My hopes aren't that high. Between breaking in an inexperienced new QB (remember that thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, our freshmen missed out on an entire winter of early enrollee winter workouts and half a season of cupcake games to get experience. and with completely retooled lines on both sides of the ball, we're an unknown). That said, I'm excited to see where bringing in new blood may help us. Position by position:
Offense
QB: Without a doubt, we'll be taking a step back. Justin Fields is one of the best to ever suit up in Scarlet and Gray. I won't let his final performance with a ruined hip and injured hand define the career he's had for us. I'm encouraged to see the wheels on CJ Stroud--let's hope he can sling it.
RB: Definitely an upgrade (minus Sermon). My heart breaks that Trey's season had to end like that. Teague has absolutely no wiggle, no lateral quickness, and no vision. He's a career backup at best. I cannot wait to see what TreVeyon Henderson will bring to our offense. Watching Bijan Robinson carve up the Big XII makes me optimistic for his chances as a true freshman. Evan Pryor's pass catching abilities could also open up a whole new dimension to our offense if he can show his speed and shiftiness as a frosh.
OL: Even. Am I being too rosy in seeing the potential of the following line? LT Nicholas Petit-Frere / LG Matt Jones / C Harry Miller / RG Max Wray / RT Paris Johnson -- Due to injuries/COVID-19, the backups have gotten a lot of game reps this year. I suppose you could swap Johnson with Wray and insert Dawand Jones at Tackle if you value experience. Donovan Jackson could also pull a Michael Jordan and step in as a true freshman--he is the best OG in the nation and #17 overall player in his class after all.
WR: A step back. Losing Olave will be huge, as I can't recall us having a true deep threat this good since Devin Smith. That said, I've been encouraged by what I've seen out of Jaxson Smith-Njigba and Julian Fleming. If Jameson Williams can build some consistency into his deep ball game, I think we can offset losing Olave, tempered by Garrett Wilson's ascension. If Emeka Egbuka or Gee Scott Jr. have a breakout year reminiscent of '17 Olave or '18 Wilson, that will also help too. In Coach Hart we trust.
TE: Depends. If Jeremy Ruckert decides to come back one more season, I could see the tight end room still being elite. If not, they'll probably return to the glorified extra-lineman role OSU is known to keep.
Defense
DT: The middle of the line needs serious work with the departures of superstars Garrett and Togiai. I'm not optimistic about any of the new recruits or any of the underperforming veterans in this unit. Will Taron Vincent finally shake his injury bug a la Justin Hilliard? Will Antwuan Jackson pull a Haskell Garrett and finally put it all together at the end of his career? I'm not so sure. I think this may be our biggest weakness going into 2021-2022 outside of QB and CB.
DE: Unclear. Will anybody step up from this muddled group? Smith showed flashes of excellence toward the end of the season, and will be tasked with being the senior statesman of this group, but his rise will only offset Cooper's departure. I'm quite disappointed that Zach Harrison hasn't lived up to his hype, and neither has Tyler Friday. Perhaps Jack Sawyer will be our next great Bosa-junior?
LB: Definitely better. In a clear addition-by-subtraction, I'll be happy to see some fresh blood in this room. As grateful as I am to Tuf Borland for his leadership and his on-field smarts, he never had the athleticism to compete on a CFP level, and I wish him only the best at the next level. I will be sad to see Werner leave, however. I think Browning could improve with another year in this defense, while I'm excited to see who separates themselves between Teradja Mitchell, Dallas Gant, K'Vaughn Pope. The trio of "redshirt juniors" has spent a lot of time in the meeting room absorbing content and I'm curious to see what these guys have to show. Craig Young and Mitchell Melton were less-heralded recruits with off-the-charts athleticism and eye-popping high school film and could become the Darron Lees of the coming years.
Bullet: Better. *Ducks thrown tomatoes* Based on what the coaching staff have said about Kourt Williams, I actually do think we'll see us use the bullet next season. And if any of the things the coaches have said about Williams are true, he may be in for a special few seasons in Columbus.
Safety: Couldn't be worse. Proctor has proven himself a hard hitter that unfortunately easily loses track of the ball. His best position is a box safety or Bullet. I'm not sure if Lathan Ransom's rise was due to injuries to his upperclassmen or his genuine talent, but I can't remember him ever being the subject of my rage for being wildly out of position, so hopefully he can build on this for next year. Hickman and Shaw are also two HS filmroom warriors who may surprise us with their athleticism.
CB: Hoo boy. Saved the best for last, haven't I? *Inhales* I can't imagine this unit could possibly be any worse than they were this year. Shaun Wade proved he didn't have the chops to play outside, while Sevyn Banks was a liability who rewarded teams who gameplanned around victimizing him week in and week out. That said, I'm hoping Cam Brown can return from his horrific season-ending injury to continue the solid play he had as a fill-in from 2018. I've given up on Tyreke Johnson ever living up to his 5-star billing, but stranger things have happened. Lejond Cavazos, Ryan Watts, and Cam Martinez have potential, though I think there will be growing pains given most are developmental prospects. We'll have superstars Jakailin Johnson and Jordan Hancock on campus next year as well, but CB is a tough transition from HS to CFB, and I don't think they'll contribute meaningful minutes as true freshmen.
Overall scorecard, I give an even to better for RB, OL, LB, and Bullet. Safety and CB couldn't possibly get worse than this season (though they still remain areas of significant concern). WR, DL, and TE have some question marks going forward, though there is enough returning production there to mitigate the losses. I think this team goes as far as the new QB and CB rooms will take them--I'm predicting a NY6 bowl and a very bright 2022.
