Archives for June 2019

Depth Chart: Offensive Line

June 12, 2019 by Leave a Comment

The Slobs are a pivotal group on every team, but for Ohio State, it could make or break the offensive scheme and what the team wants to do.  Considering what they had lost coming into the offseason, this group had so many questions after the bulk of their experienced players left for an NFL futures.

In a time where a new quarterback will lead the offensive huddle, the O-Line is leaned on to block and help him make the adjustments throughout the game.  This years team will have to learn together after losing their starting Center Michael Jordan, Left Guard Malcolm Pridgeon, Right Tackle Isaiah Prince and then there is the Right Guard Demetrious Knox to the pros.  It is definitely a bunch of huge shoes to fill, but I think the talent remaining in the room and the talent coming into the fold will surely be up to the task during the Ryan Day era.

After the exits, the few Slobs that are left still have the potential to pick up where the others left off at.  Thayer Munford and Josh Alabi operated well at Left Tackle a season ago, Brandon Bowen was a great blocker at Right Guard before being taken out with a devastating leg injury, and Wyatt Davis blocked well in starting duties at Right Guard after Knox was injured late into the season.  The one player to watch would the Grad Transfer Jonah Jackson who came in after a stellar career at Rutgers leaving them as an Honorable All-Big Ten performer.  Jackson will have to adjust to the team scheme, but he looks to be a plug and play type of player after it is all said and done.

Behind them are players who operated while in mop-up duties, but this is surely a talented group headlined by a trio former five-stars in OT Nicholas Petite-Frere, OL Harry Miller, and OC Josh Myers.  Then there are a ton of high-end players that could contribute right away like Gavin Cupp, Ryan Jacoby, Dawand Jones, Matt Jones, Max Wray, and Vimahi Enokk.  Walk-ons like Nathan Brock, Jack Jamieson, Brandon Pahl, and Kevin Woidke are also viable options and the needed depth to help develop the scholarship players.

The beauty about Coach Stud’s players is that they are interchangeable and they play where they fit–they will play the best five blockers and players regardless of their position.  That is the beauty about the incoming 2020 class, they are mostly Offensive Tackles, but Coach Stud is pitching the idea of them playing all over the line.  Headlined by five-star Paris Johnson Jr, he is joined by four-star OC Luke Wypler and a trio of highly talented three-stars, Trey Leroux, Jakob James, and recent Penn State flip Grant Toutant.  They may or may not be done, but they could be picky with the one or two players left on their board.

The talent and depth that is building in this room is a great, competitive situation for the coaches to build upon and it is a great opportunity for the players currently in the rooms and for the inbound ones to develop against players of similar skillsets and talent.  Iron sharpens iron and with the horses opposite of them, it will be fun to see the trenches strengthen each other for years to come.

Below isn’t set in stone, but I am just going off of experience and potential at specific positions.  To me, the starters are solid, but they could be unseated by the younger players during summer camps, Friday Night Light and then fall camp, so buckle up Buckeye fans!  It will be a grind for the slobs up until the season begins.

Projected Depth Chart:

LT:  Thayer Munford, Branden Bowen, Kevin Woidke

LG:  Jonah Jackson, Josh Alabi, Ryan Jacoby, Nathan Brock

OC:  Josh Myers, Matt Jones, Harry Miller, Jack Jamieson

RG:  Wyatt Davis, Gavin Cupp, Vimahi Enokk, Brandon Pahl

RT:  Nicholas Petite-Frere, Max Wray, Dawand Jones

Future OL:  2020, Paris Johnson Jr, Luke Wypler, Jakob James, Trey Leroux, and Grant Toutant.

Filed Under: B1G Football, College Football, College Football Recruiting, NFL Draft, Ohio State Football, Site News

Depth Chart: Tight End

June 11, 2019 by Leave a Comment

If I could think of a position at Ohio State that is key, but is usually an afterthought, I would say Tight End.  That isn’t a bad thing at all, so don’t misjudge my opening statement, but with all that talent, they are often underutilized in the passing game, but when they are used, it is like a punch that you cannot see.

Coach Wilson, the former Indiana head coach takes ownership of this group and he teaches them the importance of preparation and toughness to play without touching the football–which to me is very, very important in the Ohio State grand scheme of things.  Think about it–without the Tight Ends sealing the edges or splitting out into the slot that is one less matchup nightmare for opposing defenses to worry about.  Yes, they are barely called upon, but later in the 2018 season, they had a larger role and the players made the best out of their opportunities when called upon.

With 2019, I feel like the offense will evolve and this room will see an uptick in usage and see more opportunities in the passing game.  The room did not lose a player from a season ago and Rashod Berry will be the clear leader in this group with a lot of talent behind him.  A former number one player at his position in Jeremy Ruckert, Jake Hausmann and Luke Farrell make up the room with Cormontae Hamilton joining the team during the summer is quite the room, filled with high-end talent with an underrated, team-first player like Hamilton coming into the fold.  And let us not forget the walk-on Brock Davin, who gives us more depth and flexibility to the Tight End room.

Like I stated earlier, this room is often underused, but the work we don’t see in the blocking game is a crucial piece of this offensive scheme that adds a ton of value to the offense.  So what if they don’t get the stats, the heart of this room is evident and to me, they are as valuable as the offensive linemen.

Berry is often used as a lead blocker, playing in the long forgotten Fullback position.  He excels at it and he and Hausmann often hurt the defenses downfield for huge chunks per reception and I think the gameplan for this season is to unleash the pass-catchers at the position.  At a school like Ohio State, the position is usually not a part of a defensive gameplan, but it could be used to open up the offense and throw defenses off when the elements and the field conditions line up.

I could see Wilson pounding the table for his guys this year to bring more balance to the offense.  If it happens or if it doesn’t, it won’t affect the work ethic of these players entrenched in the Buckeye culture.  The players in this room are the unsung heroes of the offense and often the forgotten bunch, but their team-first attitudes will elevate their play of the other positional groups.  Here is to hoping the Stoneburner shot plays resurface.

Projected Depth Chart:

TE 1:  Rashod Berry, Luke Farrell

TE 2:  Jake Hausmann, Jeremy Ruckert

TE 3:  Cormontae Hamilton, Brock Davin

Future TE’s:  No committed players.

Filed Under: B1G Football, College Football, College Football Recruiting, Ohio State Football, Site News

Depth Chart: Wide Receiver

June 10, 2019 by Leave a Comment

The Wide Receiver room at Ohio State is arguably one of the deepest and the most talented positional groups on the roster.  It boasts an impressive collection of high four-star players, a few five-stars and a lot of underrated three-star athletes and players that have found the position that suits their skills.  Former WR coach Zach Smith had quite the hauls prior to his departure, but now former player and now Coach Brian Hartline is looking to improve the quality and the production of players in his room in 2019 and beyond.

Fast forward to the 2019 season, after losing not one, not two, but three team captains at the wide receiver position in Johnnie Dixon, Terry Mclaurin and Parris Campbell–how would this team fare without that leadership element from the more seasoned members of the team?  It is truly a deep void to fill, but all is not lost this season because there are trio capable members that could grow into the leaders this offseason in K.J. Hill, Austin Mack, and Binjimen Victor.

Early on, the had to grow with and under the wings of the three that have recently departed for the NFL, but this year they will be leading the charge.  Hill, a fifth-year senior has the most experience and he even turned down an NFL shot in favor of being “the go-to guy” at Ohio State and to possibly grab a few records in his last season in the Scarlet and Gray.

Both Austin Mack and Binjimen Victor are returning for their senior seasons at Ohio State and they will try to go out with a bang.  Mack was seriously hurt following the Purdue loss and he will look for a bounce-back type of season without the help of his former roommate Dwayne Haskins.  He will take the field with Justin Fields or Gunnar Hoak so there is a lot of work to do with new signal-callers on the roster.

With Victor, he had an up and down season, but he turned it on late into the season with a spectacular game-saving grab and a little RAC to set-up Hill’s game-winning TD to stun Happy Valley in another thriller to the rivalry.  Victor among the three potential leaders in the room is the least vocal player in the room, look for him to develop more as a vocal leader through the offseason and well into the season.

Behind the next big three are a slew of talented and yet forgotten prized recruits that could shine in limited action.  The players that immediately come to mind are Elijah Gardiner and Jaylen Harris, two big-bodied receivers that have been waiting for their time to shine.  Then there is the legend himself Chris Olave and incoming five-star signee Garrett Wilson, who just barely scratched the surface of their potentials. Close behind them are Kamryn Babb and Cameron Brown, who are all speed burners.  Unfortunately, Babb suffered another major injury, but the staff can turn his situation into another feel good, Dixon-like story (which would be awesome!), so keep fighting kid!

After that is a collection of walk-ons with C.J. Saunders leading after defeating the odds.  Even after losing Blue Smith and Garyn Prater to Cincinnati, the walk-ons are still good players.  Alec Koch, Austin Kutscher, De’Shawn White, and Sam Wiglusz.  There is also Craig Young, who was recruited as an Athlete, so you never know if he will break through and earn some reps at receiver.

Looking into the future, the 2020 receiver group is headlined with another five-star stud in Fleming, who is the #1 at his position in the nation.  Scott Jr and Smith-Njigba are also no slouches either.  The 2020 class is looking pretty deep with one or two more possibilities left.  The 2021 class has no one committed, but that could change after they added Marvin Harrison Jr’s high school QB, but you never know, but the future is really bright with Hartline leading this groups development.

This is definitely the room that generates the most excitement, especially with the potential of Day’s offensive mind at the helm.  This room will have to step up and learn fast, but all signs point to the Zone 6 group kicking it up a notch.  Go Bucks!

Projected Depth Chart:

WR 1:  Binjimen Victor, Jaylen Harris, Cameron Brown

WR 2:  Austin Mack, Garrett Wilson, Elijah Gardiner

Slot:  K.J. Hill, Chris Olave, C.J. Saunders

WR 4:  Alec Koch, Austin Kutscher, De’Shawn White, Sam Wiglusz

Future WR’s:  2020:  Julian Fleming, Gee Scott Jr, Jaxon Smith-Njigba.

Filed Under: B1G Football, College Football, College Football Recruiting, NFL, NFL Draft, Ohio State Football, Site News

Depth Chart: Running Backs

June 1, 2019 by Leave a Comment

The Running Back or the Cadillac position will be the next to analyze and it hasn’t gone through a ton of drama and it surely wasn’t as festive as the previous positional group.  Yes, they lost Mike Weber to the 2019 NFL Draft and Brian Snead to an eventual transfer out of Ohio State, but the depth is still solid and laced with talented players that could put spare reps to good use with what I see could be a more balanced attack offensively.

JK Dobbins would re-assume the throne as the feature back in 2019.  He will look to potentially raise his NFL Draft stock this season and if all goes well, but I do not think that is his main concern at this point of the off-season.  He will look to secure his legacy as a Buckeye, as a member of Tote Nation as he fine tunes his body for what could be a Heisman type of season.  He could leave, but he also could stay and that is difficult to predict without any games in the books, so we will just have to wait it out and see how it would turn out.

Behind Dobbins is another generation of beast Running Backs.  Redshirt Junior Demario McCall is the most seasoned players on the roster.  He has been through many injury-plagued seasons while at Ohio State, but he stuck with it and fought through his battles with adversity.  McCall is listed as a Running Back, but I could see him at the H-Back position with Jaelin Gill, which is a pretty good one-two punch at the most critical positions at Ohio State.

The true heirs to Dobbins’ room would be a pair of young studs, Master Teague and Marcus Crowley.  Teague with the limited touches a season ago, proved that he could hang with the big boys.  He has the burst and the strength to shed or run over would-be tacklers.  He could be an asset to spell Dobbins when needed.  Crowley is a monster back with a frame to destroy defenders.  Watching his high school highlights was crazy because yes, he had the strength, but when he outran the defenses?  I am excited for this kid to come into his own.

There are also a ton of talented walk-on players as well with Robert Cope, Amari McMahon, and Mitch Rossi learning under Tony Alford under the Tote Nation mantra.  This roster is absolutely loaded at the position and we would see a healthy distribution of carries as the season progresses, even for the walk-ons.  My biggest concern would be the transfer portal curse and the patience of these kids.  The Buckeyes have been hit hard at quarterback and I am hopeful that these kids have the grit and patience to wait it out.

The depth chart is easy to predict with Dobbins re-establishing himself as the feature back with Teague and Crowley as the clear back-ups.  The trio of walk-ons would assume third-stringer duties, but they could be used if games get out of hand.  The H-Backs would be McCall and Gill, but they are interchangeable and I could see them rotate between RB 2 and H-Back, depending on the situation.

It should be a fun season with an explosive Buckeye offense and we aren’t even talking about the Zone 6 or Tight End rooms yet!  Day will begin the season with high expectations, but I know he is ready for the challenge.

Projected Depth Chart:

RB 1:  JK Dobbins

RB 2:  Master Teague/Marcus Crowley/Demario McCall

RB 3:  Robert Cope/Amari McMahon/Mitch Rossi

H-Back:  Demario McCall/Jaelin Gill

Future RB’s:  None currently committed.

Filed Under: B1G Football, College Football, College Football Recruiting, Ohio State Football, Site News