COLUMBUS, Ohio - Coming off of the first off week, this is a good time for Ryan Day and Ohio State to take a look at where they stand in terms of depth. Players who have been nagged by injuries are becoming healthy, guys who haven’t played are on the mend and looking for a return, and in general, this is the healthiest Ohio State will look all season besides the opening snap against Florida Atlantic.
“Yeah, a couple weeks to kind of heal up, and I think overall we are. We've played some depth this first six games, and so we've got a lot of guys out there, which is great, too, so we do have some depth at the positions,” Day said. “But like any team, six, seven weeks into the season, there are some different things, nagging injuries here and there, but overall we've been pretty healthy.”
With some of the injuries that have afflicted some starters and role players this season like Jonathon Cooper and C.J. Saunders, there have been big opportunities for the young players for Ohio State, namely freshman like Zach Harrison and Garrett Wilson, to step up and embrace the next man up mentality.
The idea of the next man up mentality isn’t something exclusive to Ohio State. Every team in every sport has to prepare for the unfortunate inevitability of injury. However, the way the college landscape has changed in recent years has resulted in younger players coming in more prepared because it’s likely some of them will only be there for three years. Freshmen aren’t having to rely on injuries to see the field anymore, though it certainly hasn’t hurt Wilson and Harrison’s snap counts having to pick up some slack with team captains missing time.
Players being more ready than they used to be is something Day and assistant athletic director Mark Pantoni have discussed, and at a program like Ohio State, it seems more likely that guys are coming in more prepared because they know they might not play for four seasons. It benefits Day to get these highly-rated recruits on the field as soon as he can to make an impact, because he probably won’t be able to have them for as long as he would like.
“I actually brought that up. We talked about it this morning. Talking with Mark Pantoni, I do think guys are more and more ready to come play. I think maybe physically, they're more ready more exposure to different things,” Day said. “But I do think, excuse me, now more than ever, guys are more ready to play. And in with the new four game rule, it's kind of forcing guys in there to play a little bit. They have this opportunity to get up there and prove themselves and then they can kind of grow from there and build from there. And I guess it's given them an opportunity to prove that they can play right away and that they do deserve reps and so I think it's a combination of those two things.”
That four game rule that allows players to play in up to four games without burning their redshirt allows coaches deeper analysis of their roster and gives them a chance to see whether the freshman can contribute immediately like Wilson or Harrison have or if they need more time to develop in Ohio State’s system.
With Wilson and Harrison both having burned their redshirts when the Buckeyes went to Nebraska, it was a clear move by the coaching staff that they won’t just be a part of the future for Ohio State, but that they are meant to be serious contributors this season. Depth appears to be abundant at defensive end right now and the wide receivers have been as effective as ever, but it just takes one injury to Chase Young or Austin Mack before freshmen are forced into as many snaps as a starter would get.
The flip side of the early injuries and blowouts, though, has meant that these young players are getting meaningful minutes, even in big game environments like Nebraska or Michigan State. If they have to step into a bigger role than what they have now, Day and the coaching staff is hoping that these early season reps have helped to prepare them for the rest of this season and beyond.
“Well, they've gotten a lot of reps. And so they are growing and they're developing and they should be because they've they've been playing more than maybe a typical freshman would, so yeah, I mean, the more reps they get, the better they're going to be,” Day said. “I think if they're getting reps and not getting better, that's, that's a concern. So yeah, but I do think a lot of those guys are coming on and getting those reps and now, you know, they're gonna have to prove that they're ready to play in the big time as we get into these tough environments.”