Ohio State Football: 2015 recruiting class is bedrock for team’s success
Lost in the shuffle of all the many Ohio State football headlines this season is the impact the 2015 recruiting class has made. They have been terrific leaders for this year’s team.
K.J. Hill, Damon Arnette, Branden Bowen, DeVon Hamilton, Robert Landers, Rashod Berry, Joshua Alabi, Justin Hilliard and Jashon Cornell are the remaining players who joined the Ohio State football team as raw recruits in that class. This group of young men are proving it can pay to stay.
Keep this in mind, the expected 2019 Heisman Trophy Winner Joey Burrow was in the 2015 class. Denzel Ward, Jerome Baker, Dre’Mont Jones and Mike Weber were too.
I’ll start with Hill.
For his career, he has caught 188 passes for 2182 yards and 18 touchdowns.
He will become the all-time receptions leader with four more catches breaking David Boston’s record of 191.
With 113 more yards, Hill will move into sixth all-time receiving passing Doug Donley and Santonio Holmes.
He only needs two more touchdowns to move in sixth all-time, passing guys like Joey Galloway and Michael Thomas.
I know Buckeye Nation already appreciates what Hill has done. His legendary status will only grow over time.
It is impossible to not root for Bowen. Disclaimer alert – Bowen is my favorite player on the team.
He was playing his best ball two years ago when a leg injury derailed his career. I can only imagine the work he put in to make it back to this point.
That work has paid off. He’s had a phenomenal season helping anchor one of the best offensive lines in college football.
I am going to lump Hamilton, Landers and Cornell together which is probably unfair, but I just view these three as one large beast.
On the season, they have 60 tackles, 19.5 tackles-for-loss and 13 sacks. Chase Young gets most of the publicity, but these three men are the reason why no player runs up the middle on this defense.
Arnette could have left for the NFL. That may have been a mistake but he had a strong enough junior campaign to make the leap.
Instead, he came back to be a part of the best secondary in the country.
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His numbers are down a little, but he’s also not being tested as much. His coverage has been stellar even though he’s been playing with an injured wrist.
Hilliard was the top defensive recruit in the class, but injuries have kept him on the sidelines for most of his tenure.
He’s made progress this year playing in 10 games and getting a key interception against Penn State two weeks ago.
Berry and Alabi have not played as much this year. I can’t imagine that’s been easy to accept, but the players in front of them are just better. Regardless, both have stuck with this program.
Next. Buckeyes' potential College Football Playoff opponent. dark
If, or maybe I should say when, the Buckeyes beat the Badgers in the Big Ten Football Championship on Saturday, I know this group of fifth-year seniors will have done their job in making that happen. When coaches speak of leaders, the 2015 group of players are who they have in mind.