Ohio State has already played nearly as many true freshmen this season as it did in its previous two seasons combined.
After playing only four true freshmen in 2015 and 11 newcomers in 2016, the Buckeyes have already played 14 true freshmen through its first six games of 2017.
Will Ohio State end up playing 15 true freshmen or more this season?
The Buckeyes are already halfway through their regular season, so the coaching staff should have a good idea at this point of which Buckeyes can make a legitimate impact this season. But even though there are six scholarship true freshmen who have yet to appear in a game this year, Ohio State’s coaches contend that any of them could still play.
"We don’t plan to redshirt anybody," said Ohio State cornerbacks coach and special teams coordinator Kerry Coombs, repeating a mantra that has been oft-repeated during Urban Meyer’s tenure as head coach. "I don’t think Coach Meyer’s expectation is redshirting anybody. Let’s play them all."
There’s reason to doubt that all of Ohio State’s true freshmen will actually play, but there is reason to believe that the true freshman class will make a significant impact on how the Buckeyes perform down the stretch of the year.
Some of them – most notably, running back J.K. Dobbins – have already made a big impact, while others have gradually started playing their way into bigger roles over the first half of their first seasons.
As we project ahead to the second half of the regular season, we take a tiered look at all 20 true freshmen on scholarship, what they have done so far this season and how likely they are to be difference-makers for the Buckeyes the rest of the year.
Head of the Class
J.K. Dobbins, RB
Dobbins has been the clear-cut star of Ohio State’s freshman class thus far, starting each of the Buckeyes’ first six games and rushing for 669 yards. His role has diminished slightly over the past two weeks with Mike Weber now fully recovered from a hamstring injury, but there’s no doubt – barring an injury of his own – that Dobbins will remain an integral part of the Buckeyes’ offense all season. He has been the Buckeyes’ most consistent offensive playmaker this season and demonstrates all the attributes to be Ohio State’s next great running back.
Potential Second-Half Stars
Jeffrey Okudah, CB
As the No. 4 cornerback on Ohio State’s depth chart, Okudah hasn’t worked his way into the Buckeyes’ regular cornerback rotation yet, but he could be close. He saw playing time with the starters against Maryland and is in position to play alongside the starters again this week against Nebraska.
While his sudden increase in playing time has been a result of Denzel Ward and Damon Arnette picking up targeting penalties, he’s provided solid coverage whenever he has been on the field. Should he perform well as he continues to get opportunities, it might not be long before he is part of the regular cornerback rotation, especially if Arnette or Kendall Sheffield struggle against tougher competition like they did in the Buckeyes’ first two games against Indiana and Oklahoma.
Chase Young, DE
Ohio State already has an elite four-man rotation at defensive end with Tyquan Lewis, Sam Hubbard, Nick Bosa and Jalyn Holmes, but that still might not stop Young – the top-rated recruit in this year’s class, according to 247Sports – from seeing regular playing time with the Buckeyes’ first-team defense before the end of the season.
Young, who is already being hyped as a potential top pick in the 2020 NFL draft, has already recorded 3.5 tackles for loss and a forced fumble in limited action and demonstrates the potential to be a dominant edge defender. It’s unlikely that Young will move ahead of any of the top four defensive ends on the depth chart this season, but Meyer has hinted on multiple occasions that Young is close to earning a place alongside them in the rotation, which could enable him to emerge as an impact player down the stretch of the season.
Chase Young is pushing for playing time even though defensive end might be the most loaded position on Ohio State's roster.
Starting to Emerge
Baron Browning, MLB
Browning has played at least 23 snaps in each of Ohio State’s last three games, even taking some first-team middle linebacker reps from Tuf Borland while Chris Worley has been sidelined. Browning has the skills to be Ohio State’s star linebacker in the future, and has already emerged as one of the Buckeyes’ top tacklers in kickoff coverage. With that being said, it’s still likely that Browning’s defensive playing time will be limited once Worley is healthy and returns to his starting role, with Borland also currently ahead of Browning on the depth chart.
Thayer Munford, OT
Munford has seen playing time in each of Ohio State’s last four games as the second-team right tackle. If all goes according to plan, Munford will be a backup all season. Should the injury bug hit Jamarco Jones or Isaiah Prince, however, it would appear that Munford has positioned himself to be the first offensive tackle off the bench. He has drawn praise from Meyer and offensive line coach Greg Studrawa for his rapid development at the position.
Isaiah Pryor, S
Pryor has yet to rotate in with Ohio State’s starting safeties, but he has emerged as a top backup at the position while also establishing himself as a regular on multiple special teams units. It’s unlikely he will steal snaps away from Damon Webb and Jordan Fuller at safety this year, but he has performed well when he has been on the field and should continue to be an impact player in kickoff coverage while setting himself up to be a starting safety in 2018.
Isaiah Pryor has already started to demonstrate his potential on both defense and special teams.
Pete Werner, SLB
Meyer heaped praise upon Werner after his performance on the road at Rutgers, where he emerged as an impact player in kickoff coverage and was named special teams player of the game. He’s the third-team strongside linebacker on the depth chart, making it unlikely that he will see significant playing time on defense this year, but he is already becoming one of the Buckeyes’ special teams stalwarts, seeing playing time on the team’s kickoff, kickoff return, punt and punt return units.
Marcus Williamson, CB
Like Werner, Williamson was a part of all four of Ohio State’s kickoff and punting units on Saturday against Maryland and appears positioned to be among the Buckeyes’ special teams regulars for the rest of the season. He’s also the fifth cornerback on the Buckeyes’ depth chart, so while he doesn’t currently appear to be a candidate for regular playing time on defense, he could become one if any injuries occur in front of him at the position.
Amir Riep, CB
While Riep is behind Okudah and Williamson on the freshman cornerback pecking order, he has been a regular on the Buckeyes’ kickoff coverage unit in each of their first six games and has already recorded six tackles in that phase of the game. He was also added to the Buckeyes’ punt return unit against Maryland and should remain a player to watch on special teams all season.
Fringe Contributors
Blake Haubeil, K
Haubeil was the Buckeyes’ primary kickoff specialist for their first five games of the season before being replaced by Sean Nuernberger last week. Nuernberger wasn’t any better against Maryland, which leaves the door open for Haubeil to get that job back, but Meyer has expressed dissatisfaction with Haubeil's performance so far this year.
Jaylen Harris, WR
Harris has played 43 snaps in Ohio State’s last three games and has the potential to be a major playmaker for the Buckeyes’ offense in the future, but he’s a third-string wide receiver on the depth chart right now and significant snaps on offense or special teams do not appear imminent.
Jaylen Harris has caught two passes for the Buckeyes this season but still sits as a third-team wide receiver on the depth chart.
Haskell Garrett, DT
Like Harris, Garrett has seen playing time with Ohio State’s backups – 45 snaps in five games – and has the potential to be a difference-maker for the Buckeyes; he just might be too far down the depth chart to make a noteworthy impact as a freshman. He’s the Buckeyes’ sixth defensive tackle at best right now and has yet to earn a role on special teams.
Trevon Grimes, WR
Grimes appeared to be making a real push for a spot in the wide receiver rotation when he saw playing time against Army and UNLV, but he has not played in either of the Buckeyes’ last two games. He has as much talent as any wide receiver on the roster, but it appears unlikely that he will see regular playing time this season.
Brendon White, S
White is a candidate to emerge as an impact player on special teams before the end of the season, but while he has appeared in each of the Buckeyes’ last three games on special teams, he has yet to emerge as a regular on any special teams units. His only playing time on defense so far this season came against Rutgers, after backup safety Jahsen Wint was ejected from that game for targeting, and he appears to be too far down the pecking order to earn regular playing time at safety this year.
Shaun Wade, CB
While it is presumable that any freshman who have yet to play this season will ultimately end up redshirt, the one exception to that rule could be Wade, who likely would have been ahead of Williamson and Riep on the pecking order if not for a lower-body injury that has sidelined him. Wade’s health could eventually determine whether the Buckeyes decide to burn his redshirt at this point, but Coombs has expressed optimism that Wade will return later this month. Ohio State’s lack of veteran depth at the cornerback position leaves the door open that Wade could push for playing time if he can get healthy soon.
Likely Redshirts
Tate Martell, QB
While Martell has drawn praise from Meyer and other coaches for his efforts on Ohio State’s scout team this year, it looks increasingly probable that he will redshirt his freshman season – like each of the three quarterbacks ahead of him on the Buckeyes’ depth chart did – as he has yet to see the field in a game.
Wyatt Davis and Josh Myers, G
Like Martell, Davis and Myers are highly touted recruits who have been lauded for their scout-team work but have yet to appear in any games this season. The door to playing time at guard is open with starting right guard Branden Bowen sidelined for the year due to a broken tibia and fibula, perhaps especially for Davis, who was on the Buckeyes’ travel roster for the Rutgers trip. The Buckeyes would probably still prefer to redshirt both Davis and Myers, however, unless the veterans in front of them on the depth chart are unable to adequately fill Bowen’s shoes.
Jerron Cage, DT
Cage also traveled with the Buckeyes to Rutgers, indicating that he could be in position to see playing time this season, but that was likely a just-incase move made because of Dre’Mont Jones being unavailable for that game due to injury and Robert Landers also coming off an injury entering that game. With Landers back healthy, Jones set to return as soon as this week and Michael Hill also potentially returning soon from suspension, there could be as many as seven defensive tackles ahead of Cage on the depth chart, making it unlikely the Buckeyes will burn his redshirt.
Ellijah Gardiner, WR
The safest bet to redshirt among this year’s 20 scholarship freshmen appears to be Gardiner. There are at least nine wide receivers (including Harris and Grimes) ahead of him on the depth chart, and he has not been on the travel roster for either of the Buckeyes’ first two road games.
