Many college football fans and experts anticipated Ohio State running to—and through—the College Football Playoff in 2015, but head coach Urban Meyer’s loaded team failed to defend its title and live up to the hype. And after losing 16 starters—11 of whom were taken in the NFL draft last week—expectations for the 2016 campaign aren’t nearly as high. There’s certainly optimism among the Buckeyes despite returning only three starters on each side of the ball, and in fact, it’s those starters who are the biggest reason for hope. Offensively, the Buckeyes will be strong up the middle with center Pat Elflein (who’s transitioning from right guard), left guard Billy Price and quarterback J.T. Barrett all back for another year. The Buckeyes’ coaching staff is using those three as the foundation for what it’s building on offense—which will move at a much faster pace than it has in the past this fall. “The two things that you sleep good at night are when Pat Elflein’s your center and J.T. Barrett’s your quarterback,” co-offensive coordinator Ed Warinner said, according to Tony Gerdeman of The-Ozone.net. “You sleep good at night.” On the other side of the ball, Ohio State returns a starter at every level of its defense with defensive end Tyquan Lewis, middle linebacker Raekwon McMillan and cornerback Gareon Conley in the fold. McMillan’s presence is particularly vital because he serves as the natural leader in the middle…
Author: Bleacher Report
COLUMBUS, Ohio — When ESPN announced its slate of prime-time Big Ten games for the 2016 season on Monday, Urban Meyer likely had a hard time hiding his smile. Ohio State will play in at least four prime-time conference games this season, with the possibility—or perhaps likelihood—that the Big Ten Network will be adding another game under the lights to the Buckeyes’ 2016 slate. Add in a Week 3 showdown at Oklahoma that will possess no shortage of national interest, and it’s conceivable half of Ohio State’s upcoming regular schedule will consist of night games. Which is just the way that Meyer likes it. “I love tradition,” Meyer said in 2013 during an appearance on the Buckeye Cruise for Cancer. “But I love recruiting better.” But beyond the obvious recruiting advantages of playing in a prime-time spot on a consistent basis, ESPN’s choice to prop up the Buckeyes as the Big Ten’s most prominent team is telling from a big-picture perspective as well. For all the talk of Jim Harbaugh’s ascent at Michigan and the reality of Michigan State having won two of the past three Big Ten titles, it’s still Ohio State that finds itself as the conference’s top draw, despite the departures of 16 starters from last year’s team, including 12 NFL draft picks and five first-rounders. “We’re not going to change our standards, and that was a message all week to our players,” Meyer said following the Buckeyes’ spring game last month. “We certainly don’t lower…
Ohio State’s 2016 NFL draft class, headlined by No. 3 overall pick Joey Bosa and No. 4 Ezekiel Elliott, was historically great as it accounted for five of the first 20 picks and 10 selections in the first three rounds. The Buckeyes’ 2017 NFL haul won’t be nearly as impressive. That should be a given, of course, as Urban Meyer’s young squad is replacing 16 total starters this fall. And with only six scholarship seniors on the roster, it would be incredibly surprising if many non-seniors pulled the trigger and made an early jump to the NFL. These three players, though, could hear their names in the 2017 draft. Raekwon McMillan, Linebacker Ohio State’s top NFL prospect next spring will be middle linebacker Raekwon McMillan. The former 5-star prospect was rated the No. 1 inside linebacker for the class of 2014, and with another solid season in Columbus, he could be one of the top backers in next year’s draft. McMillan was solid in his freshman season, playing in a heavy rotation as a reserve behind Curtis Grant. He logged 54 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss and an interception that he returned for a touchdown against Maryland. A year later, as the lone starter in a top-10 defense, he led the team with 119 total tackles to complement four tackles for loss. He was named to the All-Big Ten First Team defense by the media and second team by the coaches. With another year as the star and anchor of Ohio State’s defense, the true junior’s draft stock should only…
The Ohio State Buckeyes produced a historically loaded 2016 NFL draft class, setting a league record with 10 players selected in the first three rounds Thursday and Friday. Chris Fallica of ESPN’s College GameDay reported on the milestone. The record ninth selection came on the Houston Texans’ pick of quarterback-turned-receiver Braxton Miller at 85th overall. Defensive tackle Adolphus Washington preceded Miller at No. 80 to the Buffalo Bills, and tight end Nick Vannett was the last to go Friday at 94th overall to the Seattle Seahawks. Patrick Brown of the Times Free Press reported Ohio State’s elite crop of talent matched the USC Trojans’ 2008 draft class and the Tennessee Volunteers’ 2000 class with seven players chosen in Rounds 1 and 2. Versatile edge-rusher Joey Bosa kicked off the proceedings as the No. 3 overall pick to the San Diego Chargers on Thursday evening. Stud running back Ezekiel Elliott then went to the Dallas Cowboys at No. 4 overall. Cornerback Eli Apple made it three Ohio State players within the first 10 picks when the New York Giants brought him aboard at No. 10. Before the first round expired, two more Buckeyes came off the board, beginning with Taylor Decker at 16th overall to the Detroit Lions, while Darron Lee went 20th overall to the New York Jets. Lee is a playmaking linebacker who should plug into a formidable front seven in New York. But Friday showed off the depth of a special OSU bunch that produced a national…
The Ohio State Buckeyes produced a historically loaded 2016 NFL draft class, tying a league record with seven players selected in the first two rounds Thursday and Friday. Patrick Brown of the Times Free Press reported the news, indicating Ohio State’s elite crop of talent matched the USC Trojans’ 2008 draft class and the Tennessee Volunteers’ 2000 class. Versatile edge-rusher Joey Bosa kicked off the proceedings as the No. 3 overall pick to the San Diego Chargers on Thursday evening. Stud running back Ezekiel Elliott then went to the Dallas Cowboys at No. 4 overall. Cornerback Eli Apple made it three Ohio State players within the first 10 picks when the New York Giants brought him aboard at No. 10. Before the first round expired, two more Buckeyes came off the board, beginning with Taylor Decker at 16th overall to the Detroit Lions, while Darron Lee went 20th overall to the New York Jets. Lee is a playmaking linebacker who should plug into a formidable front seven in New York. But Friday showed off the depth of a special OSU bunch that produced a national championship before leaving Columbus, Ohio, en masse. Michael Thomas was the New Orleans Saints’ choice to replace the franchise’s all-time leading receiver, Marques Colston, at 47th overall as a big-bodied target on the outside. Finally, safety Vonn Bell joined Thomas in New Orleans after the Saints traded with the New England Patriots to move up and acquire him. Thomas was pleased to see Bell remain his…
Ohio State had five of its former players selected in the first round of the NFL draft on Thursday night, when defensive end Joey Bosa, running back Ezekiel Elliott, cornerback Eli Apple, left tackle Taylor Decker and linebacker Darron Lee were all off the board within the first 20 selections. That mass exodus of talent—Decker was the only graduated senior of the group above—has left an enormous void in the Buckeyes’ 2016 roster. Head coach Urban Meyer has already begun the process of reloading for another title run this fall, though. That process started immediately after Ohio State dispatched Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl and the underclassmen declared for the draft. Winter conditions gave a number of Buckeyes the opportunity to shine, and spring camp is where these five players, in particular, showcased they were ready to step into the spotlight. Begin Slideshow
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Urban Meyer squirmed, the mere mention of all of Ohio State’s outgoing talent giving him an apparent rush of anxiety. So when the Buckeyes head coach went ahead and answered a question about how his team’s plentiful presence at Thursday’s NFL draft would benefit his program, perhaps it shouldn’t have come as a surprise that his mind immediately shifted to his own task at hand. “How valuable for us?” Meyer asked, repeating the question. “There’s no value for us. They’re all gone.” Not even on the recruiting trail? “Oh,” Meyer said, quickly and more comfortably. “Absolutely, we use that for recruiting.” In fact, Ohio State already has been. It’d be hard to imagine the Buckeyes enjoying a better offseason than they did in 2015, now one year removed from their White House visit following their College Football Playoff championship victory at the end of the 2014 season. While in Washington, President Obama name-dropped the likes of Ezekiel Elliott, Joey Bosa, Cardale Jones and Braxton Miller—Ohio State stars from the past still set to return for the future. And yet, despite the Buckeyes falling short of expectations after becoming the first unanimous preseason No. 1 team in the AP Top 25 and losing 16 starters—including nine underclassmen—to the NFL, Meyer finds himself with as much momentum as ever on the recruiting trail. In the Buckeyes’ sudden presence in the pros, Ohio State didn’t just find a replacement for last…
COLUMBUS, Ohio — With the rumor-filled circus that is the NFL draft approaching on Thursday, the only certainty in the NFL right now seems to be this: Ohio State will have a heavy presence in Chicago at this weekend’s selection show. With more than 70 percent of Ohio State’s starting lineup and nine underclassmen having departed from last year’s team, as many as 14 ex-Buckeyes could wind up hearing their names called by the end of this weekend. And while it still has yet to be determined how many former Ohio State stars are drafted and where each will land, there may not be a bigger enigma in the bunch than Braxton Miller. “The two wild cards are Cardale Jones and Braxton,” Buckeyes head coach Urban Meyer said last month. “They’re the ones that don’t have enough tape.” In the case of Jones, the question marks are obvious. Is a player with just 11 starts as a quarterback in his college career worthy of not only a draft pick but also one day becoming the face of a franchise? And if so, how soon is too soon to take him? Miller’s situation, however, is a little more complicated—and perhaps more likely to bring a much higher upside. Truth be told, if Miller had it his way, he might be preparing not for the draft but rather his second season in the NFL right now. That was the plan two years ago as the 2013 season drew to a close, before a vicious hit in the Orange Bowl brought the then-Buckeyes quarterback’s junior season to an unceremonious end. The…
The Ohio State Buckeyes are loaded with prospects for the 2016 NFL draft, and it should come as no surprise that head coach Urban Meyer’s group has lost only four games combined over the last three seasons. Per Mark Podolski of the News-Herald, the Buckeyes could potentially set an NFL draft record with seven first-round selections. Even if they do not reach that mark, this group is very talented and expected to tie the school record with 14 selections overall. Begin Slideshow
COLUMBUS, Ohio — He hasn’t played a snap in an actual game in more than five months, but if you thought that was going to stop Cardale Jones from being one of the central focuses of the upcoming NFL draft, you must not have paid much attention to the former Ohio State quarterback’s college career. After flipping the script on his narrative, becoming a national championship-winning quarterback, turning down one opportunity to enter the NFL draft and becoming one of the most polarizing prospects in the next, the conversation about Jones has come full circle and back to the first subject that landed him in the public spotlight four years ago: School. That’s because while speaking to Marla Ridenour of the Akron Beacon Journal about Jones’ pro prospects, Buckeyes head coach Urban Meyer seemingly suggested that Jones’ academic responsibilities may have held him back during his time in Columbus: A really good skill set, intellectual, very smart, wasn’t necessarily very good at school. I wonder if that kind of set him back a little bit. That’s one difference between pro and college — now he doesn’t have to worry about classes and going to school and all that stuff. He can focus completely on football. So the quarterback who first burst into the public’s consciousness by tweeting he wasn’t at Ohio State to “play school” and that “classes are pointless” during his freshman season in 2012 may not have paid as much attention to his academics as…
