Parris Campbell nearly turned his head coach into a prophet.
Urban Meyer said on his weekly in-season radio show in early October that Campbell had the potential to be the best kickoff returner in Ohio State history by the time his career draws to a close.
“I think we're close to busting one,” Meyer said then.
A bit of hyperbole, sure, to put Campbell into that kind of category. Two days later, the wide receiver did this against Indiana:
So close to six. pic.twitter.com/HBkxybX3nc
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) October 8, 2016
Campbell came a desperate jersey tackle by an Indiana player and six yards away from securing Ohio State's first kickoff return for a touchdown in Meyer's tenure. The last Buckeye to turn a return into six points was Ray Small in 2009 against Wisconsin. Jordan Hall ripped off an 85-yard return for a touchdown against Michigan in 2010 but that season was later vacated by the NCAA due to program sanctions. So the most recent one that remains in the record books is Small's sprint through the Badgers.
Campbell has two years of eligibility remaining at Ohio State and took a firm hold on the kickoff returner job at Oklahoma last season with a 42-yard run back against the Sooners. He averaged 27.8 yards per return on 21 tries in 2016, the best clip in the Big Ten and 12th-highest in all of college football.
With Campbell back for 2017, he already has an early grasp on the kickoff return job. What plan the Buckeyes have in place behind him and at punt returner is a little murkier, however.
Dontre Wilson lost his job as the team's main punt returner after struggles and muffs in consecutive games last season. His last attempt came against Nebraska on Nov. 5, when he failed to corral the ball and the Cornhuskers recovered in Ohio State territory. Curtis Samuel, K.J. Hill and even Demario McCall replaced him but it was clear that Samuel was the primary option. On the final depth chart of the season released by the Buckeyes, Samuel and Hill were listed as co-starters at punt returner and Wilson and Campbell were co-starters at kick returner.
Samuel left early for the NFL and Wilson graduated. Campbell should be the guy to handle kickoff return duties but let's take a look at the others who could help him and also those that should be on the punt team.
K.J. Hill — Redshirt Sophomore WR
Hill lined up at punt returner alongside Samuel during the latter half of the 2016 season after Wilson lost his job. He also joined Campbell on kickoffs in the latter portions of the season, fully supplanting Wilson in the return game.
The only return Hill made all season came late in Ohio State's 31-0 loss to Clemson, when the Tigers kicked away from Campbell after he burnt them for more than 100 yards on just three tries including a 54-yard scamper in the first quarter. Hill's kickoff return went for six yards.
Still, the fact he lined up back there and was included with Samuel at punt returner means he should be heavily included in special teams this fall. Hill is explosive, has shiftiness and straight line speed like Campbell. He needs to become a larger part of what the Buckeyes do offensively. An easy way to do that is on punt and kickoff returns.
Demario McCall — Sophomore RB
Let this video from cleveland.com's Scott Patsko melt your heart:
When McCall attended North Ridgeville High School and head coach Luke Durbin put him back to return kicks, it didn't take long for opponents to know kicking it anywhere but to him was the smart thing to do. He ripped a 99-yarder off for a score during a game in 2014, so not too many chances followed.
“We had to work on squibs and onside kicks and bloops," Durbin told Eleven Warriors last summer. “People would spray the ball all over the feel because they were not going to kick it anywhere near Demario.”
We witnessed how gifted McCall is in space last season albeit in small doses. The running back only played in blowouts for the Buckeyes. He did return three punts, though, two in a 58-0 victory against Rutgers that put together combined to lose a yard and one in a 62-3 win over Nebraska that went for 15 yards.
McCall said at Fiesta Bowl Media Day it is his responsibility to add more weight this offseason so he can withstand more hits and play a bigger role in 2017 following the departure of Samuel. Many felt McCall could have at least gotten more chances at punt returner to get on the field in 2016. It never really happened.
He will certainly be in the conversation for the job this fall.
Other Possibilities
J.K. Dobbins, Freshman Running Back: Dobbins missed essentially his whole senior season with an ankle injury suffered on the first play in the first game. But Dobbins is back healthy and already enrolled at Ohio State.
The second-ranked all-purpose back in the 2017 crop of recruits, Meyer and the Buckeyes are likely to include him with the returners group to see what he can do in that part of the game.
Austin Mack, Sophomore Wide Receiver: Mack played a ton on special teams last season. Chances are he will do that again in 2017 as he tries to break into a bigger role in the wide receiver rotation in Zach Smith's position room.
Does that role include Mack getting a chance to actually return kicks this fall? Unlikely, but we'll see.
