0 Shares Print During the NFL draft, more than a few pundits pointed out the absence of selections from Ohio State. The Buckeyes ended up with a respectable five picks — best in the Big Ten — but none in the first round and just two in the first three rounds. While that initially seemed like a slight on the 2014 national champions, what it actually meant was college football should have a unanimous pick as 2015 preseason No. 1. The Buckeyes welcome back 15 position player starters as well as their kicker and punter from the team that shocked Alabama and Oregon in the College Football Playoff. But it’s not just about starters coming back. It’s quality. Everyone knows that Ohio State has three proven, A-list quarterbacks who have won big games as starters, but it also has five players that Todd McShay already is projecting as 2016 first-round picks, topped by All-America defensive lineman Joey Bosa. So this is an experienced team that wasn’t hit by an NFL talent drain after it won a national title. Ah, assessing the annual talent drain. It’s the inexact science we use in college football to evaluate teams and conferences in the preseason in order to speculate on how good the former and how deep the latter might be. Counting returning starters is a popular way to measure a team’s or conference’s potential in the preseason, but it also has limited scope. Vanderbilt’s 18 returning starters won’t scare anyone, nor will Wake Forest’s 16. TCU’s 14 returning starters (we’re using returning starter numbers compiled by Phil Steele here) from a 12-1 team, however, will raise a few eyebrows and likely provide a consensus No. 2, while Alabama doesn’t stand to receive too much of a demotion with just 11 starters back, nor will Oregon with 12. But how about we explore this at more macro level, evaluating the talent retention/drain by conference? After all, you are probably well-versed on who is coming back on your team. What about the depth of your conference and other Power 5 conferences competing for spots in the CFP? Pac-12 Returning starters (13.9): 7.6 offense; 6.3 defense; 7/12 QBs First-team all-conference returning (6*): 3 offense; 3 defense NFL draft (39): 3.3 picks per team; 9 first-round picks; 25 picks in first three rounds Analysis: The Pac-12 ties the Big 12 for highest average per team of returning starters, and the conference is again expected to be extremely deep in 2015. As many as seven teams are candidates for preseason rankings, and teams in the bottom third, such as California and Colorado, look — on paper — to be much improved…
Continue Reading: Reviewing 2015 talent drain among Power 5
