While many young football players dream of playing for Ohio State, the harsh reality for some who become Buckeyes – even those who are highly recruited and talented enough to start at most other Division I schools – is that it can be easy to become lost in the shuffle and never see significant playing time.
In this installment of Eleven Warriors’ Spring Preview, we take a look at 10 Buckeyes who could be at risk of falling into that trap.
Each of the following 10 players came to Ohio State as highly regarded recruits, but will go into 2018 – either the third or fourth season in the program for each – having yet to see significant playing time at their respective positions. And while all of them still have the potential to become impact players for the Buckeyes, they are also at risk of being surpassed by younger players on the depth chart – which could limit their opportunities to ever earn regular playing time as Buckeyes – if they don’t prove they belong on the field this spring.
Players who have already been starters or seen consistent playing time on offense or defense for the Buckeyes were not considered for inclusion on this list. Neither were playersgoing into their senior years, like fifth-year senior offensive linemen Brady Taylor and Malcolm Pridgeon, because while they would certainly like to earn playing time in 2018, it’s already a given that this will be a make-or-break year for them, as it’s their final year of eligibility.
The following players, though, are the players who could have tough decisions to make about their Ohio State futures if they don’t earn their desired spots on the Buckeyes’ depth chart this spring.
Joe Burrow, Quarterback
No player’s chances of becoming a star for the Buckeyes appear to be hanging more clearly in the balance this spring than Burrow, who has a chance – but which could be his only chance – to win Ohio State’s starting quarterback.
Burrow has shown a promising combination of throwing ability and running ability in limited action, and has been lauded by coaches and teammates for his work ethic and ability to run an offense in his first three years on campus. He was J.T. Barrett’s primary backup in 2016 and potentially could have been had he not suffered a preseason hand injury in 2017. He will look to parlay his experience and knowledge of the offense into winning the starting job this season.
That said, he’ll have to make up ground on Dwayne Haskins – who surpassed Burrow on the depth chart last year, and showed outstanding potential in the process – while also fending off redshirt freshman Tate Martell, the 2016 Gatorade National High School Player of the Year, who will also determined to make noise in this spring’s quarterback competition.
If Burrow doesn’t win the starting quarterback competition this year, he’ll have to face the reality that his time to start at Ohio State might never come, as Haskins and Martell are both younger than he is, and either could establish himself as the leader of the Buckeyes’ for the next two-plus years to come.
Luke Farrell and Jake Hausmann, Tight End
Farrell and Hausmann can be included in one combined entry because they both enter this spring in very similar positions. Both four-star recruits in the class of 2016, neither has seen the field much in their first two years at Ohio State, but they enter their redshirt sophomore seasons with a chance to take advantage of an open depth chart this spring.
While Rashod Berry played in every game for the Buckeyes last year as Marcus Baugh’s backup and has huge physical upside, he’s still far more potential than production at this point, leaving the door open for Farrell or Hausmann – with no other returning scholarship tight ends on the roster – to make a run at the starting job.
Come this summer, though, there could be another serious contender for that job in incoming freshman Jeremy Ruckert, who Ohio State coach Urban Meyer has said "might be the best tight end prospect" he has ever recruited. So while it’s possible that Farrell or Hausmann could seize the starting tight end job this spring, it’s also possible that neither of them could even make the two-deep – and one of them could remain outside the top three rows of the depth chart – while potentially being surpassed by a player two years younger if Ruckert can challenge for immediate playing time.
That makes it crucial for Farrell and Hausmann to prove they belong on the field over the next couple months, to encourage their coaches to find a way to get them on the field no matter how well Berry develops or how quickly Ruckert proves ready to play.
Joshua Alabi, Offensive Tackle
As Ohio State tries to determine its best plan for replacing Jamarco Jones at offensive tackle this spring – perhaps the Buckeyes’ most important position battle outside of the quarterback competition – the door appears to be open for Alabi to contend for a starting spot.
Alabi was Jones’ backup on the depth chart at left tackle last season, which should make him a real – but not the only – candidate to take Jones’ place in the lineup this season. Ohio State could also choose to move either Isaiah Prince or Thayer Munford over to left tackle from right tackle, or move Branden Bowen from right guard back to tackle.
Either way, it might be now or never for Alabi – going into his redshirt junior season – to contend for a starting spot at offensive tackle. While Prince is entering his final season as a Buckeye, Munford appears well on his way to starting no later than 2019, at which point the Buckeyes’ two newest offensive tackle recruits – Max Wray, who is already on campus as an early enrollee, and Nicholas Petit-Frere, who was the No. 1-rated offensive tackle in the entire recruiting class of 2018, should also be ready to contend for starting spots.
Matthew Burrell, Center/Guard
Burrell’s best opportunity to establish himself as a starter at Ohio State might have already passed him by last year, when he was passed over not only once but twice at right guard, where Bowen won the starting job in fall camp and Demetrius Knox, somewhat surprisingly, got the nod over Burrell to start the rest of the season after Bowen went down with a season-ending injury.
With Bowen and Knox both back on the roster this year and Michael Jordan also back at left guard, Burrell’s chances of seeing regular playing time at guard for the Buckeyes this season don’t look very good. He could have another chance of earning a starting job, however, at center, where he is set to compete with Taylor to replace Billy Price in the middle of the Buckeyes’ offensive line this year.
As Knox and Taylor are both going into their senior years, and Bowen could also be a candidate to move back to tackle, there could be another opportunity for Burrell to earn a starting job in 2019 if he doesn’t win one this year. But with rising redshirt freshmen Wyatt Davis and Josh Myers projected to be Ohio State’s guards of the future, while center of the future Matthew Jones is already on campus as an early enrollee, the redshirt junior’s best remaining opportunity appears to be competing this spring.
Antonio Williams, Running Back
Among all the players included on this list, Williams might have the most difficult path to earning regular playing time this season. That’s because the Buckeyes already have an outstanding one-two punch of running backs established in front of him – J.K. Dobbins and Mike Weber – making it unlikely, barring injury to Dobbins or Weber, that Williams will be able to move above the third row of the depth chart this year.
Nonetheless, this still might be Williams’ best remaining opportunity – now going into his junior year – to earn carries. Dobbins will still be a Buckeye for at least two more seasons, and the Buckeyes have plenty of more running back talent coming up behind him: Master Teague III is already on campus as an early enrollee, while Brian Snead and Jaelen Gill (who could end up playing more H-back than running back) arrive this summer.
If Williams can have a strong spring and show what he is capable of, that could encourage the Buckeyes to try to rotate three running backs this season – especially if the offense becomes less oriented around quarterback running, and there are more tailback carries to go around. If he doesn’t carve out a role this spring, however, he could fall even farther behind on the depth chart.
Antonio Williams ran the ball 57 times for 290 yards and three touchdowns in 2017, but could face an uphill climb to more playing time.
Davon Hamilton, Defensive Tackle
While Hamilton has seen occasional playing time in Ohio State’s deep defensive tackle rotation for the past two seasons, he has yet to separate himself from the pack and make a name for himself. His redshirt junior season could be his opportunity to do that, but at least, he needs to move into position near the top of the depth chart to set his Buckeye career up for a strong finish.
Of the four elder statesmen in Ohio State’s defensive tackle group – all redshirt juniors – Hamilton has seen the least playing time, whereas Dre’Mont Jones, Robert Landers and Jashon Cornell all enter the spring with established places on the two-deep. Hamilton could be a contender to earn the spot, opened up by the departures of Tracy Sprinkle and Michael Hill, but he’ll face a ton of competition.
True sophomore Haskell Garrett and redshirt sophomore Malik Barrow are both candidates to push for increased playing time at defensive tackle this year, while recently arrived junior college transfer Antwuan Jackson Jr. and early enrollee Tommy Togiai have the tools to compete for immediate playing time this spring. Five-star defensive tackle recruit Taron Vincent should push for playing time when he arrives this summer.
Hamilton should start the spring ahead of those players because of his experience, but he’ll need to stay ahead of them to avoid becoming an afterthought at one of the deepest positions on Ohio State’s roster.
Keandre Jones, Linebacker
Jones might have the clearest path to a starting spot of any player on this list, given that he should enter the spring as a frontrunner to replace Jerome Baker in the lineup at weakside linebacker. He too, though, could face stiff competition to earn that starting spot this year, and if he doesn’t win it, he isn’t likely to get a better shot to start in the future for the Buckeyes than he has now.
While Jones was Baker’s primary backup at weakside linebacker last season, the Buckeyes have plenty of other up-and-coming linebackers who will push him for a spot on the lineup. The most obvious candidate is 2017 five-star recruit Baron Browning, who could potentially move over from the middle linebacker spot – where Tuf Borland is a returning starter – and take over at weakside linebacker. Malik Harrison is likely to compete with Dante Booker for the starting strongside linebacker spot, but Harrison could be a candidate to move over to the weakside position, too.
Rising sophomore Pete Werner is another candidate to push for playing time at linebacker, while Dallas Gant is already on campus and ready to compete as an early enrollee and two more talented linebackers, Teradja Michell and K’Vaughan Pope, will arrive this summer. So while Jones might be in the driver’s seat for a starting spot right now, he needs to take advantage while it’s sitting in front of him.
Justin Hilliard, Linebacker
Given all the aforementioned talent at linebacker, and that Hilliard is already a fourth-year junior, it’s easy to believe that Hilliard’s time – at least to become what he was once expected to be, as one of the top recruits in the entire country in the class of 2015 – might have already passed him by. But after finally starting to show what he could do for the Buckeyes as one of their top special teams players last season, he could have one more shot to emerge as one of Ohio State’s top linebackers.
Having been listed as the Buckeyes’ third-team weakside linebacker behind Baker and Jones last year, he should be in the mix to compete at that spot this spring as well.
If Hilliard is going to earn regular playing time on Ohio State’s defense, there’s little question that he’ll have to do it this year, with only one senior on the linebacker roster in Booker and the rest of the Buckeyes’ roster at the position being players who could start for the next two years or more if they win starting jobs this year. But this spring should be a legitimate chance for Hilliard to prove he still has the ability to be the top-notch linebacker that he was once projected to be.
Jahsen Wint, Safety
Ohio State has a starting spot up for grabs at the safety position this spring, alongside Jordan Fuller following the departure of Damon Webb. With no safeties on the roster other than Fuller with substantial playing experience for the Buckeyes, the competition should be open for Wint, a three-star recruit from the class of 2016 who is set to be a redshirt sophomore, to make a run at the job.
With at least one younger safety on the roster who was already ahead of Wint on the depth chart last year, though, and a few other young safeties who could push for playing time this season, Wint needs to prove this spring that he belongs in the lineup or otherwise seeing playing time.
True sophomore Isaiah Pryor, who was Webb’s backup on Ohio State’s two-deep last season, will enter the spring as the favorite to start alongside Fuller. Fellow true sophomore Brendon White should also be in the mix to compete for that spot, while incoming freshman Josh Proctor also has the talent to make a push if the competition to start remains open in fall camp.
Wint should have as much opportunity as anyone to impress this spring and prove he deserves a bigger role of the Buckeyes’ defense, but although he still has three seasons of remaining eligibility, he’s at risk of getting trapped behind younger players on the depth chart if he doesn’t take advantage of that opportunity now.
