Ohio State Football: Three breakout candidates for 2022

With coaching changes finally winding down and Signing Day almost done and over with, the offseason is finally approaching. The Ohio State football program made a lot of changes to their coaching staff, but bring back a ton of players from this past season.

The offense is expected to be loaded once again. Any time you bring back a Heisman Finalist and a Rose Bowl record-holder, you’re doing pretty well. But we already know how good C.J. Stroud and Jaxon Smith-Njigba are. This article isn’t about players of that caliber.

This article is about three players who come back in 2022 that could be breakout candidates. All of these guys have the pure talent to have big years next year. They didn’t get the opportunity last year for whatever reason to showcase their skills, whether because of injury, players ahead of them on the depth chart, or other factors.

Now, those barriers have been removed for these guys. They all showed flashes of their ceilings at some point this past season. If Ohio State wants to make the CFP and have a shot at a national title, these guys will need to have a breakout season to be true contenders.

I like all of these guys a lot. Sure, I’m biased with the first one on this list because I love his father so much. That doesn’t mean he is going to be any less good though. So let’s get to it! The first guy on this list made a strong impression in Ohio State’s final game of the year.