COLUMBUS, Ohio — As practice wrapped up on a recent Thursday morning, familiar faces from Ohio State’s 2014 championship run sprang up all around the Buckeyes’ indoor practice facility. Ezekiel Elliott, the speedy tailback who ran all over Alabama and Oregon, held court with a throng of reporters. Cardale Jones, the quarterback who won three trophies in three starts, sat on a bench in conversation. J.T. Barrett, Jones’ predecessor and Heisman top-five finisher before to breaking his ankle, lingered on the field to get in a few more throws. All three are so engrained in the college football landscape that it’s hard to believe how anonymous they still were at the start of the current school year. Elliott was a touted recruit who’d played sparingly as a freshman. Barrett was the unknown redshirt freshman who’d soon be thrust into duty as injured star Braxton Miller’s replacement. Jones, future postseason sensation, was known solely for a two-year-old tweet. And as recently as last December, the Buckeyes were nobody’s pick to even play for, much less win, last year’s national championship. Now, they go through spring practices knowing they’re the far-and-away 2015 favorite. “Last year, we were kind of the underdogs a lot of the time, which I like being,” Barrett said. “I like people counting us out. But now, people are definitely going to be coming at us even harder than last year…
Continue Reading: Ohio State's new problem: Everyone expects Buckeyes to repeat in 2015
