COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Buckeyes have run through their allotted 15 spring practices and by all all accounts, it was a strong spring performance by Ryan Day's team. It culminated with the annual spring game, a contest that more than 61-thousand fans took part of as the Gray defeated the Scarlet and gave everyone a chance to see some new faces in some new roles.
That does not mean that we know exactly what a depth chart will look like with many key players being held out of contact drills for the spring. It did give everyone the opportunity to see what the future will look like as many young players made the most out of their opportunities on the field and in practice to show why they are too good to sit as this first-year staff tries to put everything together.
What might a depth chart look like on the offensive side of the ball? The Buckeyes lost a lot with the loss of a record-setting quarterback, one half of its running back tandem, three talented wide receivers and four offensive linemen? You would think the cupboard would be pretty bare with all of that attrition, but that is not the case. We take a stab at what things look like.
Fields and Baldwin, Baldwin and Fields? How will the quarterback battle shape up? It looks like Fields will be the guy but that is not without seeing a lot of great things out of Matthew Baldwin this spring. There is talk from the coaching staff that everyone will need to play but that is always a challenge at the quarterback position. One thing to keep in mind, the running style of Justin Fields will lend itself to him taking more hits than his predecessor did and because of that, the Buckeyes razor-thin depth at the position will always be in a precarious position as the team only carries three scholarship signal callers. Chris Chugunov will be the third-teamer and likely will only see some mop-up duty along the way.
Running back is pretty straightforward. Nobody is going to pass up JK Dobbins who has back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons under his belt and is looking to make it three-for-three. Dobbins did not see a lot of action during the spring game but really did not need to as a known quantity. Behind him, will Demario McCall be healthy enough to see prolonged action? He was dinged up in the spring and because of that saw Master Teague and Marcus Crowley get more snaps. McCall has always been one to show home-run ability but just has never found his way to the field for more than some spot duty. It is critical for McCall to have a good offseason and be right for the start of spring practice. Teague showed a lot during the spring and has been a more than capable back-up to this point of his career while Crowley is one of Ohio State's early enrollees that is looking to climb up the depth chart.
What will the H position look like under Ryan Day? KJ Hill may not look like what most people envision an H to look like but he has proven to be one of Ohio State's most sure-handed guys and a player that can be counted on in any situation. Jaelen Gill may look more like the mold that most people see when they envision an H back and there is a lot of excitement around the talented back as he gets ready to go into this season. C.J. Saunders continues to make plays in spot situations and is one of the success stories when it comes to former walk-ons finding their way onto scholarship with hard work and determination and Saunders even ups the ante more by playing and contributing within the game. It is a deep position.
You would think that there should be major concern around the receiver position with the losses of Campbell, McLaurin and Dixon. While nobody would turn them away if they suddenly were to be allowed to play another season, the room is deep with talent and potential. Will this be the year that Binjimen Victor is able to show some true consistency? He has moments where he flashes and looks like a top-flight receiver and then at other moments he regresses back into some previous struggles. All accounts out of spring are that he has really started to put things together and we should see a much more polished Victor. He is going to be backed up by one of the brightest freshmen stars on the Ohio State roster with Garrett Wilson. It is tough to put too much pressure on a true freshman at this point of his career but losing the black stripe as early as he did, the great catch in the spring game and all of the praise are only part of the story when it comes to what Wilson has brought so far. Look for big things here in year one.
Austin Mack comes back off of a season-ending injury from last season to retake his position at Z receiver. He should become a favorite target of either Fields or Baldwin this year and we should see no interruption when it comes to the steady improvement that Mack has made so far through his Ohio State career. Chris Olave stepped into that role when Mack was injured and caught three touchdowns between the Michigan and Northwestern games. He will only be better with a year of offseason work under his belt and continues to be another bright star in Ohio State's future.
At the tight end position, it really is a four-headed monster but Luke Farrell has done enough to pull ahead of the group and be the obvious starter at the position. Farrell is not going to be one that jumps off the page as being a star at one thing or another, but he just does everything right and has proven to be a useful piece of the offense in many facets. Rashod Berry and Jeremy Ruckert will battle for that second-team spot, each doing certain things well. Ruckert will be the future star of the position but Berry has been within the system for many years and has the experience edge, at least from the Ohio State program, over Ruckert. Jake Hausmann has had some moments where he has appeared to break out of whatever is holding him back but still needs to show more consistency.
Offensive line is going to be incredibly important, but that can be a constant for any program during any year. The Buckeyes lost a lot from last year but did have the benefit of a couple of players getting a few spot starts along the way so it won't be the same as trying to break in four new starters across the line.
Thayer Munford was held out of spring practice in terms of a physical standpoint and there are some concerns how his back is coming along. That left tackle position is his but he needs to get healthy and while he has a chance before the grind of the season wears him down. Joshua Alabi is the logical backup here and will be there if the need arises. He was more than capable during the Rose Bowl against Washington and gives the Buckeyes a veteran presence at the position should the need arise.
Left guard is going to be an interesting watch. Rutgers graduate transfer Jonah Jackson is coming into the program at the start of summer and you know someone is not going to make that kind of move without an idea that they are going to be a starter. That does not mean anything is just going to be handed to Jackson, but he is a former All-Big Ten performer and was one of the few bright spots on the Rutgers line last year. Branden Bowen has proven he can play both inside and outside for the Buckeyes and we will have him on the depth chart as a back-up inside if needed, but we also have him penciled in as a starter at tackle. That would mean that Gavin Cupp would really need to step it up and fill that role as the back-up to Jackson if the Buckeyes opt to go that way. Cupp has made a lot of strides here as of late but is it enough for the two-deep?
There was some thought that Jackson could come in and play center and the Buckeyes could then fill in around him at guard. The play and growth of Josh Myers has really made that a non-issue has he really has locked down that center spot and appears to be next in line of a great tradition of Ohio State offensive centers. There were some concerns among fans that Myers was not coming along quickly enough and how that move necessitated a position change from Michael Jordan just a year ago. Have no fear, Myers is ready to go and has the potential to be mentioned alongside former great recent centers like Billy Price and Pat Elflein. Matthew Jones is now in the back-up spot and is really starting to come on as of late. He is going to need to keep pushing as highly-rated Harry Miller enrolls in the summer and will be in the depth at center as well.
Right guard will be locked down by Wyatt Davis, a former five-star that had a lot of potential but just took some time to breakthrough. He was pressed into service last year when Demetrius Knox was lost for the year at the end of the Michigan game and Davis looks like a player who has played many more snaps than he actually has. He has played on some big stages already in his short starting career with Ohio State and should be an anchor at his position. Behind him, we have freshman Ryan Jacoby. The Buckeyes are thin on depth and while Jacoby is very talented, it does show how the Buckeyes are thinned out in the OL room and have little margin for injury on the interior line at guard.
We have put Branden Bowen at the right tackle position. Remember back to when he was starting in 2017, pre-injury and how he was listed as a starting guard but the third-tackle. He really has the body frame of a tackle and we can see more success for the elder statesmen of the line on the outside. If something happens at guard, there is a chance that he could move inside and fill that role with a mastery but the Buckeyes look to be their best with him outside. Nicholas Petit-Frere has been working hard to break into the lineup and we think he has done enough to get into the two-deep. He is still working on keeping weight on and he did have a few moments where he struggled in the spring game. He has a strong work ethic and will spend the summer breaking down what went wrong and how to correct that as he will be just a play away from being a starter.
