When you think returning starters and strengths of the team, you're probably not thinking about the specialists, but maybe you should be.
While most other units dealt with position battles this offseason and will break in new starters during the season, the specialists returned every starter at every position – punter, placekicker, long snapper, holder and kickoff specialist.
They may not be the flashiest positions, but they're vital to the team's success and they're our next stop on the 2018 season preview.
What We Know
Ohio State returns a starter at every single specialist position, including fifth-year senior placekicker Sean Nuernberger, the unit's veteran.
Season Previews
Nuernberger is coming off of his best season of his career. Last season, Nuernberger kicked more field goals than he had any other year, and also had his highest make percentage, hitting 17 of 21 for a make percentage of 81 percent.
Ohio State doesn't kick a ton of field goals, but it does kick a lot of extra points, and Nuernberger is one of the most reliable and consistent extra-point kickers in college football history. He's currently made 177-straight extra points, which is a Big Ten record and just 56 shy of the FBS record. If the Buckeyes average just over four touchdowns a game this season, Nuernberger will have a chance to break that record.
At punter, the Buckeyes return starter Drue Chrisman, who had a fantastic start to his career last season, finishing as a semifinalist for the Ray Guy Award. Of his 51 punts, 15 were over 50 yards and 25 were downed inside the 20-yard line, and he didn't even have a punt returned for the first 10 games of the season.
Long snapper Liam McCullough also returns for the Buckeyes, and while it's difficult to statistically analyze his game, he's been as consistent as possible and serves a vital role as an extra gunner in punt coverage.
Blake Haubeil also returns as Ohio State's kickoff specialist, who struggled last season adding to the kick-coverage woes. The team's kickoff scheme requires the kick to be placed between the numbers and the sideline, just shy of the goal line – from about 60 yards away. It's not easy, and Haubeil struggled to do it at times, but he showed steady improvement.
What We Don't Know
We mentioned Ohio State's kickoff scheme, but we could see changes to that with the new NCAA kickoff rule allowing teams to tack a touchback on any kickoff fair caught inside the 25-yard line.
In June, Urban Meyer discussed the rule changes briefly. He said the coaching staff had a "long meeting" to discuss the ramifications of the new kickoff rule and cornerbacks coach and special teams coordinator Taver Johnson presented various options for how the Buckeyes could adjust their kickoff strategy.
Meyer said he didn't expect the kickoff scheme to change, but said that it's still "to be determined."
Position Outlook
From a fan's perspective, the specialist positions are often the forgotten positions, only brought to the spotlight during disaster. And this season, Ohio State's talent and experience at those positions should allow it to stay that way.
| NO. | NAME | POS. | HT. | WT. | YEAR | HOMETOWN (HIGH SCHOOL) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 | ZACH HOOVER | K | 6-2 | 185 | SO | Toledo, Ohio (Central Catholic) |
| 42 | BRADLEY ROBINSON | LS | 6-1 | 220 | JR | Troy, Michigan (Athens) |
| 49 | LIAM McCULLOUGH | LS | 6-2 | 228 | RS JR | Columbus, Ohio (Worthington Kilbourne) |
| 91 | DRUE CHRISMAN | P | 6-3 | 215 | RS SO | Cincinnati, Ohio (Cincinnati LaSalle) |
| 95 | BLAKE HAUBEIL | K | 6-4 | 225 | SO | Buffalo, New York (Canisius) |
| 96 | SEAN NUERNBERGER | K | 6-1 | 228 | RS SR | Buckner, Kentucky (Oldham Co.) |
The team returns a starter at every specialist position, one of which was a semifinalist for a national award and another that's coming off of the best season of his college career.
The specialists are not the flashiest or most athletic players of the field and will rarely provide you with any semblance of a game-breaking moment. But what the Buckeyes will need from all of them this season is consistency, and that's exactly what they can expect to get.
