Sometimes, a look back at some recent recruiting rankings reminds one how nice it must feel to be Ryan Day.
He’ll largely spend the upcoming Ohio State season working with the 2018 class that ranked second in the country, 2019 class that was 14th in a transition year from Urban Meyer, 2020 class that placed in fifth and 2021 class that finished second. Each group featured at least three five-star prospects, each of whom will suit up for the Buckeyes once more this fall.
In total, 14 one-time five-stars will take the field at Ohio State later this year.
Oftentimes, those are the types of recruits the coaching staff has a chance to develop into the Chase Youngs, Jeff Okudahs and Nick Bosas of the team. The superstars who can propel a talent-laden squad to the highest of highs. The no-doubt-about-it studs.
Of the 14 former five-star prospects on the Buckeyes’ roster, only two of them – Garrett Wilson and Nicholas Petit-Frere – are teetering on being that type of on-field performer so far. Those two aren’t finished products by any means, and the other 12 still have loads to prove.
Thus, Ohio State’s ability to turn its five-stars into legitimate stars on the field in 2021 could determine the ultimate fate of this team in the fall.
With that in mind, we’re taking a look at each of the 14 players on the roster who were five-star composite recruits out of high school, and what to expect from each of them this season.
Nicholas Petit-Frere
No. 7 overall, No. 1 offensive tackle (2018)
Nobody on this list has played more than the 822 snaps Petit-Frere accumulated in his first three years in Ohio State’s program.
After redshirting as a true freshman, then backing up Branden Bowen after losing the competition to start at right tackle, he finally started as a redshirt sophomore in 2021 and looked like a savvy veteran. Petit-Frere, once the best offensive lineman in his recruiting cycle, added the requisite weight over his first two years to thrive at right tackle and allowed pressure on fewer than 1 percent of passing plays, per Pro Football Focus.
With a standout 2021 season in tow, the Buckeyes – who also bring back left tackle Thayer Munford – can expect Petit-Frere to remain as steady as ever in his second year starting.
Taron Vincent
No. 20 overall, No. 1 defensive tackle (2018)
The Buckeyes return Haskell Garrett to start at 3-technique, and if Vincent can turn into the impactful player many projected him to be when he signed as a five-star out of IMG Academy, they could have an eye-catching duo to complement each other at the position.
That, however, is a big if.
Vincent played 98 defensive snaps as a true freshman, then suffered a season-ending injury just before the start of his sophomore campaign. He managed nine tackles, including two for a loss, and half of a sack in 150 snaps last season. In short, he has yet to have any sort of an on-field breakthrough. Might it come in 2021? Larry Johnson will try to make that happen.
Tyreke Johnson
No. 21 overall, No. 2 safety (2018)
First, Johnson committed to Kerry Coombs. Then, once Coombs left, he worked a year under Taver Johnson at cornerback. Johnson’s ouster brought in Jeff Hafley, and by the end of the 2019 season, the then-second-year corner had bought into the former NFL coach’s approach. But Hafley left, too, and he was reunited with Coombs, along with Matt Barnes.
For the first time in his collegiate career, Johnson will enter the 2021 season with the same position coaches. Perhaps that will help get him on course. Up to this point, his career hasn’t gone as hoped. He played 77 defensive snaps last season but only three snaps in the last three games combined.
Johnson will need to make a significant leap this offseason to show he’s deserving of a spot in the 2021 cornerback plans.
Zach Harrison
No. 12 overall, No. 4 defensive end (2019)
Ohio State needs numerous former five-stars to take major strides in the offseason, but Harrison might be the one it needs most.
The Olentangy Orange graduate was one of the most impressive pure athletes to grace a college football field last season, yet his production hasn’t matched his physical gifts up to this point. Johnson talked about him last year as though putting him in the same sentence as the Bosa brothers and Chase Young makes sense. His 14-tackle, two-sack sophomore season fell well short of where those three were in their production as second-year Buckeyes.
Nobody doubts Harrison’s potential. He’ll need to turn that into more sacks and pressures this fall, though, to turn into the first-round pick many have long expected him to become.
Garrett Wilson
No. 20 overall, No. 2 wide receiver (2019)
Already a stud, Wilson will go through this offseason popping up in plenty of 2022 NFL mock drafts as a first-rounder, and for good reason. The Texan racked up 43 catches for 723 yards and six touchdowns in eight games as a sophomore.
Once again paired with Chris Olave and a multitude of other possible standout receivers, expectations of an even greater output will follow Wilson into the 2021 season. With Wilson helping lead the way, the wide receiver group could – and, depending on your opinion, should – be the best of any at Ohio State this fall.
Harry Miller
No. 30 overall, No. 2 center (2019)
Miller’s first season as a starter didn’t exactly go as planned. He garnered plenty of positive feedback as a true freshman who played 181 offensive snaps, but as the starting left guard as a sophomore, he struggled both with penalties and consistently taking care of his assignments the way Greg Studrawa would like.
Back for Year 3 as a Buckeye, Miller is projected by most to be the team’s starting center.
Provided that happens, he’ll be surrounded by first-time starters at guard – likely some combination of Matthew Jones, Paris Johnson and Dawand Jones. And if he’s again a starter, Miller will look to remind folks why he was a sure-fire five-star recruit out of high school.
It wouldn’t be the first time a touted lineman struggles as a first-time starter then rebounds the next year. He has to follow that trajectory, though, to be the center the Buckeyes are counting on him to be in 2021.
Julian Fleming
No. 3 overall, No. 1 wide receiver (2020)
Perhaps nobody better encapsulates the ridiculous wide receiver talent at Ohio State more than Fleming.
He walked into the building as the Buckeyes’ third-highest-rated signee in the modern recruiting era but recorded only seven catches for 74 yards as a true freshman. That’s it. Now a sophomore with a year to learn from Brian Hartline, the expectations for Fleming will get jacked up. He’ll again join Olave, Wilson, Jameson Williams and others at receiver, yet he’ll almost certainly see a significant uptick in targets.
At a ridiculously talented position, his status as a recruit was higher than anybody else’s. Thus, in Year 2, it’s fair to expect more out of Fleming.
Paris Johnson
No. 9 overall, No. 1 offensive tackle (2020)
Josh Myers raised the stakes for Johnson when he said that as long as nothing goes wrong, he expects the Cincinnati native to win the Outland Trophy, which is awarded to college football's best lineman, before he leaves Ohio State. He might be good. Really, really good. Good enough that even though Ohio State brings back both tackles, it can’t keep him off the field.
Johnson saw late-season snaps at offensive guard, and if Myers’ words were accurate, it would be fair to expect him to be a frontrunner to start inside. Our own Dan Hope already pegged him as a projected starter.
Starting and excelling as a first-year starter are two different things entirely. If Johnson can win a job, it’ll be up to him to perform at a high level. He, however, is not someone who’s ever shied away from expectations.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba
No. 29 overall, No. 5 wide receiver (2020)
The one-toed touchdown reception in the middle of Smith-Njigba’s freshman season showed just how much talent the youngster from Texas possesses. Hartline didn’t fully unleash him, though, with the wideout snagging 10 catches for 49 yards and a score.
Perhaps the breakout comes in Year 2.
Smith-Njigba, who primarily backed Wilson up in the slot as a freshman, could challenge to start either at slot – if Wilson were to move outside – or at X receiver in 2021. Regardless of how exactly it shakes out, he’ll have ample chances to show out.
Jack Sawyer
No. 4 overall, No. 3 defensive end (2021)
Ohio State will primarily feature Harrison, Tyreke Smith, Tyler Friday and Javontae Jean-Baptiste at defensive end in 2021. So, while ultra-talented, Sawyer won’t walk into the Woody Hayes Athletic Center vying for a starting spot as a true freshman. He could, however, still work his way into Johnson’s rotation of defensive ends right away.
The long-time commit from Pickerington brings with him top-level pass-rushing potential.
Emeka Egbuka
No. 9 overall, No. 1 wide receiver (2021)
As talented as Egbuka is, it’s hard to imagine him having much bigger of a role as a true freshman than Smith-Njigba or Fleming did last season. The Washington native walks into an absolutely loaded room of wideouts.
Sure, Egbuka has a shot to win a rotational gig backing up a starter. But that’s about the maximum anybody should expect from him in Year 1.
Donovan Jackson
No. 18 overall, No. 1 guard (2021)
Of every five-star on the roster, Jackson will likely have the most minute role in 2021. Offensive linemen usually need more time than players at other positions to develop, and though Jackson has the potential to be Ohio State's next Wyatt Davis, even Davis didn’t start full-time until his third year in the program.
Jackson might end up on the two-deep depth chart. But it would be a legitimate shock if he were to play a bigger part in this team’s 2021 plans than that.
TreVeyon Henderson
No. 22 overall, No. 1 running back (2021)
Master Teague is solid. Miyan Williams is intriguing. Henderson might be a star.
The best running back in all of high school football signed with Ohio State before he ever even stepped foot on campus, and because of that decision, Tony Alford has a new most naturally-gifted tailback. Could Henderson pull a J.K. Dobbins and become a starter – or co-starter – as a true freshman? It’s absolutely possible.
Kyle McCord
No. 27 overall, No. 3 pro-style quarterback (2021)
Here’s the wild card, as it's possible McCord could become the most important player on the roster as a true freshman.
If McCord can win the starting quarterback job, the reins of the team will be in the hands of this five-star freshman from Philadelphia. Ryan Day has said he plans to give him a shot, and McCord hasn’t shied away from hoping to be Ohio State’s next quarterback.
