohio State, I look for Jimbaugh to throw an entire house at Ohio State, not just the kitchen sink.
Jim Harbaugh's Wolverines will be gunning for the Buckeyes even after losing most of their starters from last season.
4. Which game on the regular season schedule should concern Ohio State fans most?
Ramzy: You want to stray from saying Michigan. You want to pick Penn State, visiting the Horseshoe with the best running back in the country and a quarterback who seemingly completes 100% of his 50/50 balls. You want to pick Iowa City, which is an infrequent and often dicey environment for visitors. Lincoln, coming off a 62-3 pasting last season, screams of a vengeful ambush. You want to pick Piscataway, where haha just kidding it’s Rutgers.
You want to stray from saying Michigan. I can’t. It’s always Michigan.
D.J.: Michigan is the obvious (and correct) answer. But here’s a wild card I’ll throw out, too: Iowa. That game is in early November, and Urban Meyer always has one inexplicable game a year when he turtles his offense (see: Michigan State, 2016). That could just as well come after an emotional revenge win the previous week against Penn State.
The over/under on J.T. Barrett’s carries in that scenario will be 25. Take the over.
Lind: Michigan *should* always be the answer, but the Wolverines had their chance last year. The Wolverines had Ohio State on the ropes with the most experienced roster in the country last season, but couldn’t land the knockout punch. I don’t see how the youngest team in America is going to suddenly close that gap.
Penn State, meanwhile, can’t catch every jump ball McSorley throws this season, can it? If that continues, sure, the Nittany Lions might be able to pull their third upset in Columbus in five* (six if you include the vacated 2010 season) tries. But I anticipate that regresses toward the mean this year.
So who’s left? The Buckeyes could get caught looking ahead at the Penn State game when they travel to Nebraska. But, then again, it’s not as if Joe Bauserman is under center anymore. I’ll say Oklahoma, instead, as the Sooners are my pick to win the Big 12 again. Ohio State got a fairly easy win in Norman last season, and Oklahoma — led by eventual Heisman Trophy winner Baker Mayfield — will be out for revenge.
5. Outside of the most obvious candidates (Saquon Barkley, Baker Mayfield), who’s a player Ohio State will face this year that could give them problems?
Andrew Ellis: The Buckeyes travel to Lincoln on Oct. 14, and by that time Nebraska’s new quarterback should be in a bit of a groove. The Ohio State defensive line is one of the best units in the entire country, but Tanner Lee has the potential to be a dangerous player now that he’s got some more talent around him. His numbers weren’t all that impressive in two seasons at Tulane, but he was playing behind an offensive line that just couldn’t protect him. The Huskers will be looking to avenge last year’s 62-3 massacre in Columbus, and Lee is a player that may be able to give the Buckeyes some trouble, potentially via the short passing game.
James Grega: I’m not sure if this is allowed, but I am going with a pair of players from Michigan. Maurice Hurst and Rashan Gary are two of the best defensive linemen (outside of Ohio State) in the Big Ten. Gary was the top recruit in the 2016 class and appears poised to have a breakout year. Combine his abilities with the veteran play of Hurst, the Michigan front line could give the Buckeye offensive line some issues, much like it did last year when J.T. Barrett was sacked eight times.
Chris Lauderback: If Wisconsin was definitely on the schedule (though OSU could see them in the B1G title game), I’d take Badgers wide receiver Jazz Peavy. That dude lit up the Buckeyes last year with his feet and his hands, totaling 10 touches for 146 yards and a touchdown in a 30-23 overtime thriller. I’ll stick with wide receivers for this answer, though, and go with Simmie Cobbs and Nick Westbrook from Indiana. Cobbs could be facing discipline for an offseason arrest, but there’s been no indication he’ll be suspended for the season opener. Cobbs, at 6-foot-4, is a tough cover as evidenced by his 1,000-yard season back in 2015. He missed last season with an ankle injury but is dangerous now that he’s back healthy. With Cobbs on the shelf last year, fellow wideout Nick Westbrook went off for 995 receiving yards. At 6-foot-3, he gives the Hoosiers a tall, dynamic tandem for the retooled Ohio State secondary to face in game one.
6. What will be J.T. Barrett’s legacy after the 2017 season?
Jones: I rarely get on the soap box for things like ‘legacy,’ but I truly believe J.T. Barrett will go down as the greatest quarterback in Ohio State history. He may not be the greatest passer (Art Schlichter), the greatest runner (Braxton Miller), the greatest athlete overall (Terrelle Pryor), the most heralded (Troy Smith) or even the biggest winner (Rex Kern), but as of right now, he’s in the top two or three of all those categories, something none of the others can say. History has a way of erasing faults, such as Miller and Pryor’s passing inconsistencies or the abomination that was the 2004 season with Smith and Justin Zwick under the helm, and all of a sudden Barrett’s flaws will seem minute. If he’s able to take that next step under the tutelage of Day and Wilson this fall, then this discussion becomes a mutual agreement among Buckeye fans in the future.
Chris: Jones summed it up perfectly. I, too, believe J.T. will go down as the greatest signal-caller in Buckeye lore. Yes, he regressed last year. But while some of that was definitely on him, I think just as much or more falls on the right side of the offensive line, position coaching and a wide receiver room littered with guys either too young and unseasoned, simply not good enough and/or lacking in proper tutelage to keep the medium-deep threat from being anything but a clown show. I expect the right side of the line to be much better in pass pro, the wideouts to be much more effective thanks to Hartline and Wilson and for J.T. to shine with Day and Wilson correcting his mechanics and being less predictable with play-calling. Ohio State’s going to the playoffs and they’ve got a great shot to win it all. Barrett will be front and center in that push for the national title.
Hope: Barrett is already one of the most accomplished quarterbacks in Ohio State’s history, but I believe this season will play a large part in whether he is actually remembered that way, at least in the near term. While Barrett is 26-4 as a starting quarterback and has accumulated nearly 9,000 yards of total offense, he hasn’t yet had the signature moment that greats are remembered by. Troy Smith had his by winning the Heisman Trophy. Craig Krenzel had his by winning a national championship. Barrett should have already had one in 2014, as I believe the Buckeyes would have been even better in their final three games of that season with him at quarterback, but a season-ending injury gave that glory – and the legacy that comes with it – to Cardale Jones. Barrett deserves to remembered among Ohio State’s all-time greats, but he needs to finish his career on a high note. Should his career end with an underwhelming performance in a disappointing loss, there will be fans who are glad to see him go.
7. Outside of Barrett, who’s the Buckeyes’ most indispensable player?
Johnny: Billy Price is the linchpin of an offensive line that has to be good for Ohio State to accomplish anything of note on offense. There simply aren’t enough superstars at the skill positions on offense to make up for shoddy line play, and at center and as a captain, Price is going to be massively important for making sure that a new offensive scheme runs smoothly. Luckily, he might be one of the top five linemen in the entire country. So that helps.
D.J.: Jamarco Jones. With a respectful nod to Price, Ohio State has the backups to replace him at center. If Jones goes down, it throws the offensive line totem pole out of whack. While Isaiah Prince has the physical tools for the position, he has yet to prove he can consistently pass protect at right tackle. And Branden Bowen, though another physical specimen, hasn’t played significant minutes at either position. An injury to Jones would expose what we’ve long known to be true: The local team is thin at tackle.
Kevin: I’m going to go with Denzel Ward. He’s by far the most experienced and proven cornerback on the roster after he was essentially a co-starter with first-round picks Gareon Conley and Marshon Lattimore last season. I think the Buckeyes would be fine without him in the short term if he were to go down, with Damon Arnette and Kendall Sheffield as the starters, but Ohio State will need more than two reliable cornerbacks to beat elite teams with depth at receiver. Sure, the young cornerbacks could step up and everything would be fine – maybe even good – but I wouldn’t be optimistic enough to risk my season on it.
8. Which player will Ohio State miss most from last year?
Ellis: Malik Hooker is the player that Ohio State will miss most from the 2016 campaign. The season is less than a week away and as of this moment, they still are trying to identify his replacement. There are a number of talented players in the secondary, and I do feel that Jordan Fuller and/or Erick Smith can be solid at the safety position. Still, replacing Hooker’s playmaking abilities will be virtually impossible.
Johnny: I feel like everyone just completely forgot about or got a little too confident about the most important play in college football. For years, Ohio State enjoyed the services of maybe the best punter in Buckeye history, and now the team will go from a guy who averaged almost 47 yards per punt his senior year to … a redshirt freshman. Granted, a redshirt freshman who was considered the best at his position in the country when he was recruited, but the first time he shanks a punt for about 14 yards you’re going to mutter yourself, "Dammit, I wish Cam Johnston had another year of eligibility."
Cameron Johnston's punting ability could be greatly missed by the Buckeyes this season.
Vico: Someone already went with Malik Hooker so I’ll go with Curtis Samuel. Ohio State won’t want for offensive playmakers this fall but Samuel was two players in one. Two players on Ohio State’s roster can ultimately pick up that slack but Ohio State fans should miss just how special, even indispensable, Samuel was last year.
9. Which true freshman will make the biggest impact this year?
Ellis: The answer has to be J.K. Dobbins. Back in February, he was a player that I had circled as an early contributor, and his performance since that time has only strengthened my stance on that. Mike Weber will carry the load at running back, but Meyer has made it clear that Dobbins will see the field from the get-go. Weber has been a solid back for the Buckeyes, but Dobbins has that explosive potential that the backfield is lacking.
Grega: Dobbins is the best answer here, but I will go ahead and take Chase Young. Watching this kid in practice, he looks like a junior getting ready for the NFL instead of a true freshman. We have seen both Bosas, Jalyn Holmes, and many other defensive ends make some sort of impact their freshman year, and I think Young is the next guy in line. I think he even finishes in the top five on the team in sacks this season.
Lind: Those are both great answers, but I’m not sure either sees the field beyond a limited or mop-up role. Both Dobbins and Young are behind established starters at their respective positions and shouldn’t be asked to play a vital role in this season’s title chase. Instead, I’ll say Jeffrey Okudah, as Kerry Coombs has talked plenty about how he wants to rotate his cornerbacks to keep them fresh throughout the season. That means the freshman from Texas could find himself on the field for a pivotal, season-altering moment.
10. Who’s a potential breakout player that no one’s talking about?
Jones: While NFL scouts are certainly talking about him already, Dre’Mont Jones has been an afterthought for many fans due to the hype surrounding the four defensive ends. However, Jones broke out in his first year as a starter last year, finishing sixth on the team with 52 tackles – the highest total among the Buckeye linemen. With another year of physical development, the redshirt sophomore should be expected to set up camp in opposing backfields even more this fall.
Vico: Is it wrong to be bullish on K.J. Hill? Ohio State fans saw a little preview of him in various stretches, certainly early in the 2016 schedule. That petered out by season’s end, but that would make him no different than any other receiver on last year’s roster. I think Hill finishes with at least 600 receiving yards. This doesn’t sound like a lot, but it is considering how the offense works.
Kevin: I think fans will be pleasantly surprised with what they see from Damon Arnette this season. There’s been a lot of chatter about the cornerbacks this offseason with Denzel Ward taking over as the team’s veteran, Kendall Sheffield arriving on campus looking like a superhero and the Buckeyes signing the nation’s top two corners in the 2017 recruiting class, but everyone seems to be overlooking Arnette. Yeah, yeah, I get it. He played poorly enough to lose his job midway through last season. That’s not great. But here’s the thing about college football: people get better. And from everything I’ve heard, even since last spring, I’d expect Arnette to be one of the team’s most improved players this season.
11. What’s your boldest prediction for the season?
Ramzy: The Buckeyes have two receivers among their captains, which the haters (present company included) suggest makes no sense given the absence of playmakers from Zone 6 over the past two seasons. By the time the postseason arrives, Terry McLaurin and Parris Campbell being named captains will have made perfect sense.
Grega: I’m going to stick with the receivers, but with a different #take. I am a firm believer that Binjimen Victor can be a future first-round NFL draft pick with his upside. Combine him with a veteran Barrett and a Kevin Wilson offense, I think Victor leads the team in receiving yards this season. With all of the talk of being more aggressive in the passing game, who better to throw to than a 6-foot-4 frame who can win some of the 50/50 balls for you?
Chris: With all the hype surrounding Dobbins, I feel like Weber is getting lost in the shuffle. He’s not be a back on par with Zeke or Carlos Hyde, but he’s still a guy that averaged 5.9 yards a pop last season in a predictable offense. I think Dobbins proves to be a stud, and could be a future All-American, but for now I’ll take Weber to eliminate a few shoestring tackles he couldn’t last year and easily go for 1,300, making a real run at 1,400 yards.
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