Ohio State, especially in recent years, has become a factory of NFL talent. That's always a good line to give to recruits when recruiting them, but sometimes, when those players declare for the draft, holes are created in the roster.
Ohio State has done a typically wonderful job in filling holes left by NFL draft selections like Taylor Decker, Joey Bosa, Ezekiel Elliott, Bradley Roby and others, but those positions aren't filled by just showing up. Position battles go on year round, and they can get pretty intense.
So, as Ohio State's fall camp kicks off, let's take a look at some of the most intriguing position battles that will be taking place.
backup Quarterback
J.T. Barrett is the unquestioned starter heading into his final season in Columbus, and with good reason. He will go down as one of the greatest quarterbacks in school history.
The backup situation, however, is a bit cloudier.
Joe Burrow occupied the spot on the roster last season, but he's got some extremely talented competition in Dwayne Haskins and Tate Martell this season.
Haskins showed up huge for the Bucks in the Spring game, finishing 26 of 37 (.703), 293 yards and three touchdowns, and that really stoked the belief that he could take Burrow's backup spot away.
Burrow had an impressive Spring game as well, going 14 of 22 (.64) for 262 yards and three touchdowns. The argument exists that while Haskins may have put up better counting stats, Burrow's performance was more conducive to big plays. Haskins averaged just over 11 yards per completion while Burrow averaged over 18. Burrow actually averaged more yards per attempt (11.9) than Haskins did per completion (11.3).
Ultimately, this call comes down to style. If Urban Meyer wants a hyper-efficient quarterback that will constantly keep the ball moving, Haskins seems to be the answer. If Urban wants to pick up big yards and put the ball in his receiver's hands, Burrow seems to be the pick right now.
Wide Receivers
This group lost its top two leading receivers from last season in Curtis Samuel and Noah Brown, so there are plenty of spots for new guys to see the field and make a huge impact.
One player who Meyer seems to be high on for next season is Johnnie Dixon. Dixon battled injury issues as a freshman and fought to see the field in 2015 and 2016. To date, he has seven catches for a grand total of 55 yards at Ohio State.
However, Dixon was another player who showed up big in the Spring game, totaling six catches for 108 yards and two touchdowns. I think fans could settle for half those totals per game and be very happy, and as long as he can stay healthy, he looks like he'll be a solid contributor.
K.J Hill seems to be the logical choice as another starting receiver, as he is the team's leading returning receiver from last season, but that may be building up his case as a starter a bit much. Hill tallied only 262 yards in 11 games last season, so if another receiver (looking at you, Binjimen Victor and Trevon Grimes) outplays him in Fall Camp and practice, his spot could be on the line.
Terry McLaurin will also be vying for playing time after hauling in two touchdowns last season. In all, this unit has lots of talent and virtually anyone on it could make a push as a starter, so this group will be particularly important to keep an eye on.
With Parris Campbell becoming the team's H-Back, he deserves a mention here, too. Curtis Samuel led the team in receiving by a very wide margin last season serving in that role, so watch for him to become one of the most important pieces of the offense next season.
Backup/Second Running Back
Mike Weber, like J.T. Barrett, is cemented in his position as the team's starting running back. While that makes this position battle a little less entertaining, it gives fans some comfort knowing who will be toting the ball around the most next season. Oh, and by the way: Weber looks like he has slimmed down quite a bit getting ready for next season.
For the other running backs on the roster — namely J.K Dobbins, Antonio Williams and Demario McCall — this means they'll be fighting for the ball when Weber needs a rest, or when the score gets run up too high, or whenever a change of pace may be needed.
Williams is the biggest of the bunch at 5-foot-11 and around 220 pounds, while Dobbins, a freshman, clocks in around 5-foot-10 and 200 pounds. McCall is the smallest of the bunch, but arguably the most proven at the collegiate level as he tallied 368 total yards from scrimmage last season, 273 of which came on the ground.
Williams had only six rushes last season, so the sample size isn't huge to pull from, and he'll certainly have his work cut out for him as Dobbins was a top 50 recruit in his class and will likely be looking to make an impact as soon as he can.
All of the staff here would love to see Demario play every position, but we'll settle for running back, and this battle will be one to keep an eye on.
Cornerback
For the last few seasons, the cornerback position at Ohio State has been pumping out first-round NFL draft picks and reloading immediately. Bradley Roby, Eli Apple and Marshon Lattimore all made their marks for the Bucks, and now it's time for the next guys in line to step up.
Denzel Ward has one spot locked up, and the general consensus seems to be that he'll play some good football against opposing receivers.
However, in a room loaded with talent, plenty of other players could see the field at corner.
Kendall Sheffield is regarded as one of the best corners and was originally an Alabama player before transferring to a JUCO for a year and ending up in Columbus. He figures to be a big part of the secondary, but redshirt sophomore Damon Arnette will certainly be in the mix.
The Buckeyes also boast two incoming freshmen who were top 20 recruits in the nation in Jeffrey Okudah and Shaun Wade, and they'll be trying their best to find the field, so they're worth keeping an eye on as well.
Kicker
The kicker position isn't one that Ohio State fans necessarily want to have to rely on, but it is one that can often decide the result of a game. With Tyler Durbin graduated, the Bucks now have Sean Nuernberger (who Durbin beat for the job last season) and freshman Blake Haubeil, who was a top five kicking recruit for 2017.
Nuernberger has shown that his grip on the kicking job might not be the strongest but perhaps being beaten out by Durbin lit a fire under him and he'll be back and better than ever.
Either way, once the season kicks off, this position should be decided and whoever wins the battle will have perhaps the most important leg in all of Columbus.
