Though it ended with a massive thud, Ohio State's 2016 season — played by the youngest team in college football — held plenty of positives for Urban Meyer.
With only six seniors on the roster and having to replace 16 starters, the Buckeyes made the College Football Playoff without winning or even playing for the Big Ten Championship. Massive road victories at Oklahoma and Wisconsin, plus the double-overtime victory over Michigan highlighted an 11-win campaign.
The 31-0 stinker against Clemson forced Meyer's hand to make changes on his coaching staff, which he did with the additions of Kevin Wilson and Ryan Day as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in place of Ed Warinner and Tim Beck. The Buckeyes also lost seven draft picks to the NFL but returned a bevy of experience in key positions.
Led by captains J.T. Barrett, Billy Price and Tyquan Lewis, the Buckeyes visit Indiana on Aug. 31 to kick off their 2017 slate. With another terrific recruiting class inked (and the second half of it ready to move in this weekend) expectations remain in the neighborhood of making it back to Indianapolis and the Big Ten Championship Game as well as the Playoff.
In order to do so, multiple players need to make a considerable leap in their development to take Ohio State back to the elite level that allowed it to win the 2014 national title. We picked the five most essential below. If you feel nostalgic, here are the five Buckeyes we said needed to step up before last season.
5. Isaiah Prince — Right Tackle
Often the subject of fan and media criticism last year, Prince struggled at times but did show an improvement against Clemson. After a nightmare evening in State College when he allowed 14 quarterback pressures of Barrett against Penn State, Prince bounced back the following week against Northwestern and earned his way onto Pro Football Focus's Team of the Week.
Ohio State's collective pass protection had major holes last season, something the Tigers blatantly exposed in the Fiesta Bowl. Prince is an easy scapegoat and is a point of emphasis for line coach Greg Studrawa while he finds a new starter at right guard. At 6-foot-7 and 310 pounds with long arms, Prince has all the physical tools. Taylor Decker was not the top-20 NFL Draft pick as a true sophomore and first-year starter at right tackle in 2013. Prince doesn't necessarily need to become a first-round talent in 2017 but he must take a jump in his second year as Ohio State's starting right tackle.
4. Damon Arnette — Cornerback
Like Prince, Arnette had his ups and downs in 2016. As the Buckeyes neared the tougher part of their schedule, Greg Schiano and Kerry Coombs called upon eventual first-round pick Gareon Conley to cover slot receivers in Ohio State's nickel package while inserting Denzel Ward on the outside in his place and opposite of Marshon Lattimore. The latter was another first-round pick and Ward is the clear No. 1 cornerback on the roster. He is someone Coombs views as a returning starter.
The Buckeyes signed four (!) players at Arnette's position in their 2017 recruiting class, three of them enrolled early — including the top junior college corner, Kendall Sheffield — and the fourth is a top-5 player in the state of Ohio, Amir Riep. That leaves Arnette, someone Coombs said had a terrific spring, fighting for snaps this fall. Now in his third year in the program, a redshirt sophomore and one of two lettermen at his position, the expectation is for Arnette to blossom into a playmaker in the cornerback room. While the younger players at the position are extremely talented, none have the experience that Arnette does. He needs to play like it in 2017.
3. Binjimen Victor — Wide Receiver
There are a handful of players at Victor's position that could have made this list. K.J. Hill, Parris Campbell, Terry McLaurin, Austin Mack, Johnnie Dixon — someone has to step up and make plays on the outside from Zach Smith's room with Noah Brown and Curtis Samuel now in the NFL.
Victor flashed the most last season, though it admittedly came in small doses. He only played in five games and caught four passes for 64 yards, but a 25-yard touchdown at Maryland where he displayed the speed and length that made him such an important part of the 2016 recruiting class made the wheels in the heads of fans start turning. Victor made another play against Clemson early in the game, a 21-yard grab from Barrett where the Buckeyes remained in striking distance. His 6-foot-4 frame helps feed the animal that is Victor's sky-high potential but for the time being it remains just that — potential. Ohio State signed three true receivers this winter and moved another athlete, Brendon White, to the position during spring drills. Eric Glover-Williams swapped from safety to receiver. But Victor needs to explode, be more consistent and become a go-to receiver for Barrett.
2. Damon Webb — Safety
As Tim wrote about earlier this week, the lone senior set to start in Ohio State's secondary this fall has the full confidence of Schiano and Coombs after what he did during spring practice. Webb and Ward are the returning starters in the defensive backfield but Webb needs to show considerable improvement after allowing completions on just more than half of the pass attempts he faced last season (20 on 39, according to College Football Film Room).
His 57 tackles in 2016 were fifth-most on the team and he returned an interception for a touchdown against Nebraska. Yet Ohio State needs more from Webb as it looks to lessen the stress created by seeing three players from its secondary come off the board among the first 29 picks in the 2017 NFL Draft. Erick Smith, Jordan Fuller, Wayne Davis, Jahsen Wint and early enrollee Isaiah Pryor continue to fight for the other starting spot alongside Webb. The senior needs to show why he is the top choice at the position.
1. J.T. Barrett — Quarterback
While Barrett deserves credit for bailing out Ohio State's offense countless times last season and for the 100 touchdowns he is already responsible for in his career, the issues throwing the ball down the field cannot be ignored. It certainly wasn't all on him, as the offensive line in front of the quarterback didn't always protect the best and consistent playmakers at wide receiver outside of Curtis Samuel were difficult to find.
And yet, here we are talking about Barrett needing to step up. With Wilson and Day now teaming up with Meyer to call the plays and get back to playing with tempo, the 2017 season should probably be called The J.T. Barrett Season. Despite his critics, Barrett is the most indispensable player on the team and how well he puts the ball in places for his teammates to make plays and doesn't turn it over will factor largely into if the Buckeyes return to the Big Ten Championship Game and College Football Playoff. Meyer often calls Barrett one of the best leaders the head coach has ever been around. Barrett is an excellent college football player. He must be better this fall than he was last in order to cement his college football legacy.
OTHERS: Kicker Sean Nuernberger, linebacker Dante Booker, a backup tight end
