Ohio State’s established stars and returning starters are some of the top talents in all of college football.
Should players like C.J. Stroud, Jaxon Smith-Njigba and TreVeyon Henderson replicate their 2021 success in the forthcoming season, they’re likely to be showered in accolades and awards come the end of the year. But perhaps just as important will be the roles filled by new starters who will regularly step into big spots for the first time in 2022.
Not all of the players we highlight below are without a career start in scarlet and gray, and some have been at the top of the depth chart for multiple games over the past couple seasons. But none of them have routinely started contests for Ohio State in the manner in which they are likely to be called upon to do this year.
We take a closer look at the names that will be filling important voids for the Buckeyes in the season to come.
Wide Receiver
Potential new starters: Marvin Harrison Jr., Emeka Egbuka, Julian Fleming
Yes, Marvin Harrison Jr. got a start in the Rose Bowl and Julian Fleming has been given the nod more than once in instances of injuries or absences over the past couple of seasons. But neither one has been a regular starter for Ohio State, and Emeka Egbuka might just sneak into the starting lineup in his own right sooner or later.
Any of the three will have big shoes to fill in a starting role, even if Smith-Njigba gets most of the receiving workload as anticipated. Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson are both off to the NFL, and Stroud will need other targets to connect with if defenses sell out to limit Smith-Njigba’s production – if that’s even possible. Harrison figures to be a shoo-in to start after his three-touchdown performance in the Rose Bowl, but the other starting spot seems less clear as the two aforementioned five-star recruits duke it out in the preseason.
C.J. Stroud dropped a dime to Marvin Harrison Jr. pic.twitter.com/j6uxSJljfU
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 1, 2022
None of the three caught more than 12 balls or hauled in 200 receiving yards in 2021, but you can expect all three to eclipse those totals by a landslide margin this year.
Tight End
Potential new starters: Cade Stover, Joe Royer
Jeremy Ruckert’s decision to return for a senior season in 2021 made it unlikely any other Buckeye tight end would become a regular starter at the position last year.
Cade Stover made the most of his opportunities as Ruckert’s understudy, serving as a physical inline blocker when called upon by Kevin Wilson despite catching just five passes on the year. Stover’s future appeared to be at linebacker by the end of the year, as the Ohio native switched back to defense for the Rose Bowl, but questions in Wilson’s position room following Ruckert’s departure necessitated Stover’s return to tight end by the middle of the spring. Stover will likely be Ohio State’s top tight end for the first time by the start of the season, although he may not be the top pass-catching option the Buckeyes have at the position.
While Gee Scott Jr. still seems unlikely to be a starter this year, Joe Royer may give Wilson the best of both worlds in terms of blocking and the ability to make plays in the passing game. The third-year Cincinnati native could perhaps get a crack at the starting job, or at least make some starts, at some point in 2022.
Tight end touchdown, courtesy of Joe Royer. pic.twitter.com/KvoGFJ23dD
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) April 16, 2022
Offensive Guard
Potential new starters: Donovan Jackson, Matthew Jones
Ohio State lost two of its starting offensive linemen to the NFL draft this offseason, with Nicolas Petit-Frere and Thayer Munford both heading to the next level. That means two first-time regular starters must step up in their stead, even if the front five will be reconfigured a bit in Justin Frye’s first year at the helm of the position room.
Fifth-year senior Matthew Jones was Ohio State’s sixth man up front last year, and after patiently waiting his turn in the program, he will finally get to man a starting spot full-time in 2022. With Paris Johnson Jr. moving from guard to left tackle this year, Ohio State will have another vacancy on the interior, and there’s little question about who will get the opportunity to do so.
Five-star offensive lineman Donovan Jackson, the No. 19 overall player in the class of 2021, will hold down the left guard spot in just his second season of college football. Jackson has also trained at left tackle this offseason, but the Buckeyes aren’t likely to put the Texas native in that role unless an emergency pops up. But despite the relative starting inexperience at guard, the position doesn’t figure to be an area of too much concern given the caliber of Jones and Jackson.
Defensive End
Potential new starters: J.T. Tuimoloau, Jack Sawyer
Injuries to Tyreke Smith and Zach Harrison meant J.T. Tuimoloau started two games for the Buckeyes as a true freshman. This year, I’d expect the five-star pass-rusher to garner a whole lot more starts, even if Larry Johnson’s entire position room has a clean bill of health.
Harrison and Javontae Jean-Baptiste will be back for Johnson’s unit, and Tyler Friday should be healthy after recovering from an ACL suffered ahead of last season. But that group may not be able to keep a surging force like Tuimoloau off the field, should the Washington native start to fulfill his sky-high potential as a sophomore.
Many of the same things can be said about Jack Sawyer, who could very well earn a regular starting job of his own coming off the edge in 2022. Jim Knowles has also tapped Sawyer as his preseason favorite to employ the hybrid (and aptly named) Jack position in his defense, although that role may not be a part of Ohio State’s base look to begin most games.
One way or another, Tuimoloau and Sawyer will see more of the field as second-year Buckeyes, and both will be hungry for starting spots come September.
Defensive Tackle
Potential new starters: Tyleik Williams
It’s entirely possible a new full-time starter won’t emerge at defensive tackle for the Buckeyes this season. That’s because veterans Taron Vincent and Jerron Cage are both returning in 2022, and both have experience starting games at the 3-tech and nose tackle spots, respectively.
But also present in the same position room is one of the more intriguing talents and potential rising stars on the Buckeye defense. Tyleik Williams was second in sacks only to Haskell Garrett as just a true freshman, and that was without seeing consistent snaps throughout the 2021 season.
Williams will undoubtedly have a longer leash after dropping weight and improving his conditioning over the offseason, and that could lead to a true breakout campaign for the Virginia native. Johnson has no issue rotating players and changing up the starting lineup along the defensive line, and if Williams proves to be as productive as many think he could be, the four-star recruit just might steal a starting spot altogether.
Safety
Potential new starters: Kourt Williams, Tanner McCalister
Ohio State has experience at the top of the depth chart at safety, with Ronnie Hickman returning after a stellar first season as a regular starter and fifth-year senior Josh Proctor coming back from injury having started games in multiple seasons for the Buckeyes.
But Proctor isn’t guaranteed a starting spot, and that’s in large part due to Kourt Williams, who’s pushing to be the top bandit safety in Knowles’ defense. Williams started in the Rose Bowl as a means to slow down the rushing attack of the Utah offense, but he will likely see plenty more of those opportunities in his third season.
The Buckeyes will have another new starter at the nickel safety spot, although Oklahoma State transfer Tanner McCalister brings 23 starts with him over the past two seasons in the Cowboy program. McCalister, who was the first Buckeye to shed his black stripe this spring, also has the benefit of four seasons spent under Knowles. That experience only solidifies his status as a surefire starter in 2022.
