Let’s forget, for a moment, about the established stars and returning vets on Ryan Day's Ohio State roster who played major roles for the Buckeyes last season and will do so again in 2021.
Let us also put aside the promising true freshman prospects who could emerge as future standouts in the Big Ten conference with breakout performances during the forthcoming season.
Instead, as Ohio State’s season opener at Minnesota looms just five days away, we’re looking into a group of Buckeyes at several positions on both sides of the ball who have been around but are expected to step into considerably larger roles for the first time in 2021.
You’ll be seeing and hearing much more from these Buckeyes this season.
RG Paris Johnson Jr.
The five-star recruit and top offensive tackle prospect from the class of 2020 will become a first-time starter for the Buckeyes as he enters year two with Ohio State, but Paris Johnson Jr. will do it at right guard rather than his natural tackle spot.
Johnson logged 26 snaps last year, including nine at left guard in the national championship game, but that number will increase exponentially in 2021 following the departures of Wyatt Davis and Josh Myers, freeing up spots for a couple fresh faces on the Buckeyes’ interior offensive line.
The 6-foot-6, 315-pound Cincinnati native has all the physical talent required of a star offensive lineman in the Big Ten, and teammates have said he has the work ethic to match it.
“He's probably one of the hardest workers on our offensive line. That's how I'm going to explain it,” redshirt junior tackle Nicholas Petit-Frere said during camp. “Paris Johnson came in with one of the best work ethics and one of the best mindsets I've ever seen someone come to Ohio State with at whatever position. Paris was one of a kind when he came in. He had such a good mindset. He was so focused, so determined.”
Johnson is widely expected to take over a starting tackle position for the Buckeyes next year, but for now, he’ll get all the reps he can handle on the inside in 2021.
“My goal in camp is just to go out there and just dominate,” Johnson said. “And I feel like the coaches know that I play with an edge and I like to finish and I like to try to be the most aggressive guy on the field. I think that the next step for me this season, which I've had conversations about with coach [Greg Studrawa], is now it's about honing in on the technique and the right steps.”
RT Dawand Jones
In one of the breakout developments of the Buckeyes’ preseason camp, Dawand Jones emerged as a potential starter at right tackle, with 2020 starter Petit-Frere sliding to the left tackle spot and longtime starting left tackle Thayer Munford moving to guard.
Given how good Petit-Frere and Munford performed at their respective posts a season ago, it must have taken something akin to a Herculean effort from the 6-foot-8, 360-pound Indianapolis native to impress Studrawa enough to get in the starting mix.
According to the Buckeyes’ offensive line coach, Jones has simply been too good to keep off the field.
“A guy that that’s big and athletic and physical, him coming on, how do you not find a place for that guy to play?” Studrawa said. “And Dawand right now has been dominant as a pass protector on that edge.”
Day said this past week that the Buckeyes’ front five is close to being settled, and Jones starting at right tackle is looking like a safer and safer bet as the season approaches. However, Munford’s proven success at the left tackle position could make the new-look line difficult to commit to if the Buckeyes run into any problems early on.
LB Teradja Mitchell
Uncertainty has clouded the Ohio State linebackers room ever since it lost four starters from the 2020 team in Tuf Borland, Baron Browning, Justin Hilliard and Pete Werner, but if there’s one thing Day knows for sure about the unit, it’s that Teradja Mitchell will see an abundance of time on the field.
“Teradja Mitchell, he’s a captain for us, he’ll be on the field in some way, shape or form,” Day said last week.
Linebacker coach Al Washington said the four-star recruit, who has not had much opportunity to show off his potential in three previous seasons in the program, has put it all together ahead of his senior year at Ohio State.
“He’s matured. His preparation, his consistent effort, but obviously he’s got to perform, and he’s been doing that,” Washington said. “He’s been really working at it. I don’t think there’s one thing that a person can show. It’s consistency, and his approach has been that. Obviously he’s eager to go out and do what he loves to do, and it’s play football. The best thing about football is, when you get on the field, your play speaks for itself, and he’s done that.”
A sure-fire starter at the Will linebacker spot, Mitchell should well exceed his career tackles total of 18 at Ohio State this season, even if it remains unclear who will start beside him at this juncture.
WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba
Even with position coaches and players alike keeping most concrete details regarding Ohio State’s starting lineups under wraps this preseason, Brian Hartline and company made no bones about their plans to feature sophomore wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba much more heavily in the Buckeye offense this season.
Already tabbed to be a starter in the slot, where he’ll take over for star receiver Garrett Wilson, Smith-Njigba earned high praise from the rest of the wideout room this past week, as Wilson called him “probably the best I’ve ever seen” and described himself, senior Chris Olave and Smith-Njigba as “three of our best players.”
Olave didn’t shy away from breaking down exactly the kind of uptick in time and impact the Rockwall, Texas, native will have in 2021 either.
“He’s a rare talent,” Olave said. “He’s slippery in the slot, and he has that sneaky speed. He made that jump, especially from year one going into year two. I can’t wait to watch him, too. He’s a starter for us now, so taking that amount of snaps jump. He’s gonna have a lot more snaps, a lot more balls in his hand. So it’s gonna be fun watching him.”
A five-star prospect in the class of 2020, the 6-foot, 198-pound wideout is sure to blow his freshman marks of 10 catches for 49 yards out of the water as a sophomore, perhaps in just the first couple of games.
QB C.J. Stroud
This one goes without saying, as you are all surely aware that redshirt freshman quarterback C.J. Stroud will be the new face of the Buckeye program this season after being named the new starter behind center in Columbus last weekend.
But taking over for Justin Fields may be the stiffest task for any Buckeye taking on a new role this season, and especially for a player that has yet to attempt a pass in live action at the collegiate level. Still, the Rancho Cucamonga, California, native was the frontrunner long before Day made the final call, and no one in the program has had a questionable word to say about him during the preseason.
“Man, I’m excited about what I’ve seen in camp,” Day said. “We haven’t been live. We haven’t been tackled. I shared with him that he’s gonna have to be tough this season. … But I’m excited about what we’ve seen, for sure. He’s shown us all the things that we need to see to be ready to go play Minnesota on the 2nd with him at quarterback.”
Stroud said he’s packed on 20 pounds of muscle in preparation for the physical toll of the season, and although he's more of a pocket passer than his predecessor, Day said Stroud has shown a penchant for making plays with his legs as well.
“I think he’s kind of surprised everybody with his athleticism,” Day said. “I think that he moves well in and out of the pocket. He can pull the ball and run. He can extend plays. And again, I think his preparation’s been excellent.”
Fields may be a tough act to follow, but the recent success of quarterbacks in Day’s offense suggests that Stroud could be the next star signal-caller at Ohio State.
DT Taron Vincent
It’s been a slow path to the top of the depth chart for former five-star recruit Taron Vincent, who was the No. 1 defensive tackle in the country in the class of 2018, and he may not even begin his fourth year in Columbus with a starting job.
However, after getting back to full health by the end of last season following a torn labrum in 2019, Vincent is gaining steam and capitalizing on his potential by all accounts in the buildup to the new year.
“I’m back to my regular self,” Vincent said during camp. “I was the No. 1 D-tackle for a reason. I’m finally healthy, so I’m ready to compete, go to work with my guys.”
Vincent logged 158 snaps a season ago, and his confidence soared as the year wore on. With a healthy offseason under his belt, Vincent should be much more productive in 2021, even if returning All-American tackle Haskell Garrett will take most of the first-team reps at the 3-tech position.
The starting vacancy among tackles on Larry Johnson’s defensive line is at nose tackle, where Tommy Togiai excelled last season for the Buckeyes before being selected by the Cleveland Browns in the 2021 NFL draft. Nose tackle may not be Vincent’s natural position, but he’s learning both tackle spots anyway.
“We’re training to have guys play both positions,” Johnson said. “So both guys can play nose, both guys can play 3-tech. So that gives us some more depth, and that’s what we’re trying to do. We’ll train other guys like that. Because they’re veteran players, they can probably handle the playbook. And so far, they’ve done that.”
Johnson’s penchant for rotating players at every position along his front four is well documented, and Vincent will see plenty more opportunity this season even if he doesn’t start at either tackle spot at the beginning of the year.
RB Miyan Williams
The prospects of three-star recruit and Cincinnati native Miyan Williams winning a starting job at running back for the Buckeyes in just his second year in the program seemed to only improve this offseason, when the redshirt freshman saw no shortage of first-team reps in Tony Alford’s position group.
Williams played just 14 snaps as a true freshman, but a couple of them jumped off the field to spectators particularly at the Sugar Bowl, where Williams stepped up in the absence of Master Teague to run for 21 yards on just three carries.
The compact 5-foot-8, 228-pound rusher said he’s lost 10 pounds in the lead-up to the season and feels faster and more elusive than ever before.
“I think Miyan has worked really, really hard,” Day said early in preseason camp. “If you look at his body right now, it’s hard. He looks strong out there. He’s worked really, really hard in the weight room. And when he had his opportunity last year, he did a good job with a couple of the runs. Certainly the big run against Clemson that he had.”
Even if Williams isn’t the week one starter, there’s little doubt he’ll be among the three-back rotation Buckeye coaches have hinted to all offseason, even with Teague, five-star freshman TreVeyon Henderson and redshirt sophomore Marcus Crowley all competing for the same reps.
“We’ll still wait to see how it goes,” Day said. “I thought his pass protection in the spring was excellent. We gotta keep building on that. And for a guy who was a little bit under the radar coming in, he’s made a big impact.”
S Craig Young
One of several potential X-factors for an Ohio State back seven that struggled mightily against the pass last season is how it will employ the bullet position in 2021, and who will see the bulk of the reps at the position.
Third-year hybrid defensive back Craig Young might be the favorite to do so, as the 6-foot-4, 223-pound Buckeye has seen plenty of first-team reps with the Buckeye defense this offseason, and – according to Young – packs “low 4.4” speed into a big, tall frame.
“I’m very versatile,” Young said. “I can fit in the box, I can guard, I can go guard in deep thirds. I can do pretty much anything that a 5-9 player can do, and I’m just 6-4. I just say being fast and being physical in the box. So that’s what makes me.”
Young said Buckeye coaches approached him about switching from linebacker to safety in January, and even if the transition was tough at first, Young appears to have fully embraced it with the season around the corner.
“In April I wasn’t very comfortable, I can say that. But right now, I feel comfortable,” Young said. “Right now I’m getting it, and it’s all the help from my brothers and everything. My brothers helped me with that confidence, they encouraged (me). Everybody knows that I’m new to the B.I.A., so they encouraged me to go hard. That just builds my confidence, but right now I’d say I’m probably more confident than I’ve ever been at Ohio State.”
Second- and third-year safeties Kourt Williams and Ronnie Hickman will also be in the mix at bullet, but depending on the opponent and personnel package, Young might have the jump on a potential starting position in that role.
