Burns needs to learn to turn around on that ball thrown in the endzone to Dixon.   That might not be a touchdown if Burns turns around to make a play on the ball.

Agreed on the pecking order.  Outside of Samuel last season, Hill might have been the best WR we had.  Outside of injury or other unforeseen circumstance, I don't see how Hill is not a major contributor this year.  All of these guys need to be ready to play.  We will need them. 

Mack had a lot of expectations for him from the day he got on campus.  He had a strong spring and lost his black stripe in March last year.  But he got lost in the fold during fall camp and part of the early season.  Sounds like he had a relatively quiet spring too. 

We will play 3-4 corners out there in the rotation.  We do need a nickel back out there. 

I don't think Sheffield is necessarily lost but I would expect him to receive the third most snaps behind Ward and Arnette. 

Be interesting to see if Myers + Wyatt Davis 'become factors' in fall camp,

If they do become factors, that is a pretty significant concern because that augments the depth issue up front. 

Nothing against those guys, but when Ohio State is relying on true freshman offensive linemen to play, that is a problem.  Especially two years in a row. That means multiple guys who have been in the program for 2-3 years are getting outplayed by true freshman who just showed up on campus for the first time.

Again, nothing against Myers or Davis, but it speaks more to the state of the OL

I need to see a team that hustles, plays defense, plays with toughness, and heart. Those types of things are often reflective of the coaching staff. When effort is a constant problem, that's when the evaluation is due.

But landing elite talent is an option. The roster has had it in the past. But they are getting out recruited as of late

20 wins might be possible but a tourney appearance might be as deep as they go.

Would anybody on this roster be in the rotation on any of the tournament teams, particularly the ones that made a deep run?

Matta doesn't seem like he is his intense self lately and that is reflected through the effort on the court. Matta looks drained and beat up.

Or anybody who plays with heart and wants to be on the court.

4, 2, and 24.  I think these are reasonable, minimum expectations. 

We got spoiled with some great teams and had some very impressive tourney teams.  I think it is rather unrealistic to expect that consistently but having a top 10 team every 3 or so years is not exactly unreasonable either.  Getting to 9 to 11 wins in the B1G should be enough to get into the tournament every year and I think that is a very realistic expectation too. 

With that being said, I know we aren't exactly a traditional blue blood program in basketball, but we have access to talent and have resources to compete with them.  There is no reason why a coach cannot sustain a tournament caliber team at a place like Ohio State.  Sure, we will miss it every now and then with down years, inexperienced roster, and injuries, etc. but being out for two seasons with the way college basketball is structured today is rather unacceptable. 

Can you remember when T.Decker got schooled by K.Mack.. Look where that player is now.. ​

​While very true, that was Decker's first game starting at Ohio State, going up against a future top 5 draft pick/all-pro player.  But Decker that was one game and his very first game as a starter, not to say that was expected but the outcome was certainly realistic in the grand scheme.  Now Prince had poor games throughout the season and looked completely overwhelmed as a starter.  The progress and development has been underwhelming at best. 

Prince did not look like he was ready to play.  I think the bigger issue is the lack of depth within the program at the tackle position.  At first, I think many were surprised with Pridgeon signing with OSU but I think it depth at the tackle position was a bigger issue than originally thought. 

He has to show he belongs on the football field as one of the best 5 linemen.  He has length and athleticism but I continue to see a player who plays with a narrow base,  plays too tall, and gets beat by quicker, longer defensive ends because of his inconsistent/poor footwork. 

Prince has the athleticism and length to be a tackle, but his footwork needs some significant improvement or his future, particularly his NFL future, is at guard.  The guys who are quick, strong, and are good run blockers but struggle with footwork or pass protection on the edge, tend to profile out as guards. 

Barrett is a very risk adverse QB who does not like to take very chances into coverage with the ball.  That is a great attribute since it decreases the propensity for turnovers.  But is also increases risk for holding onto the ball too long.  One of the key components to this offense is rhythm and tempo.  Confidence is required to execute both of those components. 

Watch play "787 Smash" (against Maryland).  KJ Hill is wide open and it is a pretty poor throw.  KJ Hill has to slow down and the ball is behind him.  It is a good route and good call to beat the coverage.  Marcus Baugh commands that double team up field on the far side of the screen. 

On the flood concept vs Maryland (second to last video), Noah Brown is wide open.  Brown is sliding/diving to make the catch.  The ball appears to be low and may be behind the WR.  I cannot definitely tell how far behind the ball is but it does not appear to be a good throw. 

I noticed it seems like our WRs seem to be in close proximity to each other on several of those plays and towards the center of the field.  It seems like the lack of identity and consistent scheme throughout the season is definitely part of the issue on this front. 

This has been a longstanding issue for Barrett, which is attributed to Barrett holding on to the ball too long.  The ball has to be thrown to a spot where the WR can only get the ball on a timing route.

Barrett can afford to make those types of throws against Maryland and Bowling Green but when we starting playing tougher opponents, those margins suddenly begin to diminish rather quickly. 

Marshon looks like he will be the first Buckeye drafted. 

The Tigers may have a top 10 rotation but they are relying on Zimmerman and Sanchez to bounce back.  Sanchez was horrendous last year and he showed a lot of regression in 2015 too. A 33 year old starter with back to back seasons of increasing ERAs that were at 5 or higher is not a promising sign.  Is Zimmerman even healthy?  He lost his command and he got hammered by opposing batters. That is asking a lot and is probably unrealistic.  Their bullpen is very average too.  When Detroit is considering engaging in a rebuilding process to acquire prospects, that says they are not a high level contender. 

Verlander bounced back looks healthy again and Fulmer is good.  But Detroit is relying on an aging core and bounce back seasons from several players who have injury concerns and/or are well into their 30s. They did not make any moves this offseason that made them really any better. That is not a good recipe for a team seeking win the division when they pretty much return an aging core that has not won 90+ games in the past two seasons.  

To your point, maybe someone does get hot and has a good season but a lot has to go right for Detroit to win the Division.  I see probably 5 or 6 teams that are better than the Tigers in the AL (Astros, Mariners, Red Sox, Indians, Blue Jays, and maybe even the Orioles or Yankees look to be better than the Tigers.) 

There will be several wildcards and new names that will come up over the next year or so.  Nobody saw Gardiner coming until the very end. Maybe they left a few spots open for that reason?!?!

WR may be a more immediate roster need for the 2017 season but we do have 8 WRs on the roster with freshman or sophomore (including RS for both years) eligibility. That is a bit of a logjam at the position for 18 class.  I agree on the safety aspect, maybe Pryor is the only recruit that will be play the position.  And with Williams moving to WR/HB, there is a need more depth at the position.  And plus, will Woodbey stick? 

Carman is the must get prospect in this class.  It is tough to miss on a top 10 player overall that is within Ohio but when you factor in the need and position, it is the must get player in this class. 

The holdover excuses about him are largely invalid. He has plenty of arm strength. He threw the ball 60 yards in the air and people need to stop using guys like Cardale who has ELITE arm strength as a measure of who has a strong arm.

Arm strength is a measure of two components; distance and velocity.  I am not disagreeing with you on the distance factor and I know Barrett can throw it that far. 

The criticism of Barrett's arm strength is the velocity component.  Barrett's passes tend to have more air under them and can float while in the air.  Coaches and scouts measure the actually velocity of the ball but also the rate at which the ball will spin as a function of arm strength. I think it is a fair statement and generally accepted that Barrett is very average in this aspect of his game.  When the weather turned windy, cold, or wet, like it did for quite a few of our games, the velocity becomes even more important to make the throws. 

Now I know all QBs struggle in foul weather and it affects their performances, but Barrett really struggled in those and missed a lot of throws and had a hard time getting the ball down field. 

The issue with the footwork is that Barrett is very inconsistent.  Sometimes he throws off his back foot, sometimes he is flat footed, and sometimes he follows through with his feet.  Sometimes he is throwing the ball as hard/far as he can, which can lead to various arm angles and slots, most of which will negatively impact a throw. 

The throwing motion often begins and ends with the footwork.  Barrett has quick feet, good lower body strength for a QB, and is shorter for a QB, which are key components to ensure good footwork.  Footwork is a basic fundamental for a QB.  For a QB who has played as many snaps and started as many games as Barrett, one would think his footwork would be better and/or more consistent. 

For me, I view this as a coaching issue.  I know this argument has been hashed out ad nauseam on here about Beck but footwork inconsistencies were also applicable to Cardale too. 

I will say hiring a QB coach by trade who has extensive experience working with QBs can only improve the situation which is why I think Day will be able to improve the QB play. 

I agree. Strong had no business losing to Kansas.  He did fail there but I don't think he was dealt the best hand by the administration either. Given the instability on the hire from the get-go, trickled down to the coaching staff, current players, and recruiting.  He was a dead man walking throughout the 2016 season. 

Texas was a giant mess the day Strong was hired and still is a mess today. 

Now I know this was a few cycles back...but Price from was from Austintown Fitch in the Youngstown area.  George Hill was a commit at point but he ended up at Pitt; I believe he went to Hubbard. We missed on Bowden this cycle.  It seems like there has not been as much talent in the Mahoning/Trumbull county area in the fast few years. I could be wrong, but some of the traditional powers up there have not been as good over the past few years as we have seen in the past.