Much is being made of the number of new starters Ohio State's football team will be fielding in 2016. With only three returning starters on offense – and three on defense – the Buckeyes will have the fewest returning starters of any Power-5 conference team. It's certainly going to be a major adjustment. But it's also something Ohio State fans had better start getting used to. Although, perhaps not always quite to this degree.

Nine starters from the 2015 team left the program while they still had college eligibility remaining. A few left with more than one year of eligibility remaining. Eli Apple, Darron Lee and Jalin Marshall played their last game for Ohio State as red-shirt sophomores. Juniors, Vonn Bell, Joey Bosa, Ezekiel Elliott, Cardale Jones, Tyvis Powell and Michael Thomas left with one year of eligibility remaining. Naturally, the Buckeyes will also be losing every senior from last year's squad.

That kind of exodus may become a fairly regular occurrence moving forward. Ohio State's head coach, essentially, suggested as much recently when he said this:

"If you play quarterback at Ohio State in this offense, you have to be a Heisman candidate, or we're going to suffer. You have to be a high draft pick to play defensive end. We're not embarrassed. We're not ashamed to say that's what has to happen. If you play receiver at Ohio State, you have to start in the National Football League. That's what happened the last -- from Bubba Caldwell at Florida to some of the great receivers we had there to carrying on with Philly Brown, Devin Smith and continued with Mike Thomas, who is going to leave us, and same thing with tight end, Marcus Baugh. You're following Jeff Heuerman and Nick Vannett. You have to be an NFL tight end."

Since Urban Meyer clearly expects his charges to become NFL-caliber players, it's reasonable to assume many of them will leave the program before they've used all of their eligibility. In fact, in another interview, Meyer said this:

"We're not ashamed of it," Meyer said. "When I got into coaching, I heard people in recruiting and other areas say to kids, 'Don't worry about the NFL.' We don't do that. We want our guys to want it. It's a great way to earn a living. In my mind, there are very few jobs that pay you that kind of money to do something that you love. So long as it's not in the way of the team concept, we're gonna help them get there."

With the NFL beckoning, it wouldn't make much sense for some players to stay for their senior year – especially, those who would be sure-fire first or second round round picks. For instance, it would have been madness for Joey Bosa or Ezekiel Elliott to come back for their senior campaigns. The risk of being seriously injured in a college game that season is too great. And then there's always the immediate money.

That's not to suggest some players may leave early who probably shouldn't. Certainly, there are cases in which a player would have benefitted more from developing another year at the college level.  The difference between early-round money and later-round money can be significant.

Some fans might suggest these players should stick around and finish getting their degrees. Well, the first-rounders could practically buy a small college. And if they choose to, they can always go back to school during the off-seasons - or even after their pro-football careers are over. The average NFL career only lasts a few years, after all.

Plus, for cases in which a red-shirt season was involved, a junior may have often already earned a degree. Tyvis Powell and Cardale Jones are cases in point. 

Now, assume for a moment this year's team will be extremely successful. Sure - there will be a lot of inexperienced players, but it's not a terribly far-fetched notion. Remember 2014?

This year's squad will only have six seniors on the roster, but there are several juniors who could declare to enter the draft in 2017, as well. Considering the sophomore seasons they had, it should practically be expected Raekwon McMillan, Tyquan Lewis and Gareon Conley will be heading to the NFL next year.

Depending on what kind of seasons they have in '16, it wouldn't be shocking to see Curtis Samuel, Billy Price and JT Barrett heading out after their junior campaigns, also. Incidentally. while it's generally thought best for offensive linemen and quarterbacks to stick with the program for four years, it should be noted, Price and Barrett are both red-shirt juniors.

There are several other juniors who may not have played a lot, yet – but if they have big seasons in '16 they could also decide to leave early if the NFL calls. Marcus Baugh, Chris Worley and Dante Booker come immediately to mind. And there could be others.

That's potentially well over a dozen players who could be gone in '17 before even considering some players who could leave with two years of eligibility remaining. What if a few guys like Sam Hubbard, Marshon Lattimore, and Malik Hooker have the kind of seasons everyone's hoping they will? They may have big decisions to make after the season, too.

Of course, it's unlikely all of those players will leave after the '16 season – but a lot of them could. It wouldn't be particularly surprising if the Buckeyes are looking to replace at least half of their starters going in to the '17 season.

And there could always be a few guys who feel they may not ever get the playing time they'd like at such a competitive program. Transfers could be another factor - especially, as far as experienced depth is concerned.

The way the '17 recruiting class is already filling up, Meyer is clearly expecting many of these players to leave “early”

Like it or not, the simple fact is - this is the state of college football at the elite level, today. A handful of programs will be facing the same kinds of issues in the foreseeable future.

Just look at the last three national championship teams. Alabama and Florida State are surely experiencing similar “problems”. Much like the Buckeyes, these programs aren't likely to be returning seniors at a lot of positions most years.

Of course, it's not really a problem. Generally, the elite recruits are not stupid (other than the ones who choose Michigan, obviously). They see which programs are putting the most players in to the NFL. It may not be the sole, determining factor in their choice of schools in every case – but it's one heck of a tie-breaker.

For the most part, these kids want to play for the best, most visible programs. They want to win championships. They want to be coached and developed by the best coaches available. And naturally, they're going to seize the best opportunity they possibly can to fulfill their dreams of playing in the NFL, eventually.

So due to the numerous early departures, in the foreseeable future Ohio State will usually field less experienced teams than their opponents. But the Buckeyes will also usually be the more talented team. Often by a fairly considerable margin. It's something Ohio State fans better start getting used to -