Urban Meyer came to Ohio State after taking a year off of football after his tenure from the University of Florida. He had figured out how to handle his health and balance the relationship between coaching and family, and was eager to get back into the game once the right opportunity presented itself. Ohio State was available because the Jim Tressel era abruptly ended after he resigned in the midst of scandal, and the Luke Fickell interim era was not up to the same standards that Buckeye fans had expected. So they won 24 straight games and lost the final two games last year. It was a big disappointment considering the fact that they were just a few plays away from facing Florida State in the National Championship game. Then they lost their first bowl game since their ineligibility had ended. The Buckeyes need something hopeful to look forward to this coming season, but let us take a closer look at the teams results from the 2013 season.
2013 Ohio State Buckeyes Season
It is difficult to call a 12-2 season a disappointment, but when they lost the final two games, it is in fact a disappointment when the Buckeyes had an excellent chance to compete in the National Championship Game against Florida State. But the Buckeyes failed there and then they failed in Miami during the Orange Bowl against the Clemson Tigers. However, the signs of failure were coming in the rivalry game when they almost lost to That Team Up North in the final seconds. Now it is time to look at the returning players on the 2014 Buckeyes.
Offense
Senior quarterback Braxton Miller has been the man for the Buckeyes for several seasons now. He has won the Big Ten's Griese-Brees Quarterback of the Year for two straight years. He has won the Big Ten's Graham-George Offensive Player of the Year award for two straight years. He has won the Chicago Tribune's Most Valuable Player and thus earned the coveted Silver Football trophy as the Big Ten's MVP for back to back years. He threw for over 2,000 yards and ran for over 1,000 yards in just 12 games last year, combining for 36 touchdowns. Miller will be in the running for the Heisman this year and he has received votes the past few years.
Carlos Hyde was a beast last season for the Buckeyes, running for 1,521 yards and 15 touchdowns. But alas, he is no longer on the team, because he was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers. The two main running backs on the team returning are halfback Sophomore Ezekiel Elliott, and Sophomore H-back Dontre Wilson. They both ran for around 250 yards each last year and 3 total touchdowns. They will need to pick up the slack and improve upon their totals from last year.
Corey Brown graduated and is no longer on the team as well. His 63 catches for 771 yards and 10 touchdowns also need to be made up. The leading returning wide receiver is senior Devin Smith. Smith had an average of better than 15 yards per catch, with his 44 catches for 660 yards and 8 touchdowns. Smith and Miller have been together for quite some time. The other man who should rise to the occasion this year is senior wide receiver Evan Spencer. He should be filling in the gap and get more plays on the field, which will lead to more targets, and lead to more receptions.
Defense
The defensive line of the Ohio State Buckeyes returns three excellent defensive linemen. It starts with junior defensive end Noah Spence. Spence led the team in sacks last year with 8. He also had the most tackles for defensive lineman with 52. Then you move inside and see Senior defensive tackle Michael Bennett. Bennett stuffed the middle with his 6’ 2” 288 pound frame and recorded 42 tackles, 11.5 for loss, and 7 sacks. The biggest name on the defensive line though is the youngest. That would be sophomore defensive lineman Joey Bosa. He is 6’ 5” and 285 pounds. He played in 14 games as a true freshman, recording 44 tackles, 13.5 for loss, and 7.5 sacks. Joey Bosa is the name that keeps coming up every time when the Buckeyes defense is being discussed because they assume that his production will just continue to increase. More importantly, they make up a three-headed monster that opposing offenses will have to scheme for.
The Buckeyes lost a great linebacker to the NFL this past off-season. Ryan Shazier was selected 15th overall by the Pittsburgh Steelers, a team that knows their linebackers. His production will be missed because he had 143 tackles last year, which is quite the eye-popping number. That averaged to slightly over 10 tackles a game. The best returning linebackers are junior Joshua Perry and senior Curtis Grant. Perry had the better season in 2014, getting 64 tackles and 1 sack. Grant will not be denied though; he had 52 tackles, 4 for loss, and 2.5 sacks. Grant also recovered a fumble. The linebackers are not the strength of the unit, but there is still a bigger weakness as well.
That weakness comes in the secondary. The Buckeyes had another first round pick get drafted from their defense in cornerback Bradley Roby by the Denver Broncos. Doran Grant will try to fill those shoes and is not related to the linebacker Curtis Grant. Doran Grant played at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron, Ohio, better known as the High School of the multiple time NBA MVP, LeBron James. Grant will try to build on his 2013 season, where he had 58 tackles and 3 interceptions. Grant is joined on the defense by a standout Sophomore safety in Tyvis Powell. He is 6’ 3” 205 pounds, which is great size for a safety, and he played mostly on special teams as a Freshman, but started five games at safety. He still was able to get 48 total tackles and had 1 interception as well.
Special Teams
Drew Basil is out as the kicker of the Ohio State Buckeyes, and there are currently three kickers on the roster. Two walk-on Seniors, Kyle Clinton and Tim Scott, and the likely kicker to start the year is true freshman Sean Nuernberger. Sean was a highly rated kicker by all the recruiting experts this past year and should be considered an excellent kicker for Ohio State.
The punter for Ohio State is also from down under. That would be sophomore Cameron Johnston. He was a precision punter in his first season of American rules football because until he got the scholarship, he had only played through Australian rules football. He had 49 punts last year, got 31 of them inside the opponent’s 20 yard line, and only had 2 touchbacks. That is impressive and if he keeps up his performances like that, he could end up on the look list for the Ray Guy award.
2014 Season Outlook
The Buckeyes are returning most of the talent on the defensive side of the ball, but Braxton Miller is certainly a dual threat on the offensive side. Whenever the season is in pursuit of a national title like Ohio State surely has their mind on, it is tough to trust an untested kicker on the big stage. Here is a closer look at their schedule:
A couple of key games stand out on this list. First, they close with Michigan in the season finale at home. Ohio State barely escaped from that game last season and they are always ruthless to each other. With the difference from the Legends and Leaders divisions to the East and West, Michigan State has been moved over to the East and the game in East Lansing has to have a stronger importance as well. Ohio State has a chance to run the table, but it is likely going to be up to how strong their running game can be outside of their quarterback, and if their secondary can prevent the deep ball.