It's no secret that Ohio State struggled offensively at times during the 2016 season, particularly in the trenches and downfield as the team's offensive line and receiving corps had quite a few subpar performances.
Against Penn State, Michigan and Clemson, the slobs allowed their opponent to live in the backfield, averaging 11.6 tackles for a loss and 5.6 sacks a game. In those same games, the wide receivers averaged just 126 yards per game, and over 37 percent of those yards were accounted for by a single player, Curtis Samuel.
This isn't new information – it's been discussed regularly since Ohio State's 31-0 loss to Clemson, and coaches and players alike have been fairly blunt this offseason – the offense must get better. The offensive line must play with more cohesion and confidence and the wide receivers must play up to their potential.
That's where the focus is this offseason, and pushing both of those units is arguably the best practice squad in the country.
"We're not going against blocking dummies."– Greg Studrawa
When the Buckeye offense practices and scrimmages, they don't play against a scout team or a practice squad of walk-ons, they practice against the first team Silver Bullets defense, featuring arguably the best and deepest defensive line in the country and a secondary that's elite every season, having five first-round pick in the last four years.
Ohio State's defensive line, which defensive coordinator Greg Schiano called the best he's ever coached, includes Tyquan Lewis, Sam Hubbard, Dre'Mont Jones and Nick Bosa – all of whom are projected as future early-round draft picks – as well as Jalyn Holmes, Michael Hill and Robert Landers, who are likely NFL Players as well. The Buckeyes also have young guys like former five-stars Chase Young and Jonathan Cooper ready in the wings.
If the slobs can protect the quarterback and move the ball against that defensive front, they can do it against anybody.
"We're not going against blocking dummies," offensive line coach Greg Studrawa joked. "I know who we go against every day. Those guys are really, really good. So the successful things we do against them, we can go off of those things."
It's the same story down the field, as well. The Buckeyes saw three defensive backs drafted in the first round of the NFL Draft following the season, but likely won't miss a beat this year. The secondary is led by Denzel Ward, who played just as many reps as first-round picks Gareon Conley and Marshon Lattimore and was listed as a co-starter with Lattimore all season.
"We play against the best DBs in the country every day."– Zach Smith
The Buckeyes also return safety Damon Webb, who started opposite of Malik Hooker last season, as well as cornerback Damon Arnette, who played extensively at the nickel back position – both players are much improved from last season. In addition, the team adds Kendall Sheffield, a former five-star recruit the nation's top junior college cornerback who will push for a starting spot during camp.
The secondary is filled out by Erick Smith and Jordan Fuller, who are vying for the starting safety position, as well as a slew of young freshman including the nation's top-two corners Jeffrey Okudah and Shaun Wade as well as four-stars Marcus Williamson, Amir Riep and Isaiah Pryor.
The unit, as usual, will be one of the team's strengths in 2017 and will push a struggling Zone-6 every day in practice.
"We play against the best DBs in the country every day," wide receivers coach Zach Smith said. "You have to be able to get open in practice every day. And if you can do that here, you’re going to get open on anybody in the country.”
It's a big ask for anybody to have success against Ohio State's secondary and defensive line, especially a struggling offense, but that's the standard in Columbus. If you're going to be a Buckeye, you have to be able to beat the best. You learn if you can do that really quickly if the best is sitting across from you in practice.
That's why Isaiah Prince, who was likely the weak link of the offensive line last season, loves going against Tyquan Lewis, who was the top defensive lineman in the entire Big Ten conference last season.
"Tyquan is a really good player, we go against each other every day in practice, we're both with the ones," Prince said. "We use the term iron sharpens iron. We just compete to make each other better."
Time will tell if Ohio State's offensive woes will be solved this offseason and we'll see if the team once again struggles with top tier opponents. But one thing is for certain – the Buckeye offense is going to be battle tested before the season even begins.
