With the return of several regular players and a number of high-profile transfers and newcomers, Ohio State should have one of the most talented squads in all of college football this year and have a good chance of winning the national championship at the end of the season.
Former Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer went a step further on Tuesday, proclaiming on his new podcast “The Triple Option” alongside fellow Fox analysts Mark Ingram II and Rob Stone that this year’s Buckeyes roster could be one of the better ones he’s seen in quite some time.
“I’ve read about them, I’ve watched them. This is maybe the best roster in college football in the last decade,” Meyer said. “In terms of NFL talent and depth. They have the second-string running back, whoever it is, he’ll probably be selected in the first round of the draft. I mean, they’re loaded.”
This isn’t the first time former Ohio State head coach has praised Ryan Day’s team in the offseason. Meyer told 10TV in Columbus at a charity golf outing earlier this summer that he’s “never seen anything like” this year’s Buckeyes squad and even said this could be the best squad “maybe ever.”
A similar opinion was expressed by Meyer’s predecessor in Columbus, Jim Tressel, who said at the same appearance that he did not believe he had “ever seen so many great players in this building at the same time.”
“Every position, every place you turned to,” Tressel said. “Ryan (Day) did a great job, Ohio State did a great job.”
Despite Meyer’s high praise, the current FOX Sports college football commentator expressed some concerns about the team early in the season, with the quarterback’s play in particular being emphasized.
Meyer said he’s not sure how new starting quarterback Will Howard — whom Day named the starter last Thursday — will handle the transition from Kansas State to Ohio State and what his potential might be, but he expressed confidence that with his speed and the leadership of offensive coordinator Chip Kelly, he can get the offense where it wants to go this season.
“You have Will Howard, who’s going to be a big question mark,” Meyer said. “But I think he and Chip Kelly, the new offensive coordinator, are made for each other. He’s an athletic quarterback. He’s surprisingly fast. I’m told he ran 22 miles an hour in practice — that’s fast, fast. And he’s a big guy.”
Meyer also pointed out that Ohio State needs to keep its top players focused and happy during what should be an easy start to the schedule, another major concern for the Buckeyes. He believes the team’s stars will play about 30 to 40 snaps per game during the first month of the season — which includes non-conference home games against Akron, Western Michigan and Marshall, and a road game against Michigan State — and something could be preventing them from staying as engaged as they should.
“How do you keep everybody (players) happy? Their game plan is a joke to begin with… That is, statistically, they’re not going to make many catches, the running backs aren’t going to have many runs. You’re not going to let those guys play in the second half of those games and somebody gets hurt. So how do you keep the personalities, the NIL, the agents, I guess — that’s a world I don’t know — how do you keep them all happy?”
Regardless of these potential issues, the “cupcake” portion of Ohio State’s schedule could give younger players a chance to showcase their skills and get on the field, which could ultimately help increase team depth in the fall.
