Ohio State Football: 3 keys for peak success in 2019
The Ohio State football team is surrounded by lofty expectations yet again heading into 2019. Here are three areas that must be strong for the Buckeyes to meet them.
The Ohio State Buckeyes are nearly just summer camp away from opening their 2019 campaign and first under new Head Coach Ryan Day. The shoes of legendary coach Urban Meyer will not be easy to fill because legends are not simply replaced. Instead, they pass the torch to the next generation.
That is exactly what Coach Meyer did in the locker room in Pasadena following the Rose Bowl victory. Meyer took off his whistle and placed on Day’s neck and announced him as the next head man at Ohio State.
The Buckeyes certainly possess the talent and skill to maintain their recent successes but will need these three areas in particular to be strong to reach their peak potential in 2019.
The first is the offensive line which will be replacing four (Bowen’s injury) starters from a year ago. For years Meyer said the Buckeyes are an offensive line driven team and that has held to be true. The guys upfront have some of the most important jobs on the field beginning with protecting Justin Fields and blocking for JK Dobbins.
Players like Wyatt Davis, Nicholas Petit-Frere, and Josh Myers will all have opportunities to win starting jobs at their respective position. Fields will need the offensive line to play more consistently than last year where penalties and injuries plagued the Buckeyes, especially late.
The second area is the play of the linebackers. Bill Davis has since moved on and Al Washington has taken over in what should elevate the group’s play tremendously. Washington’s linebackers have a history of playing fast and downhill with great instincts which seemed to be lacking at times last year under Davis.
Having Washington coaching the LBs makes the whole dynamic of the defense feel better as there is now the sense of peace knowing the group will be strong and effective. That feeling has not really been present since the departure of Luke Fickell.
Tuf Borland, Teradja Mitchell, Pete Werner, and Malik Harrison will all have their games taken to the next level to reach their highest potential. All four will likely see the bulk of the time at LB in their respective roles, but their play is crucial to the defense.
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Maintaining coverages and running in space will be the biggest factor in just how good the hype-filled Silver Bullets will be in 2019. The Silver Bullets are expected to be one of the Big Ten and college football’s premier defenses and that is because of the talent on the roster and the newly hired assistants and position coaches.
The last and most important area the Buckeyes will need to be strong to see maximum success is the coaching staff. To start, Ryan Day is a first year head coach. He is very well suited and equipped for the job, but nonetheless it is still his first year and there will be kinks and growing pains on the road to success.
More importantly, Day’s newly hired assistants have to gel and set egos aside which seems to be the case. Day practically overhauled nearly the entire defensive staff which alters the scheme and concepts.
Mike Yurich was also brought on as the new QB coach on offense and Brian Hartline was retained and promoted for the wide receivers.
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The Ohio State staff has a mixture of young and veteran coaches which will allow for the playbooks to be creative with an old school technique of a twist. Day brought in some of the hottest names in coaching so their expectations are high just like any other year in Columbus. I expect the new coaches and their respective units to perform at a high level in 2019.