Seniors with final shot to stand out: Offense

Waiting your turn is no uncommon fate at Ohio State.

With some of the nation’s top talent populating each position room, younger players have to cut their teeth before coming out the other end ready to make plays toward the back half of their Buckeye tenure.

But entering a final season in scarlet and gray, there’s no more time to wait for some Buckeye seniors on offense. Whether they have yet to see meaningful playing time, haven’t impressed when they have or simply underperformed expectations so far, these Buckeyes are on their last chance to make an impact for Ohio State in 2020.

The lack of use the Ohio State offense has had for Demario McCall in the last four years makes it easy to forget that the North Ridgeville, Ohio, native was the No. 2-ranked all-purpose back in the class of 2016.

McCall wasn’t far from being a top 50 overall prospect coming out of high school, but since then, he hasn’t even topped the 270 yards he gained on the ground as a true freshman.

His number seemed to be called a few weeks before the start of the 2019 season, when running backs coach Tony Alford said McCall would likely be the Buckeyes’ backup at the position, but he was quickly usurped by Master Teague, and finished the year with the sixth-most carries on the team.

The Buckeyes have tried using McCall’s talents in the kick and punt return game, but he hasn’t shown many flashes of brilliance in that realm either.

After the team’s first spring practice session, Ryan Day said McCall would be used at wide receiver in his fifth season in the program, but the subsequent injury to Teague made it more likely he would switch back over.

McCall still has a year to exhibit his skillset on the field, but if he is to vindicate his status as a highly sought after prospect, McCall has no choice but to make plays in 2020.

The jury is still out on whether or not wide receiver C.J. Saunders has been approved to return for his sixth year at Ohio State, but if he is, Saunders has the chance to add a few more on-field highlights to a career full of inspiring off-field moments.

A knee injury kept Saunders out of the entire 2019 season, but that didn’t stop him from carrying out his duties as team captain and delivering a fiery halftime speech that helped galvanize the trailing Buckeyes during the Big Ten Championship.

Saunders received vocal support from teammates after being arrested during protests around campus in June, and the 5-foot-10 wideout didn’t miss the team’s return to the Woody Hayes Athletic Center for the return to workouts June 8.

But Saunders claims only 27 catches in his Buckeye career, a total that would be nice for him to add to before he’s officially out of the program.

There was talk last season that Saunders could be used as an H-back or even in the return game, and it will be interesting to see if that’s still the case if he does return for one last go.

The time has been spent and the dues have been paid for wide receiver Jaylen Harris, but it hasn’t resulted in many on-field results.

Harris, the No. 33 receiver in the class of 2017, has caught just five passes in the past three years at Ohio State, remaining low on the depth chart while several veteran receiver groups put their mark on the program.

Now Harris is the veteran, but the 6-foot-5 wideout is dangerously close to being lapped by a slew of talented underclassmen at the position.

The Cleveland Heights native is physically the biggest receiver on the team, but his NFL size has not yet translated to big plays for the Buckeyes.

Harris could step up and show his development in 2020, or he could remain a noncontributor on offense. Either way, the wait to see what imprint Harris could have on the program is nearing its end.

It’s Trey Sermon’s first season in Columbus, but his last to register a 1,000-yard season in the college ranks before making a run at a career in the professional ranks.

Sermon seemed destined for a big year in 2019, as he was fresh off of 13 touchdowns and 947 yards as the Sooners’ leading ballcarrier the year before.

But his stablemate Kennedy Brooks averaged an absurd 8.9 yards per game in the same season, and saw the benefits in ’19 as he was given over 100 more carries than Sermon. Injuries did not help Sermon, who played in just 10 games and finished the year with less than 400 yards and only four touchdowns.

It was a setback season for the No. 10-rated running back in the class of 2017, but Sermon gets a fresh coat of paint with the Buckeyes, who sorely need his services as potential starter at the position after losing J.K. Dobbins.

A standout season in a prolific offense that is certain to give him more touches than he got a year ago will do wonders for Sermon’s draft stock and national notoriety, but after three years in Oklahoma, he won’t have the luxury of a long adjustment period with Ohio State before he’ll be expected to produce.