Once upon a time, dating back to the early 1970s, true freshmen weren't even eligible to play Division I college football.
Things changed in 1972 and of course that worked out well for Woody Hayes and Ohio State as Archie Griffin exploded onto the college football scene, leading the Buckeyes in rushing (867 yards) during a 9-2 season featuring a win over Michigan and a shared conference title.
Archie was a bit of an anomaly under Woody as upperclassmen certainly got their respect in the form of game reps but numerous true freshmen suiting up for the Buckeyes have made meaningful impacts in their first seasons in Columbus.
With the continued advancements in recruiting, physical training, increases in early enrollment and a host of other factors, today's high school seniors are increasingly ready to compete at the collegiate level in year one. That said, the "ready now" hype surrounding recruits can also prove exaggerated for many, with players struggling to immediately crack the rotation and make noise right from the jump.
Ryan Day's 2021 recruiting class featured 15 early enrollees - a new school record - after the 2020 class saw 14 January arrivals.
The extra time for acclimation to college life and the opportunity to participate in spring camp is obviously huge for a player's development, both physically and mentally as expectations, competition and complexity all step up in a big way.
Within this year's crop of early arrivals, a few in particular stand out as having legit shots at being notable contributors this fall. Of course, while both are impressive as a true freshman, being a notable contributor and being an elite starter are two different things.
Can any of this year's newcomers make the huge leap to top-tier performers this fall? If so, the most logical candidates appear to be running back TreVeyon Henderson, receivers Marvin Harrison Jr. and Emeka Egbuka and defensive end Jack Sawyer.
TREVEYON HENDERSON
Job one for Henderson is continuing his spring momentum into fall camp as he competes for carries with Master Teague and Miyan Williams.
With the departure of Trey Sermon to the NFL, Teague is the incumbent as the team's leading returning rusher but his 4.9 yards per carry in 2020 doesn't exactly jump off the page. Meanwhile, Williams has just 10 collegiate carries under his belt though he certainly looks like a factor for increased reps in 2021.
For his part, Henderson's early arrival allowed him to showcase talent as both a runner and receiver, along with a ready-now physical stature.
Should Henderson win the job, he'd likely share carries with one of the other two chief competitors. Still, earning the starting job or becoming the primary backup would still yield a ton of opportunities to turn in a memorable true freshman season.
The gold standard? J.K. Dobbins ran for 1,403 yards on a near-school record 7.2 yards per carry in 2017 after his own early enrollment. Dobbins started the season-opener at tailback - becoming the first Buckeye true freshman to do so since Maurice Clarett in 2002 - and lit up Indiana for 181 rushing yards, setting the tone for what became a second-team All-Big Ten campaign.
Speaking of Clarett, his 1,237 yards still rank No. 2 among OSU true freshman backs followed by Robert Smith's 1,126 rushing yards in 1990.
EMEKA EGBUKA AND MARVIN HARRISON JR.
Like Henderson, receivers Egbuka and Harrison Jr. also arrived in Columbus with big time credentials but with Ohio State having both Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson back in the fold, within an already-crowded receivers room, it seemed like earning rotational snaps, while within reach, might be the ceiling for these two in 2021.
Instead, Jameson Williams transferred to Alabama paving the way for Harrison Jr. to earn more snaps backing up Wilson and/or Olave on the outside and Egbuka emerged as the primary backup to slot receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
Harrison Jr. reportedly flashed all spring, particularly with his hands in the red zone and as a blocker, earning high praise from Day, who loves his 6-foot-3, 202 pounds frame. Harrison Jr. capped his early case for playing time with seven catches for 49 yards and a touchdown in the spring game.
Egbuka, not to be outdone, had his own stellar spring from the slot, highlighted by seven grabs for 123 yards in the spring game. Two of those receptions went for over 30 yards. If Egbuka continues his production into fall camp, it doesn't seem impossible he could leapfrog Smith-Njigba, or least turn the situation into more of a platoon scenario.
If either Egbuka or Harrison Jr. want to achieve legendary true freshman status in Columbus, they'll need to better Cris Carter which is frankly impossible.
The Middletown, Ohio product lit up opponents for 41 receptions, 648 yards and eight touchdowns in his first season, including a nine-catch, 172-yard effort in the 1985 Rose Bowl.
David Boston's 1996 season in which he tallied 33 grabs for 450 yards or Wilson's 2019 production of 30 catches for 432 yards could prove more plausible. Again, though, finding enough footballs not headed toward Wilson and Olave will be a huge obstacle.
JACK SAWYER
If the spring game is any indication, Sawyer might have the best path of all the true freshmen to make a big time statement in his first season. In the eye-catching effort back in April, Sawyer recorded four sacks with one forcing a Kyle McCord fumble.
While his performance certainly captured the imaginations of a fanbase getting its first look at the Pickerington product, it might have been just as exciting to hear Ryan Day talk in an utterly unsurprised fashion about Sawyer's afternoon. "What you saw today was pretty much most every practice out there. If he can keep building and getting stronger and keep building, then hopefully he's going to have an impact and be able to participate here early in the season. We have a couple big games early on, so the more depth we have, the better off we're going to be.”
Yes, Ohio State returns Zach Harrison and Tyreke Smith at defensive end, along with Tyler Friday and Javontae Jean-Baptiste, among others, yet it's still hard to fathom Sawyer not recording at least the third-most snaps within his position group. Of course, another wildcard worthy of mention is whether or not still-unsigned J.T. Tuimoloau could end up in Columbus. Recruiting analysts certainly feel like he would make a run at his own playing time should he choose the Buckeyes later this summer.
But if we stick to evaluating Sawyer's impact based on the confirmed competition in his position group, the question is whether or not he can earn even more playing time than that of the third defensive end in the pecking order. Harrison and Smith have more seasoning but despite both boasting veteran status, neither boast production matching their hype since arrival. That's not to say they won't blow up this year, just that the door for Sawyer to become a starter in year one might be more ajar than some would believe.
Should Sawyer continue his meteoric rise, the true freshman legacy he'd chase is that of Joey Bosa, who logged 13.5 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks in 2013.
Beyond Henderson, Egbuka, Harrison Jr. and Sawyer, there's at least an outside shot true freshman signal-caller Kyle McCord could emerge as Ohio State's starting quarterback. Should that happen, he'd be chasing Terrelle Pryor's 1,942 total yards and 18 touchdowns in 2008 and Braxton Miller's 1,874 total yards and 20 touchdowns in 2011 despite being tutored by Jim Bollman.
