• Follow us on Twitter @buckeyeplanet and @bp_recruiting, like us on Facebook! Enjoy a post or article, recommend it to others! BP is only as strong as its community, and we only promote by word of mouth, so share away!
  • Consider registering! Fewer and higher quality ads, no emails you don't want, access to all the forums, download game torrents, private messages, polls, Sportsbook, etc. Even if you just want to lurk, there are a lot of good reasons to register!

2021 tOSU Offense

Jump to latest Follow Reply
Sort by date Sort by votes
ScriptOhio

ScriptOhio

Everybody is somebody else's weirdo.


LEAP YEAR COMING
Knowing Ohio State had a deadly 1-2 punch in the receivers room with Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson, I still expected true freshmen Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Julian Fleming to make a noticeable impact on the 2020 receiving stats.

The abbreviated season following an extremely short spring no doubt compromised their development but I did not expect a combined 17 catches for 121 yards from the duo.

Smith-Njigba had one of the highlight catches of the entire season but the fact his 10 catches (on 163 snaps) averaged 4.9 yards made me think it was a misprint at first. His longest catch of the season was 15 yards. Smith-Njigba proved to be a very effective downfield blocker especially for a first year player.

For his part, Fleming had seven catches on 128 offensive snaps and seemed a little of out sync at times, dropping a few balls despite being wide open.

Under the watchful eye of Brian Hartline, I expect both players to make huge leaps next fall as they earn their position coach's trust, allowing him to revert back to a more even distribution of snaps among his top four guys.

Just sayin': Also throw Jayden Ballard, Marvin Harrison Jr, and Emeka Egbuka in the mix.
 
bukIpower said:
I'm very shocked he didnt see the field big time... hopefully he stays patient and understand 2021 is his year to shine.
Click to expand...
I'm not. This year was such a clusterf___ , I'm sure that Hartline wanted to shorten his rotation as did most of the coaches and go with more sure things(or the surest that they knew of with no camp or early OOC games). In a normal year, Gee Scott gets PT in a game against BG, Akron, Tulane, etc, and may even see time in conference against Illinois, Maryland, MSU, etc. With only 5gms getting to be played and MSU being their last game(I'm sure coaches knew that scUM would pussy out and avoid OSU), that game had to be a statement as did every single game since our season was cut in half, and we would have every team in the country saying how unfair it was, if we didn't score points, and some wide margin games. Scott will get PT next year, as I can see him rotating in on one side with Fleming, as I predict Wilson and Fleming start on the outside and JSN starts in the slot, or switches with Wilson at times. Williams backs up Wilson, Scott backs up Fleming, and I could see Babb fighting with Egbuka for the backup Slot position.
 
Upvote 0


Options to take over at quarterback for Buckeyes
Ohio State has three touted prospects waiting in the wings, and a truly fascinating competition is set to begin in spring camp with C.J. Stroud and Jack Miller now joined by true freshman Kyle McCord. The Buckeyes have been recruiting at an elite level at the most important position on the field, and talent is certainly not a question. Experience, though, is definitely a concern since nobody in that trio has thrown a pass yet at the college level.

This is yet another delicate dance for Ryan Day as he simultaneously manages the high-profile position and top-shelf talent, because the Buckeyes are likely going to want to add a fourth scholarship passer — potentially through the graduate-transfer market. There could be an element of risk there as well since adding to the competition could make it more difficult to keep all of those passers around for at least another year. Either way, by now Day has more than proven that he knows what he’s doing at the position and that he’ll have somebody ready to lead a championship contender by the fall.

Evaluating impact of losing Justin Fields
Ohio State just lost a guy with a legitimate claim as the best quarterback in program history. Even if it’s expected, that still stings. Justin Fields is leaving enormous shoes to fill for his replacement, and the standard of excellence at the position has now been raised. Stroud and Miller should have benefitted from spending a year around the captain, watching the way he prepares, practices and works on a daily basis. Assuming they made the most of that time, that should be a helpful head start for them as the battle heats up to replace Fields and take the keys to one of the most explosive attacks in the country.

Bottom line: Ohio State anticipated this all along and has been preparing to replace Justin Fields. But that won’t make it any easier now that it actually has to do it.
 
Upvote 0
We dont have a lot of question marks on offense but the ones we do have are enormous question marks.

We know the OL will be very good and will once again be a top OL unit in the country. We know the WR room will be very scary next year. We know Ruckert will be one of the best TE in the country.

We just dont know how the QBs will do and who will emerge at RB. At least with RB it's really only a question of who will start and will the underclassmen be given a shot to start.

If Crowley/Williams/Henderson can earn the starting position I think that's probably best for the offense. Teague is a great teammate and kid but he just doesnt have the vision or bend/flexibility to do what Sermon or JK did in the past. We need an explosive RB and I think one of the younger guys can be that.

The QB whichever that ends up being just has to avoid turnovers and distribute. We don't need them to be superstars. I really believe the potential is there for a 2019 type of offense provided we can get better RB play.
 
Upvote 0
It seems this years positions of intrigue going forward will be QB, RB, and interior OL.

At Q, I can't imagine a better situation to walk into. Two All-American wide outs, possibly the most talented TE in school history, and two monsters at tackle. If the run game continues to produce, I can absolutely see this passing attack being more dangerous than last season by seasons end.

Speaking of the run game, I assume we'll see a committee at RB for the early parts of the season. Unless someone can really step up, stand out (looking at you Henderson) and seize the bulk of the carries.

Interior OL is especially interesting cause of Harry Miller. I'm pretty certain he'll end up starting at center but after this year, his development is an absolute priority, could be the make or break guy along the line. The play of Matt Jones at the end of the year, along with the talent and ability of Jones and Johnson makes me more confident. Less worried about this group than Q or RB.

If Stroud can play up to his ability and one of the RBs takes control, I can see this being a historically good OSU offense.
 
Upvote 0
RhodeIslandBuck said:
It seems this years positions of intrigue going forward will be QB, RB, and interior OL.

At Q, I can't imagine a better situation to walk into. Two All-American wide outs, possibly the most talented TE in school history, and two monsters at tackle. If the run game continues to produce, I can absolutely see this passing attack being more dangerous than last season by seasons end.

Speaking of the run game, I assume we'll see a committee at RB for the early parts of the season. Unless someone can really step up, stand out (looking at you Henderson) and seize the bulk of the carries.

Interior OL is especially interesting cause of Harry Miller. I'm pretty certain he'll end up starting at center but after this year, his development is an absolute priority, could be the make or break guy along the line. The play of Matt Jones at the end of the year, along with the talent and ability of Jones and Johnson makes me more confident. Less worried about this group than Q or RB.

If Stroud can play up to his ability and one of the RBs takes control, I can see this being a historically good OSU offense.
Click to expand...
We should be a little better at pass pro too considering Johnson is likely to be an OG next season. To have the entire WR room back, a very good OL, the best TE probably in the country, and more than likely the deepest RB room in the big ten is a crazy situation for a new QB.

Only negative is we start off the year vs two pretty good opponents with no time to feel things out.
 
Upvote 0
At QB, I try to think about how year-one starters aren’t some terrifying thing anymore.

Freshman and Sophomore QBs put up big numbers all over the country the last few years. It’s expected. Offenses have evolved to make their lives easier. High schools are now running more sophisticated sets so the learning process starts earlier. And these kids are traveling to elite camps and working with the best QB-specialized trainers across the country. The guys Ohio State has aren’t some development cases. They’re talent-ready when they arrive now.

The rest is putting in the work, studying film and taking advantage of the off-season with your WRs to become a success. I’m assuming whoever wins the job will have done all that and more by the time they take the first snap.

All that plus this is Ryan Day’s thing. If he’s as good as we think - and his past results/peer reviews suggest he is- then we will be fine at QB. Maybe even better than “fine.”
 
Last edited:
Upvote 0
OHSportsFan said:
At QB, I try to think about how year-one starters aren’t some terrifying thing anymore.

Freshman and Sophomore QBs put up big numbers all over the country the last few years. It’s expected. Offenses have evolved to make their lives easier. High schools are now running more sophisticated sets so the learning process starts earlier. And these kids are traveling to elite camps and working with the best QB-specialized trainers across the country. The guys Ohio State have aren’t some development cases. They’re talent-ready when they arrive now.

The rest is putting in the work, studying film and taking advantage of the off-season with your WRs to become a success. I’m assuming whoever wins the job will have done all that and more by the time they take the first snap.

All that plus this is Ryan Day’s thing. If he’s as good as we think - and his past results/peer reviews suggest he is- then we will be fine at QB. Maybe even better than “fine.”
Click to expand...
Not only that but 2 of our 3 really talented QBs had 70+ practices under their belt. Yes they didn't get spring ball or game reps but they did get a boat load of time with Ryan Day and Coach Dennis over the past year.

If Justin Fields can blow up year 1 after having been at OSU for 6 months these QBs can be very good year 1 too. Probably wont be JF level good but then again they don't have to be.
 
Upvote 0
OHSportsFan said:
At QB, I try to think about how year-one starters aren’t some terrifying thing anymore.

Freshman and Sophomore QBs put up big numbers all over the country the last few years. It’s expected. Offenses have evolved to make their lives easier. High schools are now running more sophisticated sets so the learning process starts earlier. And these kids are traveling to elite camps and working with the best QB-specialized trainers across the country. The guys Ohio State have aren’t some development cases. They’re talent-ready when they arrive now.

The rest is putting in the work, studying film and taking advantage of the off-season with your WRs to become a success. I’m assuming whoever wins the job will have done all that and more by the time they take the first snap.

All that plus this is Ryan Day’s thing. If he’s as good as we think - and his past results/peer reviews suggest he is- then we will be fine at QB. Maybe even better than “fine.”
Click to expand...

And I trust that the coaching staff will anticipate a Bear front from the early opposing Ds and will have a playbook to respond to that and the house being sent early and often to test the young ones’ nerves.
 
Upvote 0
No one is mentioning Paris Johnson, but I am going to. According to his Pro Football Focus grade, he actually graded much higher at G than Harry Miller and Matt Jones both. Expect Paris to make a big impact on the oline next year. His grades were actually off the charts in pass pro especially which we needed up the middle. The Oline should be steller if we can find a reliable center. Harry Miller has to step his game up.
 
Upvote 0
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top