COLUMBUS, Ohio - The start of Ohio State's first spring practice under new head coach Ryan Day is still several weeks away but it is never too early to speculate about what the first pre-spring two-deep may look like under the first-year head coach. While the Buckeyes will return a lot of talent from a 13-1 team in 2018, several key performers will be gone, especially on the offensive side of the ball.
Even with the losses of Dwayne Haskins, Mike Weber, Parris Campbell, Terry McLaurin, Johnnie Dixon and most of the offensive line, there still will be a lot of players looking to step into those roles on the offensive side.
On the defensive side of the ball, there are not as many major holes to fill but that does not mean it will be easy to replace guys like Nick Bosa, Dre'mont Jones and Kendall Sheffield.
Not all of Ohio State's signing class will be able to take part in spring ball 2019 but a good share of the class is already on campus and chomping at the bit to get their first taste of college football, even if the season opener is still months away.
What do we think the pre-spring depth chart will look like? We asked that question internally and came up with this list. We will start with the defense today and turn our attention to the offense on Tuesday.
There are a lot of unknowns moving forward as Ohio State leaves the Urban Meyer-era and enters the Ryan Day-era. One thing that seems to be pretty safe is that Ohio State should employ a four-down front moving forward under the leadership of Greg Mattison and Jeff Hafley. Beyond that, there might be a lot of questions when it comes to how the back seven will line up and if Ohio State will remain a traditional 4-3 or move to a 4-2-5 or how certain linebacker duties shape up under the new defensive coaches moving forward and how the secondary may look in its base packages.
Chase Young led the Buckeyes with 15.5 tackles for loss and 10.5 sacks last season and will be back for what should be his final season with the Buckeyes in 2019. He will be flanked by Jonathon Cooper who had 2.5 sacks of his own last season but also really came on down the stretch as the Buckeyes took some time to figure out how to adjust with the void created by the loss of Bosa. Talented sophomores-to-be Tyreke Smith and Tyler Friday both saw playing time last year and had a chance to get through that first-year adjustment to the college game. Both flashed at times and this spring will be very important to the development of each of those young players. There will be a good amount of depth with experienced players like Jashon Cornell providing depth along with young guys including Javontae Jean-Baptiste along with incoming players like Zach Harrison all looking to make a mark.
Losing Dre'mont Jones inside will be a big loss but both Robert Landers and Davon Hamilton have plenty of experience in the college game and will give the Buckeyes a veteran-laden front on the interior line. Haskell Garrett has had the light come on as he really is starting to take to the speed of the college game while Tommy Togiai played a good amount of snaps as a true freshman as part of Ohio State's incredibly deep defensive tackle haul last season. Look for guys like Taron Vincent and Antwuan Jackson to push hard all season long to get their snaps as the Buckeyes under Larry Johnson will continue to roll players in and out and keep the line fresh for the four quarters of the game.
Will Ohio State's Sam and Will have the same responsibilities this year that they had last year or will Al Washington and the defensive staff look to flip things around? Regardless of the titles, there is a lot of talent in Ohio State's linebacker room and for one reason or another, the position did not always shine the way that Ohio State fans were accustomed to historically. Of all of the defensive positions, this will be the one that is watched the closest with Ohio State's legacy of great linebackers and how highly regarded all of these players on the roster were coming out of high school.
If there is one position that could see a 'blow-up, this is going to be the one. Ohio State did not lose anyone to graduation or the NFL out of the linebacker room and it would be hard to say going into the spring that we are going to see any changes in the staring lineup of Malik Harrison, Tuf Borland and Pete Werner. But don't sleep on the younger guys who were 'right there' with the veterans and will get a good look by the new defensive coaching staff.
Ohio State did lose Keandre Jones to transfer (to Maryland) so that does take a little bit of depth off the table but it would not come as a surprise if the coaching staff really tried to give a lot of reps to a lot of guys to really see who fits where, and why. One position change that we would like to see is moving Baron Browning back to an outside linebacker position and allowing him to use his natural talents at a position that he is better suited for.
The Buckeyes lose both coaches that were working with the defensive backs last season with the departures of Greg Schiano and Taver Johnson and welcome in Jeff Hafley, a coach who has spent the last several seasons in the NFL working with players like Richard Sherman. Ohio State has prided itself on being DBU for many years now and last year seemed to be a bit of an outlier, or at least that is what Ohio State fans are hoping for.
Ohio State got some welcomed and potentially unexpected news when both Jordan Fuller and Damon Arnette both announced their intentions to return to Ohio State rather than enter the NFL Draft for 2019. That gives the Buckeyes a couple of veteran players in the mix while a slew of young players continues to push for playing time.
Will Ohio State look to roll three corners this season? What about at safety? Once again, we are predicting a depth chart without knowing what Ohio State's intentions are at a position group. Ohio State certainly has the depth to be more of a 4-2-5 team if that is the decision that is made moving forward but for now we will look at what a traditional 4-3 alignment would provide.
Jeffrey Okudah may have been Ohio State's most consistent corner down the stretch while Damon Arnette had his ups-and-downs. You have to pencil Arnette as a starter at this point but Shaun Wade inserted himself as that third corner and could back up either corner and see a good amount of playing time once the season gets here. Tyreke Johnson has been listed as a safety but has corner skills. Could this spring be the time that they move him out of a crowded safety room and into a corner room that needs some players to step up. Marcus Williamson has been working to be 100-percent healthy and is another candidate for playing time moving forward while young players Sevyn Banks and Cam Brown both have received some rave reviews as they have adjusted to the college game.
There is no doubt that Jordan Fuller is in a position to be a leader on this defense and on this team and Brendon White has proven that he also is cut from that same mold as he moved up from back-up to starter as the year went on. There will be some interesting battles for that second-team duty however and we like Amir Riep and Josh Proctor to hold off a talented room. Isaiah Pryor and Jahsen Wint both have experience as well and won't give up the spot without a fight.
