Ohio State Football: The Rose Bowl is a preview of next season
By Riley Thomas
The Ohio State football team will be without several key players vs. Utah in the Rose Bowl: Garrett Wilson, Chris Olave, Haskell Garrett, and Nicholas Petit-Frere. All of the mentioned players opted out of the bowl game to prepare for the upcoming NFL Draft.
In a sense, the Rose Bowl will be a preview of next season for the Buckeyes. Young players will be thrust into starting roles as some of Ohio State’s best players will be absent.
Along the offensive line, the Bucks will likely field a veteran group. Thayer Munford will kick out to left tackle, while Matthew Jones replaces Munford at guard. This starting O-line would be the smoothest transition, avoiding potential struggles. Ohio State will avoid switching someone like Paris Johnson to tackle when he’s played guard all season (even though he will likely start at tackle next season).
The defensive tackle spot will also look quite different without Garrett. The super senior Garrett has been a monster over the past two seasons. Without him, the interior defensive line could see a drop-off in production.
One DT who could impact the Rose Bowl in a big way is Tyleik Williams. The true freshman Williams has shined in limited play this season. At times, he has gotten fewer snaps than he deserved. Williams could surely be a huge piece on the defensive line next season.
The Ohio State football team’s receiving unit will look a lot different
The Buckeye wide receiver group in the Rose Bowl will be intriguing. Julian Fleming — who has seen little playing time in his two seasons — should start at one of the perimeter wideout spots. The true freshmen Emeka Egbuka and Marvin Harrison Jr. should see plenty of meaningful snaps as well.
The receiving corps of Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Fleming, Egbuka, and Harrison will be a big preview for next season. These four uberly-talented receivers will likely be C.J. Stroud’s top four targets in the 2022-23 season.
Ryan Day could make things quite interesting if he decided to place Smith-Njigba in a perimeter spot. Smith-Njigba will be the Buckeyes’ best WR going into next year, he has a high likelihood of moving from slot to an outside spot. OSU could potentially speed up this transition if they went ahead and moved JSN in the Rose Bowl.
The potential relocation of Smith-Njigba would then impact who plays more between Harrison and Egbuka. Harrison would see more perimeter WR snaps, while Egbuka would see playing time in the slot position.
JSN in the slot has been a security blanket for Stroud all season. However, putting Smith-Njigba on the outside could make the Rose Bowl more intriguing for Buckeye fans.
Regardless, the receiving room will look much different against Utah without both Olave and Wilson. Fleming, Harrison, and Egbuka will be presented with an opportunity to separate themselves going into the offseason. These three will battle for the two starting spots alongside JSN for next season.
dark. Next. Why haven't there been more staff changes?
While clashing Utah in the Rose Bowl is a disappointing end to the season, seeing young, emerging players stepping into starting roles will be exciting. Ohio State vs. Utah will cap the 2021-22 season, but will also preview Ohio State football’s 2022-23 season as new players will look to replace key contributors.