Ohio State football: Zach Harrison can help himself with big 2021

After being a five-star recruit and the top recruit from the state of Ohio, a lot was expected from Zach Harrison. Now is time for the Ohio State football team to finally expect greatness from him.

Everyone knows the long line of great defensive ends that have come through the Ohio State football program in the last decade or so. Both Bosas, Chase Young, and Tyquan Lewis were all great while they were in Columbus and have now done good things in the NFL.

Zach Harrison was supposed to be the next guy on that list. As a five-star recruit out of Olentangy Orange, Harrison was expected to make an immediate impact as a freshman in 2019. He didn’t quite do that, nor did he do a lot in 2020 as a sophomore.

This season is the time to expect great things from Harrison. Because of how good the previous defensive ends were at Ohio State at such an early age, perhaps Buckeye fans have developed unrealistic expectations for how quickly players should develop.

It’s not like Harrison has done nothing in the past two seasons. He still was able to accumulate 10 sacks. But everyone wants to compare his numbers to the ridiculous stats young put up in 2018 as a sophomore. This just in: not everyone can be an absolute freak like Chase Young.

Based on intel coming out of Columbus, Harrison is in the best shape he’s ever been and is ready to put up a massive season. Harrison will have a real Fall camp after actually getting Spring practice this year to improve. He could end up making a Young-like leap this year.

If he can do that, Harrison will set himself up to be a first-round pick in next year’s Draft. Everyone loves elite pass rushers. If Harrison becomes an elite pass rusher, Ohio State could be back playing in the National Championship Game again this season. That would give him a first-round grade too.