No. 4 Ohio State Buckeyes
2020 Record: 7-1 Lost in the CFB National Championship
Returning Starters: Offense No. 6, Defense No. 5
More Teams Alabama | Florida | LSU | Penn State | Texas | Iowa | Indiana | Miami | Wisconsin | USC | Oregon | North Carolina | Cincinnati | Iowa State | Notre Dame | Texas A&M | Georgia | Ohio State | Oklahoma | Clemson
Key Metrics and Personnel
- Head Coach — Ryan Day (23-2)
- Offensive Coordinator — Kevin Wilson
- Defensive Coordinator — Kerry Coombs
- Points/Game — 41.0 (10th)
- Plays/Game — 73.9 (43rd)
- Pass Rate — 41.62% (102nd)
- Yards/Att R — 6.0 (3rd)
- Yards/Att P — 9.3 (8th)
- Yards/Att Allowed R — 3.4 (15th)
- Yards Att Allowed P — 6.4 (14th)
- Points Allowed/Game — 25.8 (40th)
- Vegas Win Total – 11, Over -115, Under -105
Notes
Ryan Day has coached since 2019. Kevin Wilson has been his offensive coordinator and tight ends coach that entire time. Kerry Coombs enters his second year as defensive coordinator after coaching defensive backs for the Tennessee Titans in 2018-2019.
Recruiting Class: No. 2
Five Star Recruits:
- Jack Sawyer — DL — No. 4
- Emeka Egbuka — WR — No. 9
- TreVeyon Henderson — RB — No. 22
- Kyle McCord — QB — No. 27
- Donovan Jackson — IOL — No. 18
Other Top Recruits:
- Evan Pryor — RB — No. 82
- Marvin Harrison Jr — WR — No. 96
- Jayden Ballard — WR — No. 98
Transfers
None
Daily Fantasy Players to Watch
QB C.J. Stroud, RB Master Teague, WRs Chris Olave, Garrett Wilson
Ohio State Depth Charts
Offense: 6 Returning Starters
- QB: C.J. Stroud, Jack Miller
- RB: Master Teague, TreVeyon Henderson
- WR1: Chris Olave, Julian Fleming
- WR2: Garrett Wilson, Marvin Harrison Jr
- WR3: Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Emeka Egbuka
- TE: Jeremy Ruckert, Cade Stover
- LT: Thayer Munford
- LG: Harry Miller
- C: Matthew Jones, Luke Wypler
- RG: Parris Johnson, Enokk Vimahi
- RT: Nicholas Petit-Frere
Defense: 5 Returning Starters
- Edge: Jack Sawyer, Tyreke Smith
- DT: Garrett Haskell, Taron Vincent
- DT: Antwuan Jackson
- Edge: Zach Harrison
- LB: Teradja Mitchell
- LB: Dallas Gant
- CB: Sevyn Banks
- CB: Cameron Brown, Demario McCall
- CB-N: Marcus Williamson
- S: Marcus Hooker, Lathan Ransom
- S: Josh Proctor, Ronnie Hickman
Ohio State Buckeyes Breakdown
Ohio State went undefeated until they faced Alabama in the National Championship, which they lost 52-24. They had some close calls on the way, including Indiana and Northwestern.
At quarterback it looks like C.J. Stroud will get his chance with Jack Miller backing him up. They also get five-star prospect Kyle McCord who ranks as the fifth overall quarterback in this class. Stroud did not throw a single pass last year, but he a former four-star prospect and the No. 2 pro-style quarterback from the 2020 class. Miller is another former four-star recruit and the No. 13 pro-style quarterback from 2020. Ohio State is trying to prevent any of them from transferring by not naming a frontrunner. This likely will not work.
Master Teague ran for 514 yards and eight touchdowns last year. He only averaged 4.9 yards per carry compared to 7.5 for Trey Sermon. They also recruited high-profile freshman TreVeyon Henderson. Henderson is a five-star and the No. 1 running back prospect in the country. Big back Miyan Williams could play a role, but he should provide depth.
Receiver is arguably Ohio State’s strongest position with the return of Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson. Olave has now led Ohio State in receiving in two-straight seasons. He notched 48 receptions for 840 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2019 (13 games), followed by 50 catches for 729 yards and seven touchdowns in 2020 (seven games). He played 88.5% of his snaps on the boundary. Wilson caught 43 passes for 723 yards and six touchdowns in eight games. He also notched 30 catches for 432 yards and five touchdowns as a freshman in 2019. He played in the slot on 73.4% of his snaps but expects to move back outside this year. With Jameson Williams transferring, Ohio State has ample snaps up for grabs. Jaxon Smith-Njigba is a logical replacement as a rotational receiver. He played in the slot on 51% of his snaps last year. He caught just 10 passes for 49 yards and a score. They also have the No. 1 receiver in the country in Emeka Egbuka hitting campus. Julian Fleming provides depth after seven catches for 74 yards last year as a freshman. Marvin Harrison Jr. is another four-star with the potential to contribute immediately.
Jeremy Ruckert decided to return to school after catching 13 passes for 151 yards and five touchdowns last year. He played in the slot on 28% of his snaps. Ohio State uses a decent amount of two-tight-end sets, and the other looks like Cade Stover. Stover was initially recruited as a linebacker in the 2019 class. He looks to have improved enough to get time at tight end this year.
Ohio State ranked 40th in pass blocking last year. They lost Josh Myers and Wyatt Davis to the NFL Draft. They return left tackle Thayer Munford, who is a likely first-round pick. He was their best lineman last year. Nicholas Petit-Frere also returns at right tackle after an excellent 2020. Harry Miller could play center or guard. He played guard last year and was the weakest line on this unit. At center Luke Wypler has battled Matthew Jones. Jones played a bit at the end of the year but really struggled. Parris Johnson has made the move inside and looks likely to get the first crack at the vacated right guard position.
On defense, Ohio State lost Tommy Togiai, Jonathan Cooper, Pete Werner, Tuf Borland, Baron Browning, Justin Hilliard and Shaun Wade. They return three starters on the edges with starting experience in Zach Harrison, Tyreke Smith and Javontae Jean-Baptiste. This is in addition to recruiting No. 4 overall player Jack Sawyer. Inside Antwuan Jackson and Haskell Garrett both have starting experience. At linebacker they replace every starter, but the group has some experience. In the secondary Ohio State returns seven of their top eight players. Sevyn Banks and Marcus Williams are the returners at corner. Josh Proctor and Marcus Hooker are the returners at safety.
Ohio State 2021 Football Schedule
- Sept. 2 Minnesota 8:00 p.m. Away
- Sept. 11 Oregon 12:00 p.m. Home
- Sept. 18 Tulsa 3:30 p.m. Home
- Sept. 25 Akron 1:00 p.m. Home
- Oct. 2 Rutgers 1:00 p.m. Away
- Oct. 9 Maryland 1:00 p.m. Home
- Oct. 23 Indiana 1:00 p.m. Away
- Oct. 30 Penn State 1:00 p.m. Home
- Nov. 6 Nebraska 1:00 p.m. Away
- Nov. 13 Purdue 12:00 p.m. Home
- Nov. 20 Michigan State 12:00 p.m. Home
- Nov. 27 Michigan 12:00 p.m. Away
Ohio State Betting Outlook
Ohio State has a decent test in Oregon in non-conference play, but overall it is the usual suspects. They play at Indiana and Michigan but draw Penn State and Maryland at home. They dodge Wisconsin and Iowa from the west. This schedule is easy by Big Ten standards.
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