With Ohio State’s first game at Indiana just nine days away, it’s time for the Buckeyes to set their depth chart for the start of the 2023 season.
A few positions remain unsettled, including the most prominent position on the field as Kyle McCord and Devin Brown are continuing to compete for the starting quarterback job. Ja’Had Carter, Josh Proctor and Malik Hartford all remained in competition for the starting free safety job as of the beginning of this week, while Jayden Fielding and Parker Lewis are still vying to be Ohio State’s top kicker.
For the most part, though, preseason camp has created a clearer picture of how Ohio State’s depth chart could stack up this season. While there are sure to be surprises once the actual games begin, opportunities for the media to watch practices and interview representatives from every Ohio State position group has given us a general idea of who most of Ohio State’s starters will be and which players are most likely to also see playing time off the bench.
With that in mind, it’s time for a final preseason projection of what I think Ohio State’s three-deep depth chart will look like this fall. Three players are listed at every position, and there are no “OR” designations on this depth chart, as I made my best guess at who will start or be the top backup at positions where the competition could extend into the season.
Quarterback
1. Devin Brown
2. Kyle McCord
3. Tristan Gebbia
If Ohio State still released a depth chart to the public, the depth chart for Week 1 would almost list the starting quarterback as “Kyle McCord OR Devin Brown.” And if Ohio State decides to take its quarterback competition into the season, McCord is likely to take the first snaps against Indiana as a nod to his experience, considering Ryan Day said this week that “if all things were equal, you'd probably go with the guy who has been in the program longer for at least for the first snap.”
When a quarterback competition continues into the start of the season, however, that’s often a sign that a younger quarterback is on the verge of surpassing an older quarterback. Ohio State may have some reticence giving the starting job outright to a quarterback who’s never thrown a pass in a collegiate game, but the fact that McCord hasn’t yet won the job despite his advantage of experience leaves the door wide open for Brown to seize the job in the first month of the season.
With all of that in mind, my final projection going into the first game week is that whenever Ohio State settles on one starting quarterback for the season, the more agile but also live-armed Brown will be the quarterback who emerges as the Buckeyes’ long-term starter.
Running Back
1. TreVeyon Henderson
2. Miyan Williams
3. Chip Trayanum
Henderson and Williams would also be listed as “OR” starters on a public Ohio State depth chart right now, and it would be accurate to list them as 1A and 1B at running back, as both are likely to start games and split carries with one another throughout the season. The way Day and other Ohio State coaches have raved about Henderson’s camp performance since returning from injury, however, suggests the Buckeyes view him as their top RB entering the season.
The bigger depth chart question at running back is whether Trayanum, Dallan Hayden or Evan Pryor will be the next man up behind Henderson and Williams – and whether any of those running backs will see regular playing time. Hayden and Trayanum both performed well when called upon last season, and Pryor – who was in line to be the No. 3 running back last year before tearing the patellar tendon in his left knee – has drawn praise for how well he’s performed in camp.
Trayanum gets the nod as the most likely running back to see playing time beyond the top two because he has the best size and speed combination of any running back on the roster and because of how he’s impressed his coaches and teammates with his work ethic this offseason as one of just eight Ohio State players to earn Iron Buckeye honors.
Wide Receiver (X)
1. Marvin Harrison Jr.
2. Jayden Ballard
3. Kojo Antwi
Wide Receiver (Z)
1. Julian Fleming
2. Carnell Tate
3. Noah Rogers
Wide Receiver (Slot)
1. Emeka Egbuka
2. Xavier Johnson
3. Brandon Inniss
Fleming remains in line to be Ohio State’s third starting wide receiver alongside the superstar duo of Harrison and Egbuka, but Tate’s chances of stealing snaps and potentially even a starting spot away from Fleming appear to be growing by the week as he continues to draw high praise from his coaches and teammates. At a minimum, Tate seems to have locked up a spot on the two-deep and appears poised to be the next man up behind the starters on the outside.
Johnson is also expected to factor into the wide receiver rotation as a backup slot receiver with the versatility to also line up outside and in the backfield. Ballard should round out the two-deep, but whether leads to more frequent playing time in his third year remains uncertain.
Rogers and Inniss don’t appear as likely to play regularly in year one as Tate, but both have made strong early impressions (as well as fellow freshman Bryson Rodgers) to position themselves well for the future. Antwi still faces an uphill climb to substantial playing time in a loaded receiver room, but he appears to be closer to earning a role than fellow second-year receiver Kyion Grayes.
Tight End
1. Cade Stover
2. Joe Royer
3. Gee Scott Jr.
Stover is firmly established as Ohio State’s starting tight end, but it remains an open question whether Royer or Scott will be the next man up behind him. Both are likely to see playing time spelling Stover and in multi-tight end sets, but Royer might offer a more complete skill set with more size (6-5, 255) to handle in-line blocking responsibilities than Scott (6-3, 240).
Jelani Thurman is also a candidate to see some playing time after making an immediate impression in his first offseason as a Buckeye, but Ohio State might prefer to avoid relying on him too heavily as a true freshman, particularly in blocking situations.
Left Tackle
1. Josh Simmons
2. Tegra Tshabola
3. George Fitzpatrick
Simmons has made a big impression on Ohio State’s coaching staff in preseason camp with his athleticism and improvement, putting him in position to play the premier position on Ohio State’s offensive line. Tshabola, who began the preseason competing with Simmons for the starting right tackle job, now looks to be in line to back Simmons up on the left side after both players switched sides early in camp.
Left Guard
1. Donovan Jackson
2. Austin Siereveld
3. Toby Wilson
Jackson is locked in as Ohio State’s starting left guard. While Enokk Vimahi is likely to be the top backup at both guard spots, Siereveld is the leading candidate to be the other guard on the two-deep even though he is a true freshman.
Center
1. Carson Hinzman
2. Victor Cutler Jr.
3. Jakob James
Although Day said earlier this month that the center battle had “heated up” between Hinzman and Cutler, Hinzman has been leading that battle since the spring and appears to have done enough to hold off Cutler to be the Buckeyes’ starting pivot. James was unable to claw his way into the battle in camp after missing the spring, leaving him in line to be the third-string center, though it’s possible he could move out to guard to provide depth there if needed.
Right Guard
1. Matt Jones
2. Enokk Vimahi
3. Trey Leroux
Jones and Vimahi are firmly entrenched as the top two right guards on the depth chart. Leroux, like James, looks to remain outside of the offensive line two-deep entering his fourth year as a Buckeye.
Right Tackle
1. Josh Fryar
2. Luke Montgomery
3. Zen Michalski
Fryar is expected to be Ohio State’s starting right tackle after moving back to the right side following a spring spent on the left side, though the consistent praise Montgomery has drawn from Day suggests Fryar might still be on a short leash entering the season. Montgomery already looks to be a lock for the two-deep as a true freshman, pushing his way ahead of Michalski in the pecking order even though Michalski entered camp as a candidate to start at RT.
Defensive End
1. JT Tuimoloau
2. Caden Curry
3. Arvell Reese
Defensive End
1. Jack Sawyer
2. Kenyatta Jackson Jr.
3. Mitchell Melton
Tuimoloau and Sawyer are Ohio State’s clear-cut starters at defensive end, while Jackson and Curry are both also expected to see consistent playing time as their top backups. Those four are likely to play the vast majority of snaps at defensive end, though Melton is also a candidate to get some reps off the edge between the defensive end and Jack positions, with the latter likely being his best chance to make an impact in 2023.
With Omari Abor expected to miss a significant chunk of the season due to injury, the three-deep will be rounded out by a true freshman in either Reese or Joshua Mickens, with Reese potentially holding the edge after impressing early in his transition from linebacker to the defensive line.
Defensive Tackle
1. Mike Hall
2. Tyleik Williams
3. Jaden McKenzie
Defensive Tackle
1. Ty Hamilton
2. Tywone Malone
3. Hero Kanu
Hamilton and Hall played the most snaps last season among returning defensive tackles and are expected to be the leaders of the interior defensive line this season. Williams should also see substantial playing time in the rotation, with Malone also pushing for regular reps right away as he has impressed this preseason following his transfer from Ole Miss.
Beyond the top four, Kanu is also a candidate to earn some snaps in the rotation after Jim Knowles said this week that Kanu has “had a really good camp.” McKenzie likely rounds out the three-deep as the most veteran defensive tackle on the roster, though true freshman Kayden McDonald is another defensive tackle who could push for playing time on the back end of the rotation after becoming the first of this year’s summer enrollees to lose his black stripe.
Linebacker (Will)
1. Steele Chambers
2. C.J. Hicks
3. Reid Carrico
Linebacker (Mike)
1. Tommy Eichenberg
2. Cody Simon
3. Gabe Powers
The pecking order at both linebacker spots appears to be well-established entering the season. Chambers and Eichenberg return as solidified starters, while Knowles has said that he expects both Hicks and Simon to see playing time behind them in a rotation. Hicks is also expected to play some situational snaps as a Jack linebacker while Simon will likely play the Sam linebacker role in short-yardage and goal-line situations.
Carrico and Powers have established themselves as Ohio State’s third-string linebackers, but they’re likely still a year away from seeing significant playing time on defense.
C.J. Hicks isn’t in line to be a starting linebacker yet, but he should have opportunities to play this season.
Cornerback
1. Denzel Burke
2. Jyaire Brown
3. Jermaine Mathews Jr.
Cornerback
1. Jordan Hancock
2. Davison Igbinosun
3. Lorenzo Styles Jr.
Even though Igbinosun has performed well throughout the offseason after transferring to Ohio State from Ole Miss, Knowles and the Buckeyes have indicated that Burke and Hancock are the starting cornerbacks. That said, it seems likely that Ohio State will deploy at least some rotation at cornerback to give Igbinosun opportunities to see regular playing time, as well.
Brown is positioned to be Ohio State’s fourth cornerback, holding a firm spot on the two-deep but less likely to see regular playing time unless injuries occur in front of him on the depth chart. Styles could be a candidate to redshirt to preserve his remaining two years of eligibility, but he’s taken quickly enough to his new position after playing wide receiver at Notre Dame that he could be the fifth man in the cornerback pecking order, though Mathews is also a candidate for that spot.
Nickel Safety
1. Sonny Styles
2. Cameron Martinez
3. Ryan Turner
Knowles said definitively on Monday that Styles has earned a starting job on Ohio State’s defense, one in which Knowles plans to utilize the versatile second-year Buckeye as a hybrid nickel safety/Sam linebacker.
Martinez is still a candidate to see significant playing time in situations where Ohio State wants more of a slot cornerback in the game at nickel safety, while the Buckeyes could also potentially kick Hancock, Brown or one of their other cornerbacks inside to play that role situationally. Turner has been cross-training between cornerback and nickel since the spring and seems to have a more likely path to the field in the slot.
Free Safety
1. Ja’Had Carter
2. Malik Hartford
3. Kye Stokes
Strong Safety
1. Lathan Ransom
2. Josh Proctor
3. Jayden Bonsu
While Ransom is locked in as the starting strong safety – or “bandit” as Ohio State calls it – Knowles said Monday that Carter, Hartford and Proctor are all still competing for the free safety job while they could also back up Ransom. Carter still seems to be the likeliest candidate to start at free safety after practicing there with the first-team defense in both practices that were open to the media during camp, though Hartford has made a major impression as a true freshman that gives him a chance to see real playing time right away.
Although Stokes entered his freshman year with a lot of hype after an impressive first spring, he appears unlikely to be in the two-deep this year.
Kicker
1. Jayden Fielding
2. Parker Lewis
3. Casey Magyar
Both Day and special teams coordinator Parker Fleming said this week that the competition between Fielding and Lewis remains ongoing, and Fleming said it’s possible they could split the duties between field goals and kickoffs. This competition remains cloudy as there have been few opportunities outside of the spring game to watch the kickers attempt field goals this offseason, but Fielding looks like the favorite to handle kicking duties after holding off Lewis for the kickoff job last season.
Punter
1. Jesse Mirco
2. Joe McGuire
3. Austin Snyder
Ohio State added a second Australian punter to its roster this summer, bringing in McGuire to back up Mirco, who enters his third year as the Buckeyes’ starting punter. They are the only two players listed as punters on the roster, but Snyder could also be an emergency option as he was both a punter and kicker at Findlay before transferring to Ohio State this summer.
Long Snapper
1. John Ferlmann
2. Max Lomonico
3. Collin Johnson
Day said this week that Ferlmann has solidified himself as Ohio State’s starting long snapper after transferring in from Arizona State this offseason. Lomonico, the only returning long snapper on the roster from last season, would likely be the next man up if anything happened to Ferlmann.
Kickoff Returner
1. Xavier Johnson
2. Evan Pryor
3. Lorenzo Styles Jr.
Johnson performed well as the lead kickoff returner after taking over that duty midway through last season, so he’s likely to retain that role this year. Pryor fits the traditional mold of a kickoff returner with his speed and agility while Styles also has elite speed and occasionally returned kicks at Notre Dame, so either of them would also be strong options if the Buckeyes want to give one of them a bigger role than they’re likely to have at their primary positions.
Punt Returner
1. Emeka Egbuka
2. Brandon Inniss
3. Jayden Ballard
Egbuka is expected to continue returning punts this season after performing reliably in that responsibility last year. If the Buckeyes decided to take Egbuka off of punt returns, Inniss would be a natural candidate to take over as Egbuka’s likely heir apparent at slot receiver next season. Ballard is also an option as he saw occasional late-game work as a punt returner last season and has consistently taken reps there in practices all offseason.
