Sports Illustrated finished its Top 100 Most Influential Players of 2018 list Thursday.
Four Buckeyes made the list: Chase Young, Dre'Mont Jones, J.K. Dobbins, and Nick Bosa.
SI's criteria:
We set out on the annual impossible task of projecting the 100 best players in college football ahead of the upcoming season. In constructing our rankings, the most important factor we assess is how significantly each player’s production will impact his team’s success this season—not how good he was last year, where he sat on 2017 statistical leaderboards or what type of NFL draft prospect he is (although those other things often have a way of lining up). Put another way, this list is forward-looking, but not too forward-looking.
| RANK | PLAYER | POSITION | COMMENT |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | NICK BOSA | DL | "At the height of Joey Bosa’s powers two years ago, it seemed impossible that his younger brother could duplicate the college production of the No. 3 pick in the 2016 draft, and while Nick Bosa may not catch Joey on the statistical leaderboards by the end of this season, he will play a similarly central role for the success of the Buckeyes in his third year—and he may end up going higher in the 2019 draft. Despite cracking the starting lineup within Ohio State’s deep defensive line just seven times in the 27 games of his college career so far, Nick has piled up 13.5 sacks and 23 tackles for loss as a member of a traditionally deep rotation. There will be no keeping him off the field now, after he led the Buckeyes in tackles for loss and sacks in ’17." |
| 26 | J.K. DOBBINS | RB | "A hamstring injury to fellow Buckeyes running back Mike Weber opened the door for Dobbins to assert himself as their lead rusher last season, and he didn’t waste the opportunity, carrying 194 times for 1,403 yards with seven touchdowns. Dobbins may not get the ball quite as often this season if Weber can stay healthy, but he doesn’t need to be an every-down guy to make a big impact: Dobbins averaged a Big Ten–leading 7.23 yards per carry last season. Plus, unlike last season—when Dobbins started in the Buckeyes’ opener against Indiana after an injury sidelined him for practically his entire senior year at La Grange (Tex.) High—Dobbins will be coming off a successful college debut campaign." |
| 40 | DRE'MONT JONES | DT | "The loss of three draft picks—junior end Sam Hubbard (third round) and senior ends Jalyn Holmes (fourth round) and Tyquan Lewis (second round)—won’t prevent the Buckeyes from suiting up a dominant defensive line this season. Jones will be the interior linchpin. Although he may not be garnering as much praise this offseason as some of the other names being floated as possible first-round picks in a stacked 2019 DL draft class, Jones is a constant threat to short-circuit drives with his ability to occupy." |
| 46 | CHASE YOUNG | DE | "Young was the talk of Ohio State’s spring workouts, and the hype wasn’t misplaced: The 6'5" end is a good bet to make a major sophomore leap this fall. In limited action over 10 games last season, he flashed the blend of quickness and power that made him a five-star recruit in the class of 2017 coming out of DeMatha (Md.) Catholic High. Opponents who watched Young as a true freshman know he’ll be a handful, but they can’t focus on containing him without risking getting burned by the top-shelf pass rusher on the other end of Ohio State’s defensive line, junior Nick Bosa." |
Top 10 overall players:
- Ed Oliver, DT, Houston
- Bryce Love, RB, Stanford
- Christian Wilkins, DE, Clemson
- Khalil Tate, QB, Arizona
- Nick Bosa, DE, Ohio State
- Jonathan Taylor, RB, Wisconsin
- Clelin Ferrell, DE, Clemson
- Jaquan Johnson, S, Miami
- Rashan Gary, DT, Michigan
- Dexter Lawrence, DE, Clemson
