Urban Meyer knows fans, media and others anticipate he and Ohio State to hover near the top of rankings throughout the duration of the 2016 football season. The difference from last season, however, is questions exist at a multitude of positions with so much talent gone to the NFL and graduation.
There weren't many position battles (outside of quarterback) that needed to be decided when the Buckeyes convened for training camp in 2015. That is hardly the case ahead of Meyer's fifth season in Columbus. The goals remain the same but the belief that Meyer has potentially one of the best teams of all-time to work with is gone.
"I don't feel the overwhelming expectations that were here a year ago," Meyer said last week at Big Ten Media Days. "So we haven't really talked about it. I hope it’s a free-for-all for positions. We're not worrying about that. They want playing time."
"They" are the host of young players that sat behind anyone from the 18 seniors or 12 draft picks for at least one season. With those players out of the program, plenty of starting spots are up for grabs when camp opens Sunday.
Meyer and his staff want to establish some form of a depth chart every spring, but couldn't do that because of youth and injuries to key guys in March and April. Some battles might not be decided until early in the 2016 schedule. It all depends on what the coaches decide.
Here are the positions without starters as we know them as summer comes to a close
Left Guard
Candidates: Freshman Michael Jordan, junior Malcolm Pridgeon, redshirt sophomore Demetrius Knox, redshirt freshman Matthew Burrell
Breakdown: Meyer said in Chicago that Jordan "will probably be a starter" this fall for Ohio State, before rescinding the claim a bit and saying the freshman still has work to do. It's safe to say Jordan leads right now in what could end up being the most intriguing battle in camp — are the Buckeyes really going to start a true freshman on their offensive line? Center Pat Elflein said Billy Price is set to stay at right guard after playing left the last two seasons. The wild card in this group is Pridgeon, a junior college transfer, someone Ohio State didn't recruit to sit on the bench.
Right Tackle
Candidates: Sophomore Isaiah Prince, redshirt sophomore Kyle Trout, redshirt junior Evan Lisle, redshirt freshmen Kevin Feder and Brandon Bowen, Pridgeon
Breakdown: Will Pridgeon stay at tackle or move inside? That is up to offensive line coach Greg Studrawa and Meyer, but he has work to do to catch Prince at tackle. Meyer said he just needs to see a little more from Prince before naming him the starter. His chance to do that begins Sunday.
Y Receiver
Candidates: Senior Corey Smith, redshirt junior James Clark, redshirt sophomores Parris Campbell, Johnnie Dixon and Terry McLaurin, redshirt freshmen Torrance Gibson, K.J. Hill and Alex Stump, freshmen Austin Mack and Binjimen Victor
Breakdown: Wide receiver will also be interesting to watch, mainly because all the talent listed above hasn't really done much on the field outside of Smith. He is coming off a broken leg and if healthy likely will get the nod, but expect a ton of "ORs" on Ohio State's first depth chart. Noah Brown is expected to start at the X receiver spot, but who lines up opposite of him is really anybody's guess. The Buckeyes will want to use a rotation in an effort to utilize all the talent in Zach Smith's room and keep guys fresh but it is unknown who will trot out for that first snap Sept. 3 against Bowling Green.
H-back
Candidates: Junior Curtis Samuel, senior Dontre Wilson, freshman Demario McCall
Breakdown: Samuel seems to be the easy pick to start here, but his health, versatility and Bri'onte Dunn's dismissal could change that. Meyer plans to have him as an integral part of what Ohio State does this season on offense so if he's healthy he will start somewhere. It just depends if it is at running back, H-back or outside receiver.
Safety
Candidates: Juniors Erick Smith and Damon Webb, redshirt junior Cam Burrows, sophomore Eric Glover-Williams, redshirt freshman Damon Arnette, freshman Jahsen Wint
Breakdown: Webb took the majority of snaps next to Malik Hooker with the first-team defense this spring, moving over from cornerback because of injuries to both Burrows and Smith. Glover-Williams did the same, but he will probably stay at corner. Webb leads but should face pressure from both Burrows and Smith if the latter two are full-go like Meyer said.
"That's a street fight right now," Meyer said. "There are about five guys there and it’s a free-for-all. Cam Burrows is back and healthy. It's going to be interesting."
Cornerback
Candidates: Redshirt sophomore Marshon Lattimore, sophomores Denzel Ward and Eric Glover-Williams, redshirt freshmen Damon Arnette and Joshua Norwood, freshmen Jordan Fuller, Rodjay Burns and Wayne Davis
Breakdown: As one of the few returning starters on defense, Gareon Conley has one corner spot locked down. Kerry Coombs wants to be in a position where he could rotate guys freely without thinking twice about it, but that depends on everyone staying healthy and how the battles shake out in camp. Lattimore looks like he will be the guy provided his hamstrings hold up.
"Him and Denzel are locked up," Meyer said of Lattimore. "And Damon Arnette is a guy we’re playing with moving to safety because he may be one of our best 11."
Outside Linebacker
Candidates: Redshirt junior Chris Worley, sophomore Jerome Baker
Breakdown: Worley looks like the guy for Luke Fickell in an attempt to replace Darron Lee, but Meyer said it is not a done deal yet.
"At some point we have to say, 'This is our guy.' Jamarco Jones is the only guy that we've done that yet," Meyer said. "So I'm putting a lot of pressure on our coaches too that I need to know by this scrimmage who is our starting outside linebacker. Is it Chris Worley? Or is it Jerome Baker?"
Plus, Baker's one-handed interception in the spring game was one of those "wow" plays that went viral. It won't be easy to keep him off the field this fall.
Defensive Tackle
Candidates: Redshirt juniors Tracy Sprinkle and Michael Hill, redshirt freshmen Robert Landers, Davon Hamilton, Jashon Cornell, Dre'Mont Jones, Joshua Alabi, freshman Nick Bosa
Breakdown: Sprinkle and Hill should be the starters at tackle for Larry Johnson, but it hasn't been announced yet. Plus, it is never wise to count out a Bosa for significant playing time. Look for the bevy of redshirt freshmen to push Sprinkle and Hill in camp and earn a spot in the rotation that Johnson wants.
Here is a rundown of guys we know are starters:
QUARTERBACK: Redshirt junior J.T. Barrett
CENTER: Redshirt senior Pat Elflein
LEFT TACKLE: Junior Jamarco Jones
RIGHT GUARD: Redshirt junior Billy Price
DEFENSIVE END: Redshirt junior Tyquan Lewis and redshirt sophomore Sam Hubbard
MIDDLE LINEBACKER: Junior Raekwon McMillan
CORNERBACK: Redshirt junior Gareon Conley
And this group are almost assuredly starters, Meyer just hasn't announced them as such yet:
RUNNING BACK: Redshirt freshman Mike Weber
X RECEIVER: Redshirt sophomore Noah Brown
TIGHT END: Redshirt junior Marcus Baugh
OUTSIDE LINEBACKER: Junior Dante Booker
SAFETY: Redshirt sophomore Malik Hooker
It is unknown how and when the starting lineup will be announced during camp, or if the Buckeyes intend on even telling the media after guys engrave their names atop the depth chart. Some spots might not even get decided until the season gets going, either.
Either way, there should be much more intrigue when it comes to position battles than last year.
