On3 Ranks Ohio State Behind Michigan In Post-Spring Top 25
The Ohio State Buckeyes have one of the most draft-ready rosters in college football for 2023.
There have been projections of five first-round picks for the Buckeyes, while others have said as many as seven. Whatever the case may be, the 2021 recruiting class has blossomed into the majority of starters on both sides of the ball as Ohio State is poised for another push at the College Football Playoff.
On3's Jesse Simonton ranked the Buckeyes No. 3 in his post-spring top-25 rankings, but they still come up short where it counts: trailing Michigan.
Simonton ranked the defending national champion Georgia Bulldogs first with the Wolverines slotted in the No. 2 spot.
It's clear with back-to-back losses to Michigan that there has been a changing of the guard in the Big Ten as the Wolverines hold all the power as the only in-conference team to beat head coach Ryan Day.
Day will have the third new starting quarterback in his fifth year as head coach, and the last two to take the reins — Justin Fields and C.J. Stroud — turned out alright.
Whether it's Kyle McCord or Devin Brown under center, he'll have a wealth of pass-catching options that could mirror the 2021 season that was headlined by Chris Olave, Garrett Wilson and Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
There are the obvious kinks that will need to be worked out on the offensive line, but with a pair of tune-up games against Indiana and Youngstown State ahead of an underrated non-conference game against Western Kentucky and the marquee matchup against Notre Dame in week four, there will be plenty of opportunities to solve any resounding issues before the dog days of the conference slate.
The only significant loss on the defensive line was Zach Harrison, who was drafted No. 75 overall by the Atlanta Falcons, but when you can plug in Jack Sawyer as his replacement, things aren't so bad.
The linebackers are a top-10 unit in 2023 with the returns of Tommy Eichenberg and Steele Chambers, coupled with Cody Simon, C.J. Hicks and Gabe Powers who provide solid depth.
However, the big question mark is the secondary. It was Ohio State's issue last season in giving up explosive plays to Michigan and Georgia and is in need of a bounce back in an astronomical way.
The Buckeyes' "safety-driven defense" has returning star Lathan Ransom and budding potential in Sonny Styles, but Josh Proctor and Cam Martinez both have something to prove in 2023.
Another player that wants to right the wrongs from last season is Denzel Burke. He struggled mightily last season in defensive coordinator Jim Knowles' scheme that puts its cornerbacks on an island, but stayed the course and now has talks of first-round potential after a solid spring.
Opposite of Burke is still in question, as the Buckeyes have Davison Igbinosun, Jordan Hancock and Jyaire Brown fighting for the position.
Ohio State has made the College Football Playoff in three of the four years under Day, and if it can get back in the win column against Michigan, the Buckeyes might be back again in 2023.
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