Ohio State’s 85-man scholarship roster for the 2018 season is set – at least for now.
With safety Wayne Davis announcing his decision to transfer from the program on Thursday, the Buckeyes are back down to 85 scholarship players – even with former walk-on wide receiver C.J. Saunders being placed on scholarship – and no longer need any more players to leave the team to comply with the NCAA’s scholarship limit.
That doesn’t necessarily mean there won’t be any more transfers between now and September; if there are, Ohio State could opt to reward more walk-ons, particularly if there are others entering their senior years who have proven that they are contributing this upcoming season, like Saunders. As of now, though, there aren’t any more departures that appear imminent, so we can now take a look at how the Buckeyes’ roster breaks down for the 2018 season.
You can always visit our scholarship grid to see how many players the Buckeyes have on scholarship per position and year of eligibility. In the following breakdown, however, we’ll take a look at how the 85-man scholarship roster is made up by the year each player arrived in Columbus, as the Buckeyes’ roster spans five recruiting classes with a varying number of players from each class still on the team or about to begin their careers.
Class of 2014 (7)
Dante Booker, Parris Campbell, Johnnie Dixon, Demetrius Knox, Terry McLaurin, Sean Nuernberger, Brady Taylor
Like last year, this year’s Ohio State roster is set to include seven fifth-year seniors who have been Buckeyes for their entire collegiate careers. Campbell, Dixon, Knox, McLaurin and Taylor all took redshirts in 2014, preserving their eligibility for four years through the upcoming season, while Booker and Nuernberger took redshirts due to injuries in 2016 (Dixon’s redshirt in 2014, which came after he appeared in one game, was also of the medical variety after he underwent knee surgery).
Although he was the highest-rated recruit among the members of the 2014 class who are still on the team, Booker – who has continued to battle injuries, undergoing multiple shoulder surgeries this offseason – is the only one who does not appear set to play a big role for the Buckeyes as a fifth-year senior. Campbell, McLaurin and Dixon are all expected to be team leaders and regulars in the six-man rotation at wide receiver. Taylor and Knox are expected to start on the offensive line, at center and right guard respectively, while Nuernberger is the Buckeyes’ starting kicker.
Class of 2015 (14)
Joshua Alabi, Damon Arnette, Rashod Berry, Branden Bowen, Jashon Cornell, Davon Hamilton, K.J. Hill, Justin Hilliard, Dre’Mont Jones, Robert Landers, Liam McCullough, Isaiah Prince, Mike Weber, C.J. Saunders (walk-on)
Ohio State’s 26-man recruiting class of 2015 is now down to just 13 original scholarship players, but like the fifth-year seniors, many of those players are expected to play key roles for the Buckeyes this season. Jones and Landers are set to start at defensive tackle, Arnette is set to start at cornerback and Prince is set to start at right tackle. Hilliard has a chance to be the Buckeyes’ starting middle linebacker, while Weber is a key player at running back and Hill is a key player at wide receiver. McCullough is the Buckeyes’ starting long snapper.
Among those 13 players, Prince was the only one who did not redshirt in 2015, making him a senior in his final year of eligibility while all the others are redshirt juniors with two remaining years of eligibility. Jones, Weber and Hill, however, are among those who have already indicated that they could enter the 2019 NFL draft after this season.
Class of 2016 (18)
Malik Barrow, Tuf Borland, Nick Bosa, Drue Chrisman, Jonathon Cooper, Gavin Cupp, Luke Farrell, Jordan Fuller, Malik Harrison, Dwayne Haskins, Jake Hausmann, Keandre Jones, Michael Jordan, Austin Mack, Demario McCall, Malcolm Pridgeon (junior college transfer), Binjimen Victor, Jahsen Wint
With Davis’ decision to transfer, Ohio State has already lost six members of its 2016 class to transfers, including four this offseason – Davis, Antonio Williams, Kierre Hawkins and Jack Wohlabaugh – in addition to Tyler Gerald and Rodjay Burns. Still, the Buckeyes have 75 percent of their 24-man 2016 class of scholarship players intact, and that class includes some of the players who could be among the most important contributors to this year’s team’s success.
Haskins, of course, is expected to start at quarterback. Bosa, already an All-American defensive end, is the team’s best player. Jordan, a third-year starter at left guard, is the Buckeyes’ top offensive lineman. Fuller, a second-year starter at safety, is expected to lead the back end of the Buckeyes’ defense. Mack and Victor are regulars in the wide receiver rotation, Farrell is set to start at tight end and Chrisman is the Buckeyes’ starting punter. Cooper should see regular playing time in the defensive end rotation. Harrison and Jones could both start at outside linebacker, while Borland was set to be the starting middle linebacker before suffering an Achilles injury in spring practice.
Nick Bosa is the star of Ohio State's recruiting class of 2016, which should make a huge impact on the 2018 Buckeyes. Joe Maiorana – USA TODAY Sports
Class of 2017 (20)
Baron Browning, Jerron Cage, Wyatt Davis, J.K. Dobbins, Ellijah Gardiner, Haskell Garrett, Jaylen Harris, Blake Haubeil, Tate Martell, Thayer Munford, Josh Myers, Jeffrey Okudah, Isaiah Pryor, Amir Riep, Kendall Sheffield (junior college transfer), Chase Young, Shaun Wade, Pete Werner, Brendon White, Marcus Williamson
Ohio State’s vaunted 21-man recruiting class of 2017 is looking as strong as ever going into the 2018 season, with only one departure from the class – Trevon Grimes – so far. Going into just their second season as Buckeyes, several members of the 2017 class have already earned key roles while others could be on the doorstep of breakout seasons.
Dobbins is already the star of Ohio State’s offense after breaking the Buckeyes’ freshman rushing record last season. Munford is the frontrunner to start for the Buckeyes at left tackle. Sheffield is a starting cornerback for the Buckeyes, while Okudah is expected to be a regular in the cornerback rotation. Pryor is the frontrunner to start alongside Jordan Fuller at safety, while Young appears primed to emerge as Ohio State’s next star defensive end. Browning is competing to potentially start at middle linebacker, while Myers has made a push to potentially unseat Brady Taylor for the starting center job. Martell is expected to be Ohio State’s No. 2 quarterback and could see the field in situational packages that take advantage of his running ability.
Class of 2018 (26)
Kamryn Babb, Matthew Baldwin, Sevyn Banks, Cameron Brown, Tyler Friday, Dallas Gant, Jaelen Gill, Marcus Hooker, Antwuan Jackson, Javontae Jean-Baptiste, Tyreke Johnson, Matthew Jones, Teradja Mitchell, Chris Olave, Nicholas Petit-Frere, K’Vaughan Pope, Josh Proctor, Jeremy Ruckert, L’Christian “Blue” Smith, Tyreke Smith, Brian Snead, Master Teague III, Tommy Togiai, Taron Vincent, Alex Williams, Max Wray
Ohio State’s incoming class, of course, is the most highly represented recruiting class on the roster, with 26 new Buckeyes on scholarship this year. Nine of them – Baldwin, Banks, Gant, Jackson, Johnson, Jones, Teague, Togiai and Wray – were already on campus this spring as early enrollees, while the other 17 will arrive in Columbus in the coming weeks.
It’s too early to tell how any of their Ohio State careers will turn out, as none of them have played a single snap yet for the Buckeyes. The potential impact of the class of 2018 is huge, though, considering that it is the highest-rated recruiting class in program history.
