Ohio State Football: A brief look at each offensive position group

Ohio State will kick off its 2020 campaign against Nebraska on October 24th at Ohio Stadium. Things will be different- fans will not be in attendance, coaches will be wearing masks, and social distancing will be used during interviews. However, in a year of inconsistency and change, one thing will remain certain- Ohio State will have a great football team ready to take on any team in the country, one that could outscore any opponent.

There aren’t a whole lot of question marks for this Ohio State team, the offensive line promises to be among the best in the nation, especially with the confirmed return of OL Wyatt Davis (Davis previously opted-out before the season’s reinstatement).

Other experienced offensive linemen are expected to start along with Davis, such as senior Thayer Munford. Munford looks to be a critical part of the protection of Heisman-candidate QB Justin Fields. We also are likely to see former five star and third-year sophomore Nicholas Petit-Frere, who was ESPN and Rivals.com No. 1 offensive tackle coming out of high school.

Junior center Josh Myers, who was a second-team All-Big Ten player last season, and sophomore guard Harry Miller, who played in 13 of 14 games as a true freshman, will complete the offensive line, both looking to continue their success from the 2019 season.

No one will benefit more from the offensive line’s success than junior QB Justin Fields. Fields finished third in Heisman voting last season and is looking to put up video game-like numbers in what will likely be his final collegiate season.

If the 2020 season never came to fruition, Fields would have been among the first quarterbacks taken in the 2021 NFL Draft, but opting out was never on his radar, saying “I wanted to give myself an opportunity to come back and show the world what I can do and what I’ve improved on because I feel like I’ve improved a lot on my game and I’ve learned a lot this offseason.”

Joining Fields in the backfield will be Oklahoma transfer RB Trey Sermon and sophomore RB Master Teague. Sermon played in 37 games with the Sooners, accumulating over 2000 yards and 25 touchdowns. Teague suffered an Achilles injury during spring camp, but has since recovered and will be ready to play.

Offensive Coordinator Kevin Wilson has said that Sermon and Teague have split the first-team reps 50/50 so far in camp, we may not know the starter until game day. We could see something similar to the 2018 season- where Mike Weber and J.K. Dobbins were both used frequently. Senior DeMario McCall could also get some carries, perhaps as more of a third-down back. The Buckeyes will have plenty of weapons in the backfield.

Perhaps the most exciting position group will be the receivers and tight ends. Chris Olave and Garret Wilson return off of impressive 2019 seasons, as do experienced tight ends Jeremy Ruckert and Luke Farrell.

We will see some new faces catching passes from Justin Fields, as Ohio State brings in four freshman wide receivers: Julian Flemming, Gee Scott Jr., Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and Mookie Cooper. 247Sports ranked Flemming, Smith-Njigba, and Scott in their top 10 WR’s out of the 2020 class.

Fields went as far as saying all four receivers have been “phenomenal” in their seven-on-seven and one-on-one drills. Playing time will be hard to come by with the abundance of pass-catchers, but perhaps we could also see red-shirt sophomore, and former four-star WR Kamryn Babb, who has battled two knee injuries that have kept him off the field to begin his career. Thanks to WR Coach Brian Hartline, Ohio State undoubtedly has one of the deepest and most skilled wide receivers rooms in the country.

Head Coach Ryan Day and Offensive Coordinator Kevin Wilson have a lot to look forward to and should have one of the most exciting and proficient offenses in the country. It’s quite challenging to improve from a team that averaged 46.8 points per game a year ago, but the Buckeyes will be up for the challenge.