While Ohio State doesn’t typically rely on many of its true freshmen to play key roles in their first years on campus, the Buckeyes have had a true freshman starter in each of the past two seasons.
In 2017, J.K. Dobbins started all 14 games for Ohio State at running back. In 2016, Michael Jordan started all 13 games for Ohio State at left guard.
Josh Proctor is the most likely candidate to continue that trend in 2018.
Getting the chance to start as a true freshman is really all about opportunity, and going into preseason camp, Proctor appears to have a chance to seize that opportunity.
While Ohio State has already at least named tentative starters at most positions on its depth chart, Urban Meyer and his assistant coaches stopped well short of naming a starter at the second starting safety spot next to Jordan Fuller this spring, instead describing that position as the Buckeyes’ No. 1 concern entering the summer.
"I know we don’t come out of spring with a clear-cut guy, so the competition will continue into training camp," defensive coordinator Greg Schiano said after the spring game. "It’s not that none of them didn’t show things, they did. It’s just none of them showed it that much more than the other that you can say, 'That’s the guy.'"
Five returning Buckeyes competed this spring for the chance to start alongside Fuller at safety: Isaiah Pryor, Jahsen Wint, Amir Riep, Brendon White and Wayne Davis. With the exception of Davis, who transferred to James Madison University, each of the other four safeties will continue to compete for that job in the weeks leading up to the season.
Pryor, who saw the most playing time among those safeties last season as a second-teamer on the Buckeyes’ depth chart, entered spring as the presumptive favorite to win the job. But while both Schiano and co-defensive coordinator/safeties coach Alex Grinch both said they felt Pryor improved this spring, both also indicated that they hadn’t seen enough from Pryor yet to feel confident in naming him a starter.
"With all the guys, there’s a million things to improve on, and he’s one of those guys," Grinch said of Pryor. "But he certainly improved as the spring went on."
If Pryor can make continued strides in preseason practices, he still might be the frontrunner to win the job. Going into camp, though, the door appears to be open for Proctor to potentially climb all the way to the top of the depth chart.
Unlike Jordan and Dobbins, who were both early enrollees, Proctor just arrived on campus this summer. So he’ll need to stand out from the beginning of fall camp, and quickly pick up on everything his coaches teach him, to emerge as a real candidate to win the job.
That said, Proctor is as talented as any of the players vying for the starting safety job – he was the No. 71 overall ranked player in the recruiting class of 2018, though Pryor was ranked No. 63 overall in 2017 – and he should have a pretty good idea of what to expect from playing at the collegiate level. Proctor’s head coach at Owasso (Okla.) High School last year, Bill Blankenship, was previously the head coach at Tulsa from 2011-14.
Josh Proctor could quickly prove to be, along with Jordan Fuller, one of the most talented safeties on Ohio State's roster.
When asked this spring whether Proctor and fellow incoming freshman Marcus Hooker (whose chances of earning significant playing time this season could be diminished by his recent DUI arrest) would have a chance to win the starting job, Ohio State’s coaches didn’t rule it out.
"Around here, there’s no freshman, sophomore, junior. If you’re the best guy, you’ll play," Schiano said. "You never know until you get them here. We saw them perform at a high level as high school players, but high school’s high school and the Big Ten’s the Big Ten.
"They’re going to be really good players. I believe that. Is that day September 1? I don’t know that. We’re going to figure that out through training camp."
Other true freshmen who could play significant roles for the Buckeyes this season include Jeremy Ruckert, whose playmaking ability as a pass-catcher is expected to lead to quick playing time at tight end, and Tyreke Smith, who should have a shot to earn a spot in a relatively thin defensive end rotation. Defensive tackle Tommy Togiai, running back Master Teague, linebacker Dallas Gant and cornerback Tyreke Johnson are all likely to see some playing time after performing well this spring as early enrollees, with Gant, Johnson and Teague all being among the freshmen who could project as core special teamers.
It would be a surprise, though, if any of those players emerged as immediate starters like Jordan and Dobbins did. Ruckert probably has the best chance of any of them, as the Buckeyes don’t return much experience at tight end this year, but Luke Farrell was named the tentative starter at that position coming out of spring.
Proctor, however, doesn’t have to overtake an established starter in front of him in order to earn a place in the lineup this year. He just has to prove that he’s one of the two best players, along with Fuller, that the Buckeyes have at the position.
Even if Pryor or one of the other returning safeties ultimately ends up winning the job, Proctor should still see some playing time this season. He’s another one of the Buckeyes’ top candidates to be a special teams standout this year. And the Buckeyes could also do what they did last year – when Fuller and Erick Smith split snaps at boundary safety to begin the year before Fuller eventually established himself as the better player – if they don’t feel that any of the safeties have separated themselves by the time the season begins, and if so, Proctor could be one of those two players.
One way or another, Proctor should have a chance to make a difference for Ohio State this season. But if he can perform well in what will be the Buckeyes’ most wide open position battle this summer, he could play the biggest role of any Ohio State true freshman in 2018.
