State of College Football: Ohio State Buckeyes 2019

Ohio State Buckeyes 2019 Look Ahead

Final 2018 PRS Ranking: #3

Ohio State was on their annual cruise to the national playoff and Big 10 title when they ran into a buzz saw at Purdue, and as annual as their title chase has been, so has been the one inexplicable loss to a team that the Buckeyes should have thoroughly dominated. That one loss sent the Buckeyes packing to 5th in the playoff rankings, one spot out of the shot at the national title shot. Of course, the backup prize of a trip to the Rose Bowl is never a bad thing, but it is when you don't necessarily want to be there. The Buckeyes showed up, and dominated Washington early, before taking their foot off the pedal to let the Huskies sneak back up on them, making what should have been a blowout into what became a narrow win instead. Dwayne Haskins was a superb find at QB, but he is now gone, as is backup Tate Martell, who will take his abilities to a QB void in Miami. Will celebrated transfer Josh Fields be allowed to play immediately, or will he be forced to sit out a year under standard transfer rules (he should have to)? That may dictate the 2019 Buckeyes season that also will not see Urban Meyer patrolling the sidelines, migraines or not. One way or the other, Ryan Day will have quite a bit of work to do to follow up this act. \

Quarterbacks
With both Haskins, who had an all-time great season at Ohio State, and Martell gone, the real watch will be on any ruling on Josh Fields and his transfer from Georgia. If Fields is ruled ineligible until 2020, next season could be messy at the QB position. Chris Chugunov, Daniel Vanatsky, Matthew Baldwin, and Kory Curtis all return, but they do not have a snap of experience among themselves, and while talented to a degree, this group should make people shudder to think that any one of them would have the keys handed over. There is also not one QB in the dedicated 2019 class committed as of yet, which makes this situation more problematic.

Running Backs
When JK Dobbins emerged as a freshman in 2017, Mike Weber started to slowly take a back seat to the talented youngster, and while his numbers were good, they were not as spectacular as one would have liked to have seen. Weber has now moved on early for the NFL, and now it is Dobbins who is the primary back, with Weber's absence leaving a tremendous hole at the RB2 spot. Dobbins slipped backwards a bit as a sophomore, rushing for 1053 yards and 10 scores, but he averaged just 4.58 yards per carry, which is a slight bit pedestrian in today's explosive spread game. He cannot afford another slip in numbers if the Buckeyes are to end up without Fields at QB, and probably just as much if they have him. Master Teague is the next most experienced back coming to spring camp, and he carried just 17 times. Marcus Crowley is the only solid commit that the Buckeyes are looking at, and he rated as a 3 star.

Receivers
This is another potential area of concern, as the Buckeyes lose 3 of their top 4 receivers. Paris Campbell, Terry McLaurin, and Johnnie Dixon have all moved on. KJ Hill is the most experienced receiver returning, and he posted a line of 68-865-6, and averaged 12.72 yards per catch. Binjimin Victor and Austin Mack are expected to step up, and combined for 47 receptions, but they also combined for just 5 scores on the year. The Buckeyes need to find a replacement for a big play, downfield threat for their offense in 2019. Garrett Wilson and Jameson Williams should likely get a shot to impress as incoming freshmen, and 6 players who were freshmen in 2018 will get a solid look in spring camp as well.
Luke Farrell, Rashod Berry, and Jeremy Ruckert all caught passes at TE, and all of them are projected to return.

Offensive Line
Michael Jordan, who started at C in the Rose Bowl, will leave early for the NFL as an OT. LG Michael Pridgeon and RT Isaiah Prince, also will be departing as seniors. Thayer Munford is projected to return at LT, and RG Wyatt Davis, who will be a junior, also will return. Gavin Cupp, a junior next season projects as the possible starter at LG, while Josh Myers, a RS sophomore in 2019, will project to start at C. Nicholas Petit-Frere, a true sophomore, projects to step in at RT. Of course, all will get some competition for those spots in spring and fall camp. Look for Harry Miller, a 5 star C from Georgia, to get into the mix at C, and Ryan Jacoby, a 4 star from Mentor, Ohio, to get into the mix at the open OT spot. Doug Nester, a 4 star from Huntington, WV should get into the mix at OG in camp as well. 11 others who were not on the two deep will be in the mix in camp as well.

Defensive Line
Dre'Mont Jones has moved on early from his DT spot to the NFL, but there is plenty of talent returning up front for the Buckeyes in 2019. Chase Young and Jonathon Cooper should both be back at the DE spots, and Young led the team in TFLs in 2018 with 14.5. Tyreke Smith and Tyler Friday both should be back to back up Young, while Jashon Cornell is also back as the primary reserve behind Cooper, giving the Buckeyes one of the deepest sets of DEs in the nation. With Jones gone, Haskell Garrett and Taron Vincent should continue their competition into the season at DT, but both will play plenty in a rotation. Robert Landers and Davon Hamilton are both projected to return at NT, and will rotate with each other in the middle of the line. This unit should be one of the best in the nation in 2019 across the board.
The Buckeyes recruited solidly as well, with a pair of new DEs coming in, as well as one DT coming in the class as well. Look for Zach Hamilton to be the star of this class on the line at DE.

Linebackers
The Buckeyes should be rock solid here as well, as all three starters are projected to return in 2019 in Malik Harrison, Tuf Broland, and Pete Werner. This group combined for 25 TFLs on the season, and also combined for 207 tackles as a unit. Keandre Jones returns to back up Harrison, and Baron Browning and Justin Hilliard both return to back up Borland in the middle. The only question entering spring ball will be who will back up Werner? Dante Booker has moved on. Dallas Gant, a sophomore who recorded 6 total tackles, may get first crack, but incoming freshman Cade Stover may have some action there as well.

Secondary
Again, there is plenty of good news to go around, as every starter or player who was competing for time, is expected to return. Kendall Sheffield and Damon Arnette, Jr. are both back at CB, as is Jeffrey Okudah, who was competing with Arnette to start in the Rose Bowl. Shaun Wade and Marcus Williamson, who were battling to back up Sheffield, are also both projected to return to the Buckeyes at the CB spot.
Brendon White is back at FS, and Wade could see time here as well. Jordan fuller will be back at SS, with Amir Riep, Jahsen Wint, and Marcus Hooker all back to battle out for back up time there. The Buckeyes also have a pair of incoming freshmen at the Safety spot who could vie for rotational playing time in 2019, or could see a RS for action in 2020.

Special Teams
Sean Nuernberger is gone at PK, but Blake Haubeil, who battled with him all season, is back after hitting 10/13 FGs last fall. With the job in his hands, expect increased production out of Haubeil in 2019.
Drue Chrisman was rock solid at Punter last season, averaging over 43 yards per punt, and will return to handle the job next fall as well.
KJ Hill and CJ Saunders will both battle in camp again for the PR job, as both had a crack at it in 2018, but neither overwhelmed. Sevyn Banks, a sophomore in 2019, could sneak in and steal the job with a good run in spring or fall ball. Demario McCall could get a look here as well.
McCall will be back to return kicks, but his partner is gone in Dixon. Saunders or Hall could fill in the void.

2019 Projection
The Buckeyes will absolutely be set up to have one of the best defenses in the nation last season after several lapses occurred in 2018. Alex Grinch has moved on to Oklahoma as DC, so there will be some changes with the new staff to be seen, and some adjustments to be made. The talent will be there, and there will be no excuses this time if things don't go as planned, like during the Purdue and Maryland games, as well as some other spots.
Offensively, the Buckeyes have some big questions to answer at QB, WR, and along the line. This may be the major issue next fall if the Buckeyes fall short of winning the Big 10 title. With a new coach in Ryan Day, and the questions on the offensive side of the football, this is the big chance for Michigan, Penn State, and Maybe Michigan State, to finally get some shots in and take the East title away.