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Ohio State Football: Prepare For ‘Sudden Impact’

By Charlie Lockhart

Nov 5, 2016; Columbus, OH, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Urban Meyer salutes the student section during the fourth quarter of the game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Ohio Stadium. Ohio State won the game 62-3. Mandatory Credit: Greg Bartram-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 5, 2016; Columbus, OH, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Urban Meyer salutes the student section during the fourth quarter of the game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Ohio Stadium. Ohio State won the game 62-3. Mandatory Credit: Greg Bartram-USA TODAY Sports /
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These players will make an impact for Ohio State next season.

Every fan gets excited each year when Urban Meyer finishes up another outstanding Ohio State recruiting class. They can’t wait to watch the new Buckeyes play to see which players are ready for prime time right away.

While Ohio State isn’t even half way through spring practices yet, the early enrollees have already impressed coach Meyer. And at least two of those players look like guys who will make a “sudden impact” in the 2017 season.

Let’s take a look at the player who is now officially a Buckeye. Cornerback Kendall Sheffield lost his black stripe after just six days of practice and is vying for a starting job already.

Sheffield was a five-star recruit for Alabama in the 2015 recruiting class and red-shirted that year. Evidently that didn’t sit well with him so he transferred to Blinn College in Texas and played for one season. He entered the 2017 Ohio State as the No. 1 JUCO corner in the country.

Sheffield is talented and has experience the other players in the class don’t have. He is battling Damon Arnette for the starting corner spot but will certainly be on the field in the nickel package at the very least. Sheffield is also one of the leading candidates to return punts. This guy is the real deal and he is ready to go now.

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Running back J.K. Dobbins is shooting up in the depth chart, and it’s not a question if he will play as a true freshman, but how much. There just seems to be more good news coming out about Dobbins every day.

The latest news is that he is now in competition with Demario McCall for the backup running back position. Look out Mike Weber, Dobbins is coming for your job so don’t take a practice off.

I have written about this young man quite a bit lately so I don’t have anything else to say about him at the moment except this. Barring an injury to Dobbins, expect him to make quite an impact next season. The kid is going to be fun to watch.

Next Post: Ohio State Spring Practices: Surprises Emerging

There are other early enrollees performing well in spring practices who will probably make an impact next season and I’ll get to them later. But Kendall Sheffield and J.K. Dobbins have already proven they are guys to watch for in the 2017 season, and expect them to make a difference.

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