Ohio State offense eager to improve after down season
The Ohio State offense took a step back last season.
Quarterback play likely will go a long way toward determining if the Buckeyes get back to lighting up the scoreboard this fall, but maybe not as much as some seasons.
The progress made at every other position is just as important, so after reviewing the signal-callers Thursday, here is a look at where the Buckeyes stand at receiver, running back, tight end and offensive line heading into the summer:
Scene reset
Ohio State has two of the top backs in the country in Treveyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins.
With Dallan Hayden becoming the fourth back to leave since the end of the season, what else do the Buckeyes have though?
Then what happened?
New running backs coach Carlos Locklyn didn’t arrive until late in spring ball, but he had to like what he saw.
True freshmen James Peoples and Sam Williams-dixon both
looked good in the spring, as did walk-on TC Caffey.
A junior from Hubbard, Ohio, Caffey actually flashed a few times earlier in his career but missed last season with a knee injury.
Unit prediction
Henderson and Judkins still look like the best one-two punch in college football for 2024.
Hayden’s exit prompted questions about depth, but head coach Ryan Day said he believes his team has enough with the way the freshmen looked and the re-emergence of Caffey.
With the expanded College Football Playoff, the old “pair and a spare” might not quite suffice, though, so I would not be surprised if the Buckeyes look to add someone from the portal with a couple of years of eligibility left if the fit is right.
RECEIVER Scene reset
Position coach Brian Hartline lost superstar Marvin Harrison Jr., versatile Xavier Johnson and outside blocking back Julian Fleming, but the cupboard is always stocked at Ohio State.
Senior Emeka Egbuka is back with a bevy of sophomores and true freshmen hoping to work their way into Hartline’s rotation.
That includes Carnell Tate, Brandon Inniss, Bryson Rodgers, Kojo Antwi, Kyion Grayes and Jeremiah Smith.
Then what happened?
Smith was the talk of spring, mostly because he was impossible to ignore whenever practices were open. The nation’s No. 1 recruit, who is listed at 6-foot-3, 215, certainly did not look like someone who should be preparing for prom as he displayed great athletic ability and body control for a player of any age.
Inniss missed the end of spring practice after having a medical procedure Day prescribed as precautionary.
Unite predictions
Egbuka, who has battled injuries the past two seasons, has All-america potential if he is out there every week.
Tate earned enough of Hartline’s trust last year to expect him to be a regular this fall, and the coach said he was as impressed with Smith off the field as everyone else is with him on it.
That would be a seemingly solid top three, but there is some question about what else Hartline really has, especially given Inniss’ situation.
This might not be the dominant unit we’ve grown accustomed to seeing, but it is also unlikely to be called upon to carry the offense like it has at times over the past few seasons.
TIGHT ENDS Scene reset
Gee Scott Jr. is back for his fifth season and poised to be the No. 1 tight end,
culminating a long journey since he was a fourstar receiver.
Will Kacmarek joined the group that lost three players, including senior Cade Stover, while Bennett Christian returns after serving a season-long suspension for testing positive for a banned substance.
Hopes are high for Jelani Thurman, a sophomore from Georgia who brings an unfamiliar type of athleticism to the position for the Buckeyes.
A handful of walk-ons are also in the mix, including Patrick Gurd, a senior from New Albany, Ohio, who made an appearance at fullback in the spring game.
Then what happened?
Coaches raved about Scott all spring.
They also praised Christian for doing all the right things during his suspension, and Thurman continued to develop while Kacmarek worked on acclimating to the program.
Unit predictions
This is a hard group to peg because it has a hard job. Scott could continue being the receiver threat Stover was last season, but has anyone learned to block? That is said to be a strong trait of Kacmarek’s.
Thurman could be a revelation whenever the light comes on, but the Buckeyes need at least one more player to step up if they want to be a more physical running team.
OFFENSIVE LINE Scene reset
Josh Simmons and Josh Fryar return at left and right tackle, respectively, while Donovan Jackson is back at left guard after considering going pro. Carson Hinzman returns at center, but he could be supplanted by Alabama transfer Seth Mclaughlin. Right guard was open with sophomores Tegra Tshabola and Luke Montgomery among the competitors.
Then what happened?
Fryar got some work at guard, but he primarily remained at right tackle after showing up noticeably slimmer.
Coach Justin Frye insisted he wasn’t close to setting a starting lineup late in spring practice, and he moved guys around enough in the spring game to make that seem believable.
Mclaughlin and Hinzman both saw time at right guard, as did Montgomery. Tshabola, a Lakota West product, played both spots on the right side.
Lakota East grad Austin Siereveld was consistently the No. 2 right guard in open practice sessions and the spring game while fellow redshirt freshman Joshua Padilla, a Wayne High School product, was next in line at center behind Hinzman and Mclaughlin.
Unit predictions
Fry proved last year he is comfortable using spring to experiment, and he seems to have done much of that again so this is not an easy peg even with 80% of the starting lineup back.
New offensive coordinator Chip Kelly said he really wants to find 10 starter-quality players, but Ohio State would be doing well to find five after a sub-par season up front.
On the bright side, four returning starters and a guy who was a two-year starter at Alabama (Mclaughlin) provide a pretty good starting point.
Montgomery and Tshabola both have four-star talent, but the staff doesn’t seem certain about where they can best use it.
If one of that duo joins the starting lineup, the other should be a quality sixth man.
Too young and too light, Hinzman was the obvious weak link last season on a group that started poorly but showed improvement in the second half. He figures to improve with age and time in the weight room. Will it be enough hold off Mclaughlin? He was no world-beater at Alabama, but experience and age are valuable tools in the trenches.
Ohio State had no depth on the line last season, a problem that seems like it might be solved, but the ceiling of the top unit is still unclear.
The good news is Kelly made a living at previous stops manufacturing a running game from less-thanpremium material, so the key to this season could be how he and Frye are able to manipulate the scheme to fit this group’s ability.