You won’t find an Ohio State football season in which every starter returned from the previous year. The forthcoming campaign is no different.
That’s not to say the Buckeyes don’t have things covered in several position groups. Their starting linebackers from 2022 returned to the fold for another year. Ohio State’s entire year-end starting receiving corps is back, as is every rusher that carried the ball at least 10 times. Tight end is set with the return of Cade Stover, both starting offensive guards are still in the program and there’s plenty of experienced depth at all levels on defense.
But replacing established talent with first-time starters is inevitable in college football, especially at Ohio State. Below, we examine the Buckeyes in consideration for prominent roles at the top of the depth chart for the first time, even if some have started a game here or there in past seasons.
Quarterback
Outgoing starter: C.J. Stroud
Potential new starters: Kyle McCord, Devin Brown
No new starter for the Buckeyes will be more important to Ohio State’s bottom line in 2023 than whoever wins the vacant quarterback battle this preseason to replace Stroud.
One of the two players in contention to become QB1, McCord, does have a start under his belt at Ohio State, and he remains the frontrunner for the position as the Buckeyes eye the start of preseason camp next month. But McCord’s 2021 start against Akron, in which he completed 13 of his 18 passes for 319 yards, two touchdowns and an interception in a 59-7 blowout, feels like eons ago.
Crafting pic.twitter.com/bFJQtmp5pt
— Kyle McCord (@kylemccord16) March 17, 2023
For all intents and purposes, both McCord and Brown will be fresh-faced and relatively green as Ohio State’s next starting quarterback, even if McCord has the clear edge in experience with 12 game appearances on his résumé. The door is still open for Brown to make noise over the next month-and-a-half, though, given Ryan Day and company’s decision to leave the QB battle unresolved at the end of the spring.
Some even think the competition could, or should, wage on into the season if things are as close between the two passers as Day has suggested.
Offensive Tackle
Outgoing starters: Paris Johnson Jr., Dawand Jones
Potential new starters: Josh Fryar, Josh Simmons, Tegra Tshabola
Perhaps just as crucial for Ohio State as naming a new starting quarterback will be figuring out who the team can trust to protect him in 2023 following the departures of Johnson and Jones.
The Buckeyes have more options now than they did at the conclusion of their spring schedule, but all of them will be new additions to Ohio State’s regular starting five up front this season. The only tackle in question who has previously started a game for the Buckeyes is Fryar, who filled in for Jones on the right side of the line against Indiana in 2022 and enters his fourth year with the program in 2023. For both reasons, he’s the odds-on favorite to step into a starting role at left tackle for the first time this season.
The addition of San Diego State transfer Josh Simmons may be the most exciting prospect of all for Buckeye fans who were disappointed in the mixed results of the retooled offensive line this spring. The 6-foot-6, 305-pound lineman started all 13 games for the Aztecs at right tackle last season, which makes RT the ideal spot for him to slide into once the preseason begins. Still, Simmons’ post-spring transfer means he hasn’t yet been able to prove himself in scarlet and gray.
First off I would like to thank every school that reached out and gave me an opportunity to play at there respective program, with that being said I will be furthering my Academic and Football career at THE Ohio State University #GoBuckeyes pic.twitter.com/3XHLZiXUQr
— Josh Simmons (@josh5immons) April 30, 2023
Tshabola or Zen Michalski could also still contend to be the new starter at right tackle in preseason camp, although neither consistently looked like world-beaters when called upon to step up this past spring.
Center
Outgoing starter: Luke Wypler
Potential new starters: Carson Hinzman, Jakob James, Victor Cutler Jr.
Beyond the tackle spots, the interior of the offensive line will have a new man in the middle after Wypler, who started every game at center over the past two seasons, left for the NFL.
Hinzman earned plenty of plaudits from the Buckeye coaching staff upon sliding over from guard at the start of the offseason but having never played center before his time at Ohio State, Day stopped short of naming him the team’s new starter. Not to mention, Hinzman didn’t play a single snap on the Ohio State offense last season as he redshirted his true freshman season.
Hinzman may have a leg up on the competition, but Justin Frye has trumpeted the potential for James – who missed the spring with an injury – to make things interesting once he returns to the fold. A four-year Buckeye veteran, James has appeared in 19 games over the past two seasons and 12 in 2022 alone. However, he has yet to start a game in scarlet and gray and is still a relatively unproven commodity to many fans.
Cutler, who transferred in from Louisiana-Monroe before the spring, also took some first-team reps at center, but Day was open about the uphill climb he faced in acclimating to the offense so quickly. Cutler could remain an option should he continue to get his feet under him this preseason.
Defensive End
Outgoing starter: Zach Harrison
Potential new starter: Jack Sawyer
Sawyer hasn’t been nearly as out of sight or out of mind over the past couple of seasons as several of Ohio State’s potential new starters on offense, but you can expect to see a whole lot more of him this season, nonetheless.
The Pickerington, Ohio, native was a fixture in Larry Johnson’s defensive end rotation last season and even finished with a tie for the team lead with 4.5 sacks. But JT Tuimoloau and Harrison occupied the two top spots on the depth chart at the position, both starting all 13 games for Ohio State in 2022 and playing at least 155 more snaps than Sawyer.
This season, Sawyer should start every game alongside Tuimoloau (barring injury) as the full-time defensive star many fans have long hoped he’d develop into. And without splitting his time as a Jack linebacker in Jim Knnowles’ system, we could see a whole new version of the five-star talent as he receives the largest workload of his career in 2023.
Cornerback
Outgoing starter: Cameron Brown
Potential new starters: Jordan Hancock, Davison Igbinosun
Hancock was pegged for a role as Ohio State’s third cornerback ahead of the 2022 season. Given the injuries to the Buckeyes’ starters, he would’ve had plenty of opportunities to start a slew of games had his season not been derailed mainly by health issues.
Hancock did make his first career start against Indiana, but after missing the first seven games of the season, he could never quite get in a groove in Ohio State’s defensive backfield. This season, with Brown now out of the program, the stage is set for Hancock to reach his potential as the Buckeyes’ No. 2 CB next to Denzel Burke.
However, he’ll face competition from Igbinosun this preseason and potentially throughout the 2023 campaign after the former Ole Miss corner emerged as the Buckeyes’ most impressive transfer addition this spring. Igbinosun logged 10 starts at the SEC level as a true freshman in 2022, which bodes well for his chances to make an immediate impact at Ohio State. Still, he has yet to suit up in an official game for the Buckeyes, much less start one.
Safety
Outgoing starters: Ronnie Hickman, Tanner McCalister
Potential new starters: Cameron Martinez, Sonny Styles, Ja'Had Carter
No more Hickman or McCalister means Ohio State has some reshuffling at its three safety spots in 2023, and the starting lineup could take on multiple iterations this season.
Josh Proctor and Lathan Ransom handled most of the first-team reps at free safety and strong safety, respectively, this spring. Both already return plenty of starting experience with the Buckeyes. At the nickel spot, though, Martinez could finally get a chance to be an every-game starter for the Buckeyes after three years spent in primarily a reserve role. Martinez’s own first-team spot in the spring was aided by an injury to Syracuse transfer Ja’Had Carter, who could still contend for the top job at nickel safety this preseason, but he’ll have to usurp a player who appears to be coming into his own in year four.
Fans are clamoring to see Styles receive a starting role in 2023 as well, but where that might be is less clear. Styles occupied something of a hybrid position in the Peach Bowl to match up with Georgia’s formidable tight ends at the end of the 2022 season, and perhaps he could reprise that role as a sophomore. However, Knowles said in May that Styles’ coverage ability has impressed him enough to let him compete at Ohio State’s high safety positions in the preseason.
A 6-foot-4, five-star talent at free safety could be an intriguing possibility for Ohio State, but it seems likely that Styles will be used in multiple ways in 2023 if he doesn’t assert himself as the go-to guy at one specific position.
Kicker
Outgoing starter: Noah Ruggles
Potential new starters: Parker Lewis, Jayden Fielding
No kicker on the current Ohio State roster has even attempted a field goal for the Buckeyes in an official game. With Ruggles out of the picture, USC transfer Parker Lewis and second-year specialist Jayden Fielding are the frontrunners to take over full-time placekicking duties in 2023.
While it’s far from the first thing fans will be asking about this preseason, they don’t need any reminder about how important the position is in light of how the 2022 season ended.
