Ohio State Football: Outlook for 2022

The 2021 college football season is officially in the books with Georgia winning the national title. Now the page is turned and we set our sights on 2022. Even though 2021 didn’t go quite as planned for the Ohio State football program, things can be different in 2022.

The Buckeyes bring back a loaded crew of offensive players next season. Despite losing two of their best receivers, they showed in the Rose Bowl that the receivers they still have will be ready for a bigger role in the offense. Most of their offensive line comes back too.

It’s the defense that will be the biggest question mark. Ryan Day is hoping that bringing in Jim Knowles will fix the issues that the unit had in 2021. As far as personnel goes, the secondary is really the only place where there aren’t a lot of questions.

On the defensive line, we have to figure out who is going to play inside now that Haskell Garrett is gone. It’s unclear whether or not Zach Harrison will come back or not, but if he doesn’t, that means more playing time for J.T. Tuimoloau and Jack Sawyer at defensive end.

The linebacker room has the most questions and is the most concerning unit on this entire team. The best linebacker this year was a converted running back. I have no idea who they should play in those spots because no one stood out frankly. Tommy Eichenberg had a good Rose Bowl, but most of his season was up and down.

This Ohio State football team should still be one of the best teams in the country next season. A top 5 preseason ranking seems inevitable. How they finish the season will be predicated on their ability to have the defense fix whatever issues they had and leave them in 2021.