Ohio State could have an entirely new offensive line next season.
It's highly unlikely, but a complete overhaul could happen in the unit. That's what happens when your team possesses one of the more experienced groups in the country up front.
Left tackle Taylor Decker, center Jacoby Boren and right tackle Chase Farris will all not be at Ohio State in 2016. As seniors, their eligibility expires when the clock strikes zero in Glendale, Arizona, to end the Fiesta Bowl against Notre Dame New Year's Day. Farris only started this season, but both Boren and Decker were at least two-year stalwarts in the lineup and huge reasons the Buckeyes ran their way to the first-ever College Football Playoff national championship last year.
Right guard Pat Elflein is a redshirt junior after sitting out the 2012 season with a foot injury, so he is eligible to declare for the NFL Draft next spring. He's projected as high as a third round selection should he forego his senior season and turn pro, but said a few weeks ago he's leaning on sticking around.
"I'm planning on coming back, but I'm still weighing my options," Elflein said Dec. 2.
The other starting guard on the 2015 team, redshirt sophomore Billy Price, could also leave if he chooses to because he's now three years removed from high school. Price was an anchor on the line that paved the way for Ezekiel Elliott's huge postseason in 2014, someone who Urban Meyer singled out more than once as a key reason for Ohio State's success down the stretch.
Price — along with the rest of the group as a whole — experienced some bumps and hurdles this season, but he could turn pro if he wanted to. The Buckeyes are set to lose a ton of talent in the form of early entrees and graduating seniors upon completion of the 2015 season, so Price could join them. It's odd to think (and probably won't happen), but is an option for him.
So where does that leave the group for 2016? If the entire line leaves — which, as we said, is doubtful — new and fresh blood would be tasked with protecting J.T. Barrett and blocking for the running backs next year.
We've already projected the 2016 depth chart once, on the premise that Price and Elflein both stay in Columbus for at least one more season.
Elflein would probably play center (he has experience there) while Price could either stick at left guard or move to the other guard spot. Here's where the rest of the line stands, if both those guys stay, Elflein moves to center and Price stays where he played this year.
LEFT TACKLE
Departed: Taylor Decker — 2015 team captain, Big Ten Offensive Lineman of the Year, first-team All-American
Returners: Junior Jamarco Jones, sophomore Isaiah Prince, redshirt freshmen Grant Schmidt, Kevin Feder and Branden Bowen
Breakdown: Jones is likely to be the guy at left tackle in 2016. He's known as the sixth offensive lineman this year among everyone from Decker, Urban Meyer, to offensive line coach Ed Warinner. However, the trio of redshirt freshmen in addition to Prince were part of a massive — both literally and figuratively — haul in Meyer's 2015 recruiting class.
Those four players are bound to figure largely into the plans next season, and because of their size — an average of 6-foot-7, 308 pounds — will push the elder statesman for reps at tackle.
RIGHT GUARD
Departed: Elflein — moved to center following a pair of first-team All-Big Ten caliber seasons at right guard
Returners: redshirt junior Evan Lisle, redshirt freshman Matthew Burrell, redshirt sophomore Demetrius Knox
Breakdown: This position potentially offers the most intrigue once the 2015 season wraps up, provided Elflein doesn't leave early and moves to center to replace Boren. Those are a couple of "ifs," but the chances are good that we'll see someone play right guard that is yet to have had significant minutes as a Buckeye.
All three were four-star commitments out of high school, but Lisle hasn't played much and Burrell and Knox are known for their tenacity in the trenches. Knox could fall in behind Price at left guard again next season — he's been listed as his backup all year — but is unlikely to entertain another campaign as an understudy.
RIGHT TACKLE
Departed: Chase Farris — 2015 starter after switching back-and-forth on both sides of the ball multiple times in his career.
Returners: Prince, Schmidt, Feder, Bowen
Breakdown: Prince is one of two members of the 2015 recruiting class to see his name consistently crack the two-deep this season (longsnapper Liam McCullough is the other). He filled in during blowouts this year and played on special teams.
Due to that, the smart money is on Prince to win the right tackle job in 2016. He should, provided he continues on his upward trajectory under Warinner. As stated above, however, the other young players on the offensive line are going to be anxious to show what they can do so they aren't left on the sideline again in 2016.
Ed Warinner's experienced roster turnover often on the offensive line since he's been in Columbus, joining Urban Meyer's staff prior to the 2012 season.
Warinner's track record is on his side, even though at times it felt like the line didn't play as well as it did last season on the way to the national championship. That could be said about pretty much every part of the offense, however, except for Ezekiel Elliott.
Warinner could move some of the pieces around that we mentioned, trying them at different spots than as they are listed. Brady Taylor remains in the mix, too, though he could be the backup center again if Pat Elflein stays and makes that shift.
Warinner said this past spring he liked what he saw from the younger players — "there's a lot of talent there, though it is raw," he said — so he'll have plenty to work with.
Ohio State's season is down to the Fiesta Bowl against Notre Dame, but bowl practices are a chance for these young guys to make a name for themselves both in the eyes of Warinner and Urban Meyer. They aren't likely to forget once spring practice rolls around in March.
