The stars of the 2015 team are gone, nearly all at once. Fan favorites like Joey Bosa and Ezekiel Elliott have taken their talents to the next level, and aside from the quarterback position, the current roster is now largely foreign to many Buckeye fans, students included.
Following the 2016 edition of Urban Meyer's annual Student Appreciation Day, players were asked to stay on the field for 20 minutes after practice concluded for a photo and autograph session. Immediately, nearly the entire crowd flocked to J.T. Barrett where the Buckeye quarterback signed autographs and took pictures well past the allotted meet-and-greet time (much to the chagrin of our beat writer friends, Tim and Eric, who were patiently waiting for the Barrett to do his post-practice interview).
Meanwhile, the his teammates essentially wandered around on the field for 20 minutes, where they were hardly approached by any of the 2,500 fans in attendance. In fact, Barrett likely signed more autographs than the rest of the team combined.
The scene made it more clear than ever: J.T. Barrett aside, there are no stars on this Buckeye football team. Plainly, nobody knows who these guys are – not even the most dedicated members of the student body who chose to wake up before 9 a.m. on a Saturday to attend a practice an unwalkable distance from campus.
The absence of star power is certainly a change of pace for Buckeye fans. Heading into the 2015 season, Ohio State had what many would consider a top-five player at virtually every position. The defending national champions returned (insert quarterback here), the top NFL prospect in Joey Bosa, the Heisman frontrunner in Ezekiel Elliott, two-time Big Ten Player of the Year Braxton Miller, all-around manbeast Darron Lee, as well as Michael Thomas, Eli Apple, Vonn Bell, Taylor Decker, Tyvis Powell, Joshua Perry and Adolphus Washington. Autograph lines were a quite bit longer the previous year.
In 2016, Ohio State will again be led by returning captain and Heisman hopeful J.T. Barrett, but that's about the only familiar face. Ohio State will have new starters at virtually every position on offense and defense – running back, three wide receivers, tight end, three offensive linemen, cornerback, two safeties, two linebackers, defensive end, defensive tackle, and even longsnapper.
From this situation, there are two main storylines to watch.
First, a season after #QBGeddon where he was initially beaten out by Cardale Jones for the starting spot, Barrett is not only the unquestioned starter at the quarterback position, he's the unquestioned face of the team. And with Ohio State's new policy of selling only a generic jersey number corresponding to the year, Barrett's jersey the Ohio State No. 16 jersey will be conveniently littered throughout every campus bookstore and Buckeye apparel retailer, and in turn all over the stands of the Horseshoe.
For the first time, it will be Barrett's team from start to finish, and as one of the only returning starters, he'll receive all of the national spotlight and scrutiny. How he responds will be critical to both his own personal success as well as the team's.
Secondly, stars will emerge from the crop of youth. Before the 2014 season, Eli Apple, Darron Lee, Jalin Marshall and J.T. Barrett had never played a down in a Buckeye uniform, Ezekiel Elliott had appeared exclusively in garbage time, Cardale Jones' career was defined by a singular tweet, and Michael Thomas was best known for trash talking his teammates from his couch. That team, of course, won the national title.
The players may be relatively unknown now, but this 2016 roster is teeming with talent. It may take a month or two for the team and the players to reach their potential, but come January there will be new household names; it's going to be fun to see who emerges.
With road tests against Oklahoma, Wisconsin, Penn State and Michigan State, and Michigan's sudden crawl from the sarlacc pit to the top of the polls, 2016 is looking like a hell of a ride for this young team, but we all know what happened last time the odds were stacked up against an unproven Ohio State squad. In any case, it will be a nice change of pace from the unreasonable expectations of the 2015 season.
Buckle up, Buckeye fans. It's almost here.
