Brett Ludwiczak
Guest
You’re Nuts: Which returning Ohio State starter are you most excited to watch this year?
Brett Ludwiczak via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK
Your (almost) daily dose of good-natured, Ohio State banter.
From now until preseason camp starts in August, Land-Grant Holy Land will be writing articles around a different theme every week. This week is all about the Buckeyes we expect to excel this season. You can catch up on all of the Theme Week content here and all our “Players to Watch” articles here.
With the calendar turning to June, we are now under three months away from the start of the college football season. Despite an end to the 2023 season which saw Ohio State look lost in their final two games of the season in losses to Michigan and Missouri, it didn’t take long for expectations to ramp up for 2024. While a huge reason for optimism came from the transfer commitment of Ole Miss running back Quinshon Judkins, the real reason the Buckeyes should be one of the favorites to win this year’s national title is because of the number of starters from last year who decided to forego the NFL Draft and return to Columbus for another season.
While there is a ton of excitement surrounding Judkins, Kansas State transfer quarterback Will Howard, and freshmen like Jeremiah Smith, today we are going to focus on returning starters from the 2023 Ohio State squad. What we want to know is which Buckeye returning starter from last year is most intriguing and exciting to you this season. With some massive talents on both sides of the football coming back for another season in the scarlet and gray, there shouldn’t be a problem finding a returning starter that you have high hopes for this season as Ohio State looks to add another national title to their trophy case.
Heading into last season there was a ton of hype surrounding J.T. Tuimoloau after the defensive end had one of the best games you’ll ever see from a defensive player in the victory at Penn State in 2022. Even though Tuimoloau finished last season with five sacks, his contributions on the field didn’t match what Buckeye Nation was expecting to see. Not that Tuimoloau wasn’t effective on the field, he just set the bar so high with his unbelievable performance against Penn State in 2022.
Hopefully, I’m not falling into the same trap at the other end of the defensive line this year. At the end of last season, Jack Sawyer finally showed why he was one of the most sought-after defensive recruits coming out of high school, registering five sacks in the last three games. It looked like Sawyer was one of the few Buckeyes that actually wanted to play in the Cotton Bowl in late December, notching three sacks in the loss to Missouri. After recording just 7.5 sacks in his first two years as a Buckeye, the Pickerington product finished the 2023 season with 6.5 sacks.
Ohio State fans have been spoiled over the last decade with some of the talented defensive ends that have been Buckeyes. While nobody is expecting Sawyer to match Chase Young’s sack total from the 2019-20 season, the senior and Tuimoloau are going to be one of the best defensive end combos in the country this year. What I’m most interested to see when it comes to Sawyer this year is if he can continue the growth and improved play we saw from him late in the 2023 season. If Sawyer can build on the strong finish to his junior season, he can demand to be in the conversation as one of the best defensive ends in the country. If he does that, he will undoubtedly put himself in a position to be one of the first defensive ends taken in the 2025 NFL Draft.
This time last season, we were all talking about how the Buckeyes had the best two wide receivers in the country in Marvin Harrison Jr. and Emeka Egbuka. Marv was able to go out and prove his side of that belief to be true, winning the Biletnikoff Award and becoming the top WR drafted. Unfortunately, due to injuries, Egbuka’s 2023 season was a series of fits and starts.
The veteran receiver ended up having only 515 yards and four touchdowns, both behind not only Harrison but tight end Cade Stover as well. In part because of that, some young Buckeye receivers have been garnering much of the attention from fans and media during the offseason. The second-year potential of Carnell Tate and true-freshman sensation that is Jeremiah Smith have people across the country buzzing, and rightfully so. But don’t forget about Emeka.
In 2022, when he was fully healthy, Emeka finished the season with 1,151 yards and 10 TDs, averaging 15.6 yards per reception, three ypc more than in 2023. So, now that Emeka is the veteran of the group, I am optimistic that he will be able to put together the type of season that we have long known that he is capable of, and I think the young guns on the roster will only help.
The explosiveness of Tate and Smith should play very well with the versatility of Egbuka. Assuming that whichever quarterback ends up being the starter is able to properly distribute the ball, he should have Emeka coming from all parts of the formation, perhaps including from the backfield. Egbuka is incredibly dynamic and if he is healthy, I don’t think that there is any reason that he can reach the types of statistical heights that we saw Marv achieve last year.
Continue reading...
Brett Ludwiczak via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK
Your (almost) daily dose of good-natured, Ohio State banter.
From now until preseason camp starts in August, Land-Grant Holy Land will be writing articles around a different theme every week. This week is all about the Buckeyes we expect to excel this season. You can catch up on all of the Theme Week content here and all our “Players to Watch” articles here.
With the calendar turning to June, we are now under three months away from the start of the college football season. Despite an end to the 2023 season which saw Ohio State look lost in their final two games of the season in losses to Michigan and Missouri, it didn’t take long for expectations to ramp up for 2024. While a huge reason for optimism came from the transfer commitment of Ole Miss running back Quinshon Judkins, the real reason the Buckeyes should be one of the favorites to win this year’s national title is because of the number of starters from last year who decided to forego the NFL Draft and return to Columbus for another season.
While there is a ton of excitement surrounding Judkins, Kansas State transfer quarterback Will Howard, and freshmen like Jeremiah Smith, today we are going to focus on returning starters from the 2023 Ohio State squad. What we want to know is which Buckeye returning starter from last year is most intriguing and exciting to you this season. With some massive talents on both sides of the football coming back for another season in the scarlet and gray, there shouldn’t be a problem finding a returning starter that you have high hopes for this season as Ohio State looks to add another national title to their trophy case.
Today’s question: Which returning Ohio State starter are you most excited to watch this year?
We’d love to hear your choices. Either respond to us on Twitter at @Landgrant33 or leave your choice in the comments.
Brett’s answer: Jack Sawyer
Heading into last season there was a ton of hype surrounding J.T. Tuimoloau after the defensive end had one of the best games you’ll ever see from a defensive player in the victory at Penn State in 2022. Even though Tuimoloau finished last season with five sacks, his contributions on the field didn’t match what Buckeye Nation was expecting to see. Not that Tuimoloau wasn’t effective on the field, he just set the bar so high with his unbelievable performance against Penn State in 2022.
Hopefully, I’m not falling into the same trap at the other end of the defensive line this year. At the end of last season, Jack Sawyer finally showed why he was one of the most sought-after defensive recruits coming out of high school, registering five sacks in the last three games. It looked like Sawyer was one of the few Buckeyes that actually wanted to play in the Cotton Bowl in late December, notching three sacks in the loss to Missouri. After recording just 7.5 sacks in his first two years as a Buckeye, the Pickerington product finished the 2023 season with 6.5 sacks.
Ohio State fans have been spoiled over the last decade with some of the talented defensive ends that have been Buckeyes. While nobody is expecting Sawyer to match Chase Young’s sack total from the 2019-20 season, the senior and Tuimoloau are going to be one of the best defensive end combos in the country this year. What I’m most interested to see when it comes to Sawyer this year is if he can continue the growth and improved play we saw from him late in the 2023 season. If Sawyer can build on the strong finish to his junior season, he can demand to be in the conversation as one of the best defensive ends in the country. If he does that, he will undoubtedly put himself in a position to be one of the first defensive ends taken in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Matt’s answer: Emeka Egbuka
This time last season, we were all talking about how the Buckeyes had the best two wide receivers in the country in Marvin Harrison Jr. and Emeka Egbuka. Marv was able to go out and prove his side of that belief to be true, winning the Biletnikoff Award and becoming the top WR drafted. Unfortunately, due to injuries, Egbuka’s 2023 season was a series of fits and starts.
The veteran receiver ended up having only 515 yards and four touchdowns, both behind not only Harrison but tight end Cade Stover as well. In part because of that, some young Buckeye receivers have been garnering much of the attention from fans and media during the offseason. The second-year potential of Carnell Tate and true-freshman sensation that is Jeremiah Smith have people across the country buzzing, and rightfully so. But don’t forget about Emeka.
In 2022, when he was fully healthy, Emeka finished the season with 1,151 yards and 10 TDs, averaging 15.6 yards per reception, three ypc more than in 2023. So, now that Emeka is the veteran of the group, I am optimistic that he will be able to put together the type of season that we have long known that he is capable of, and I think the young guns on the roster will only help.
The explosiveness of Tate and Smith should play very well with the versatility of Egbuka. Assuming that whichever quarterback ends up being the starter is able to properly distribute the ball, he should have Emeka coming from all parts of the formation, perhaps including from the backfield. Egbuka is incredibly dynamic and if he is healthy, I don’t think that there is any reason that he can reach the types of statistical heights that we saw Marv achieve last year.
Continue reading...